Product Description
Sharon Lawrence is a journalist who knew Hendrix well, became his confidante and saw him a number of times in the weeks before his death. "Jimi Hendrix" tells and shows - in rich detail - who Jimi Hendrix really was and what really happened to him during his short life, and what has happened to his legacy in the more than thirty years of greed and game-playing since his tragically early death. The book contains new and rare material including many unpublished conversations with Hendrix and major insights from more than fifty fresh sources who have previously kept their silence. Fellow rock stars and musicians, childhood neighbours, lawyers and newspaper editors are among those who knew Jimi well and are now willing to speak about who he really was and what events marked his lightning-fast ride to the top, the extraordinary highs and lows which ultimately led to his death. Insightful and revelatory, this is also an affectionate portrayal of the real Jimi by a friend who feels the time is finally right to tell the true story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Mixed feelings
Mixed feelings about this book.I think the author believed it to be factual, and some of it was. But Jimi Hendrix lived a pretty complicated life, and to represent events as facts... well, there are things you couldn't have known unless you were there. And I'd have to say I disagree with her interpretation of a couple of "facts". Overall though, this is a person who, unlike many of the people surrounding Hendrix, sincerely seems to have cared about him, and was both honest and fair with him, even when it was not the easiest way to go. I thought her reporting of the convoluted business arrangements surrounding him was clear and accurate. And I thought she accurately portrayed Mike Jeffries, Chas Chandler, Mitch and Noel, and.... geez, Janie and Al Hendrix! A lot of this rings disturbingly true. I also think her reporting of the circumstances around his death is probably the most accurate version that's come to light. So, she did get a lot of it right. And I agree with her opinion of the power and beauty of Jimi Hendrix' music - he was the greatest that ever lived.

Interesting, although a lot of familiar ground recovered...
This book was published at a point where so much had already been written about Hendrix, and it establishes a familiar pattern of the often told Hendrix Tale: born into poverty, Hendrix nurtured an interest with the guitar at an early age into a tremendous facility for writing, playing and performing music. He became famous, was surrounded by the usual trappings of stardom (drugs, hangers-on, shady business partners, groupies), and died at an early age when it seemed he still had a lot left to give in terms of creativity. It is clear and established that the author did, in fact, know Hendrix. Some of her recollections may have been somewhat embellished with the passage of time (memory and history can play tricks on us all), but the impressions she gives of her encounters with Hendrix are both very human and generally credible in terms of the overall jist. I, for one, didn't see an agenda in terms of her having made up the story out of whole cloth, as it were. Some of her assertions as to the particulars of how Hendrix died (regurgitating rumors that he was possibly murdered or asserting that he did himself in via suicide) do repeat the more sensational past tales of his demise. I suppose a persons reaction to the book depends on if one finds Lawrence credible or not. I did. What knocks the rating down a few stars for me is the disproportionate amount of page space given over to the posthumous years and the detailed descriptions of the legal battles over the Hendrix estate. As someone who values Hendrix on the basis of what he did when he was alive (not how old he was when he died, or how he died, or what happened to the money after he was gone), about the last third of the book wasn't particularly relevant.

a different angle on one of my favourite subjects Jimi Hendrix
Sure you can read reviews about the technical facts on Jimi's
life and raise your pointy finger and suggest Sharon has
some things wrong, but really, this book isnt labelled
as the be all and end all of Hendrix literature...

I skimmed the 'early life' sections and went straight to the juicy bits
when Sharon first met Jimi and from there it had me hook line and sinker.

This book offers a unique look at the man, the legend of Jimi Hendrix
and takes you back into urban London and New York in the late 1960's
and see how this whirlwind 4 year period evolved.

Well done to Sharon for putting together such a nice book
and long live the wonderful legacy of Jimi Hendrix.

The personal side of a Legend
With all of the misinformation about Jimi Hendrix, Sharon Lawrence attempts to set the record straight. As a young reporter Sharon befriends Jimi after a 1968 concert,through many phone calls and visits, Jimi shares his most personal thoughts and feelings. Sharon becomes a trusted friend and insider to Jimi's world. From Jimi's tragic poverty stricken childhood, at times left alone with little food for him and baby brother Leon, kind neighbors often left food on the door step. The loss of Jimi's mother at age 15 shapes the tone of his sad world. Sharon exsposes all the vultures and leaves no stone unturned. The real Jimi was no drugged out space cadet but a shy, sensitive, poliet, intelligent, Spiritual, kind, person. Who prefered to be treated like a regular guy not a rock idol. It was great to see a very human side to Jimi like the fact that he was a clean freak who often tidded up his own hotel room and ironed his own clothes while on the road. Jimi singing along with Elvis songs and talking about his mother, made me get a sense of who he was and what he was thinking.It seems the best times were in London jamming with friends "London has always been good to me" he once said. In the end Jimi was stressed out from constant touring and court battles, he knew he was being ripped off and had few real friends, his life was a constant roller coaster. At one point It was heartbreaking, Jimi says "Everyone thinks they own me".. While throwing furniture across the room.. Jimi's death leaves alot to speculate, accident/murder/suicide?? Sharon believes Jimi died of suicide. Jimileft a sad poem the night he died with the words " The story of Jesus is easy to explain..The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, they story of love is hello and goodbye, untill we meet again". Sharon believes this is a suicide note. But the facts are made clear Jimi did not die of a overdose, the nine sleeping pills were not a fatal dose and there were no needle tracts on his arms, only a small amount of wine was found in his stomach, contrary to popular belief, Jimi was not a heavy drug user toward the end of his life. Jimi died simply of "inhalation of vomit". It seems it could have been easily prevented had help got to him sooner. Jimis last words to Sharon were "I just need some peace of mind" and in death he had finally found it.

In death as in life the battles over money went on for over 30 plus years, cutting jimi's own brother Leon and family completly out of the estate, as well as Jimi's little known son and daughter. This is one of the best Hendrix books Ive ever read. Thank you Sharon for sharing your story, it is a huge piece of the Jimi puzzle. I would love to see a pic of you and Jimi together, that would be awesome!I also enjoyed "Electric Gypsy" and Noel Redding's "Are you Experienced".. Jimi's life is too complex for one book but don't miss this one!!

Amazingly dull
This must be the worst ever biography written about Hendrix.

The author, a friend of the late great musician, wrote a bore of a book. The flaws of this book, in my opinion:

1) Hendrix's music: you'll get absolutely nothing about it here. No songwriting process, no anedoctes about how songs were created, no studio trickery andtechniques used or developed. Nothing about his guitars. Nothing.

2) Even Hendrix's death, a controversial topic, receive such a small treatment (in number of pages and facts and theories);

3) The last third of the book is almost UNREADABLE. Jimi is long gone and all you'll get in an endless story about the bickering and hatred between Hendrix's clan fighting for the money, with the author bashing and bashing Janie Hendrix.

This book has no substance at all, except for the writer describing London, Paris, whatever. Even the close moments of friendshipe between the author and Hendrix are layered useless and short of impact, due to the overall clumsiness of the book.

Highly avoidable.

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Product Description
Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : Terry Holladay, Ricky Berens, Sharon Lawrence, Chyler Leigh, Jared Boll, Davis Love Iii, Susan J. Helms, Brooke Ballentyne, James Lee Barrett, Charles Duke, John Sadri, Melendy Britt, Reid Flair, Jay Larranaga, Charles Robinson, Antywane Robinson, Deshaun Foster, Anthony Morrow, Brittany Robertson, Renneker Jenkins, Bobby Jones, Prairie Prince. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : Terry Holladay (née le 28 novembre 1955 à Charlotte en Caroline du Nord) est une joueuse de tennis américaine, professionnelle du milieu des années 1970 à 1987. À trois reprises, elle a atteint les huitièmes de finale en simple dans les tournois du Grand Chelem. Pendant sa carrière, Terry Holladay a remporté deux titres WTA en double dames, outre cinq finales perdues en simple. Aucun À droite du résultat, l'ultime adversaire Sous le résultat, la partenaire; à droite, l'ultime équipe adverse ...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more