WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:04.440 Hudson River Radio dot com. It beats listening to nothing. 2 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:10.119 Oh my godness, it's being Frank right where the only 3 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:16.079 way to be is Frank. Hello everyone, and welcome to 4 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:19.519 being Frank. We're the only way to be is Frank. 5 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.079 I'm your host, FRANKL. Bona, and i'd like to thank 6 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:24.239 you for joining us on what we like to call 7 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.679 the Intelligent Conversation Podcast, where no conversation is out of 8 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:32.640 bounds and all points of view are welcome. Those who 9 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:35.520 are familiar with our program know that we record live 10 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.000 to tape, and I give you the date so you 11 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:43.119 have some context and relevance. It is the twelfth of November. 12 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:45.560 You know, it's hard to believe that within about two 13 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:49.000 weeks of this taping, the legendary Jimmy Hendrix would have 14 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.960 turned eighty three. Like so many other influential people that 15 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:55.759 died young, the image that lives in our minds is 16 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:59.119 of a dynamic young man, So it might be difficult 17 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.840 to imagine what he might have accomplished in where he 18 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:06.560 might be today fifty five years after his untimely and 19 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:10.200 tragic death. Well, we welcome back a man who has 20 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.000 dedicated much of his adult life to discovering, sharing, and 21 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.799 documenting the man who became a legend. Over the course 22 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:20.280 of the last thirty years, he has created a fourteen 23 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:23.560 part series that attempts to capture the man and the 24 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.799 myth by interviewing some of the greatest names in music. 25 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.079 He also has a big birthday bash planned at Sony 26 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:33.480 Hall to celebrate Jimmy's birthday, as he's done many times 27 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.280 in the past. Here once again to join us from 28 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:40.799 Intelligent Conversation is mister David Kramer. David, thanks joining us 29 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:42.480 once again. It's great to see you. 30 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:46.120 Good to see you, Frank David. 31 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:48.040 As mentioned, you've been on before, but it's been about 32 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:50.359 a year, so let's kind of refresh people's memories a 33 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:53.239 little bit that you know, what led you to this 34 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:58.000 point and the beginnings of this whole project with Jimmy Hendrix. 35 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:01.319 How did you get there? How did the project start? 36 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:06.439 You mean, yeah, what brought you to and why Jimmy Hendrix? 37 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:08.919 And you said, we devoted thirty years, most of your 38 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.879 adult life to this man. What is it that attracted 39 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:13.919 to you this is project in the first place. 40 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:20.400 Okay, that's a good question. I have a very unconventional answer, 41 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:26.280 but uh, what happened was, uh I got into computer graphics. 42 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:31.719 I started working in television, and computer graphics was a 43 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:36.560 brand new field in the in the early eighties, so 44 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:41.560 I did that. And I always loved Jimmy Hendricks music, 45 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:47.879 and I thought, if he was still alive, he would 46 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:51.759 be doing the most incredible music videos on MTV, because 47 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:57.960 that's what was happening at that time. And I started 48 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:01.120 doing images of hendricks graphics because that was my job 49 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:04.520 doing graphics for television. So they started doing some images 50 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:08.120 of Handricks. And every time I put together my demo 51 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:12.240 tape with my graphics, I'd use Hendricks music because it 52 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:16.800 just seemed so cutting edge his music that it just 53 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:22.560 went perfectly with the graphics. And then there were these 54 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:26.639 guys that were doing a they were trying to do 55 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:34.800 MTV on New Jersey cable MTV version, so they knew 56 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:39.280 about me. Somebody told them about me, so they approached 57 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.400 me and asked me if I would do graphics for 58 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:45.879 their show. They said they were trying to get a 59 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:51.159 budget and if they did that, I would be the 60 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.360 art director and if I could just do a couple 61 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.280 of things on spec, then they'd have that to pitch 62 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:03.199 to some potential investors. So I did a few images 63 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:08.479 of Hendricks. This is like later on towards the I 64 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:11.840 guess mid to late eighties. I did some images of 65 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:16.360 Hendricks with music and a few different things, some bumpers 66 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.720 and teases coming up next, stay tuned, that kind of thing. 67 00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:25.240 And then I invited them over to the to the 68 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.360 production house I was working at and showed them and 69 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.560 they were blown away and they said this is great. 70 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.120 And I said, okay, well, if you get the deal, 71 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:42.160 let me know. And I guess they wanted to take 72 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:44.480 some of it with them, but I wouldn't let them. 73 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.279 I said, you know, you could bring your potential investors 74 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:51.279 here to see it, because I got as an artist 75 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:55.480 people always asking me to do free stuff. Doe. 76 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:57.639 That never happens to me as a photographer. Would you 77 00:04:57.680 --> 00:04:59.519 like to come to our party? You bring in the camera. 78 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:08.360 So yeah, I've been burned before with that, you know. 79 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:12.079 Can I just take a copy of it? And then 80 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:14.959 you know, they end up taking it and using it 81 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.920 and they disappear. So I didn't give it to them. 82 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:21.600 I just let them see it and they loved it, 83 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:24.600 and then they tried to get investors. They weren't able, 84 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.839 they were unsuccessful in getting investors, so I was left 85 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:33.439 with these graphics and then I guess probably around eighty 86 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:40.079 nine ninety one, somewhere in there. I was sitting with 87 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:43.680 these graphics for about three years or something like that, 88 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:47.079 maybe two or three years, and I was happy with 89 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:50.480 the way they came out, so I said, you know, 90 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:52.399 I can't let this go to waste. They got to 91 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:57.959 do something with this. So I had just I had 92 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:01.839 just done a music video for my master's degree and 93 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:04.480 I won an Emmy Award, a College Emmy Award for it, 94 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:08.000 and it was premiered on MTV. Had a lot of graphics, 95 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:13.439 cutting edge stuff, and I started thinking about what's going 96 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.519 to be my next project. I gotta do something, you know, big, 97 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:18.959 because like I got an Emmy, so I gotta do 98 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:24.279 I gotta top that. So I started thinking about the 99 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:27.920 graphics I did of Hendricks, and I said, and I 100 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.519 kept thinking, these can't go to waste. I got to 101 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.240 do something with it. And that's how I came up 102 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.759 with the idea to do the documentary on Jimmy Hendricks 103 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:38.279 with David. 104 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:42.160 With that in mind, if you will, kind of humble beginnings, 105 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.560 I ask for lack of better words, you know, making 106 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:48.560 something out of out of well, not nothing, but something 107 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:54.160 that was repurposed, if you will. That became a thirty 108 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:56.800 year project and a continuing project, and we're going to 109 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.959 talk about that a little bit more detail. At that moment, 110 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.720 could you have it visions that it would grow to 111 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:05.319 fourteen parts? And I want to talk a little bit 112 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:07.519 about you. And as I mentioned in the preview, you 113 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.879 got to interview some of the greatest names, not only 114 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.519 rock and roll but in music. When you were crystallizing 115 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:18.120 the idea in your head, did you have any vision 116 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:18.439 of that? 117 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:23.040 No idea I thought. I thought at the beginning when 118 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:25.399 I started, I thought this would take a year or two, 119 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.399 a year or two and then I'll do another project. 120 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:32.399 But it just kept snowballing and growing and finding out 121 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:37.839 more information and then finding out different things, like he 122 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:43.519 was kidnapped and that his manager was was m I 123 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:48.519 six British Intelligence, and he stole all his money, and 124 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:50.720 it just kept I just kept finding out all this 125 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:54.279 controversial stuff. I just wanted to know more and more 126 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.720 and more, and I'd interview somebody and then they'd say, oh, 127 00:07:57.800 --> 00:07:59.959 did you interview so and so? Did you talk to 128 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:02.319 so and so I said no, and then they said, oh, 129 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:04.439 you got to talk to him, you got to talk 130 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:08.600 to her. And it just kept growing and growing and 131 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:15.920 and that's how it became this this multi year project. 132 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:18.439 I had no idea it was going to take this long. 133 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:21.959 But uh, like I said, the joys in the journey. 134 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:25.079 So I got to meet all my heroes and and 135 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:28.720 out of out of doing this project, that's how I 136 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:35.559 got into producing concert events. That just that just kind 137 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.120 of happened out of the out of meeting all these people. 138 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:43.120 Because I never said, oh I want to be a 139 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:48.120 concert promoter or produce events or anything. I just it 140 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:54.159 just kind of evolved like naturally organically, like everything with 141 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:55.000 this project. 142 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:57.559 Right, we're all going to talk about that in more 143 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.159 detail as our conversation continued. But you said something, and 144 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.600 it's on my list of questions too. As you continued 145 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:07.720 your research, so I said, I'm certainly not as extensive 146 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.559 as the thirty years you've done. But before every program, 147 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.399 I do my research, and of course I researched Jimmy 148 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:16.639 Hendrix and the first thing that surprised me is that's 149 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.159 not his true real name. His real name is Johnny 150 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.120 Johnny Allen Hendrix. So that was a surprise to me. 151 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.159 And you mentioned as you were going along you found 152 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:31.240 some outrageous like the Mi sixter thing and the kidnapping 153 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:34.480 and all the crazy tell us some of those stories. 154 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:36.679 What are some of the things that you found out 155 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:38.679 about Jimmy Hendricks that surprised you? 156 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.480 Sure? Well. The first thing that you mentioned his name 157 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:49.799 was changed. That's because when Jimmy was born, his father 158 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:56.120 was in the military and his mother was seeing a 159 00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:00.480 guy named Johnny because she didn't even know if Jimmy's 160 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:04.240 father would come back alive, so she started seeing this 161 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:08.960 guy named Johnny, and uh, that's how the Johnny name came. 162 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.639 She named him after this guy. And then when Al Hendricks, 163 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:18.279 Jimmy's real father came back from the military, he got 164 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:21.879 he got he got Johnny and changed the name back 165 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:27.720 legally to Jimmy James after him that Al Hendricks's real name, 166 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:31.919 first name is James, his middle name is al And 167 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:36.799 that's how that happened. And uh, let's. 168 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:39.080 See, what are so many other things you had that 169 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:42.080 pop up? I mean, you're talked even a little bit 170 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.000 about the man. I mean, we know about his his 171 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:49.159 as a guitar virtuoso, uh, cutting edge, et cetera. But 172 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.440 what about the person? Is there anything that you found 173 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:57.679 out within that that whole rock and roll mystique that 174 00:10:57.879 --> 00:10:59.200 what was Jimmy the man? 175 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:02.960 Like everybody loved him. Uh, he was a he was 176 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:06.639 a really good guy. He was he was kind of shy, 177 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.960 which I you know, which I learned about, which I 178 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.279 was surprised because of itself. 179 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:17.080 His stage performance is so outrageous that he was actually 180 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.519 a shy person. See, then I find that fascinating. 181 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:25.279 Yeah, his father was pretty uh strict and uh he 182 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:29.240 pretty much raised him and his brother by himself because 183 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:33.440 because Jimmy's mother left that's a whole other story. I 184 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:39.200 mean they they were big drinkers, the parents, the father 185 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.879 and he got the mother into drinking and it just 186 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:48.320 got a little abuse of the relationship, so she left 187 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:53.960 and then al Jimmy's father raised raised Jimmy, and he 188 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:59.480 was really strict and that's that's why Jimmy was so 189 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:03.399 and quiet because if he said the wrong thing, he 190 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:07.320 gets smacked in the head. So he was abused as 191 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:11.919 a child. So he's really shy and quiet, which I 192 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.519 found really surprising because, like you said, on stage, he's 193 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:16.240 pretty wild. 194 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:18.840 Well, do you think that was like an alter ego 195 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.320 away for him to express some things that might have 196 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:25.960 been you know, not trying to play Joe psychologists here, 197 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.399 but you know a lot of people, especially performers, you know, 198 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:30.879 there are a lot of when you meet them, and 199 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:34.519 I used to photograph on red carpets and some of 200 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.480 them are shy people when you actually meet them, but 201 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:40.840 yet they're public personas that take on a whole different 202 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:44.000 Do you think that's Could that have been a defense 203 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:48.919 mechanism or just another way to express things that were suppressed? 204 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:52.360 Yeah, it could have been. I mean he had a 205 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:57.519 really good sense of humor, and he was very funny. 206 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:01.639 He wasn't good It's weird because he wasn't good with 207 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.360 the crowd of people unless he's on stage. Wow, But 208 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.960 one on one with people, he was very engaging and 209 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:15.080 talkative and interesting and funny a few people. You know, 210 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.360 being around a few people, he could be like that, 211 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:22.159 but not more than a few, he'd be very quiet. 212 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:26.600 He wasn't comfortable going to parties too much, you know, 213 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.240 because she didn't like being around the whole crowd of 214 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.440 people unless he's on stage. 215 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:35.960 Yeah, Yeah, again kind of again contrary to the image 216 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.039 the rock and roll lifestyle, if you want to call 217 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:41.039 it that, the continual parties, and that was not really 218 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:41.840 what he was about. 219 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:46.039 Well, he liked the party, but usually with a girl 220 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:47.440 or two, I was gonna. 221 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:49.799 Say privately, not not in the outrageous sense. 222 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:53.720 But occasionally. I mean when he in nineteen sixty eight, 223 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.639 the Jimmy Hensick's Experience, rented a house in Benedict Canyon 224 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:04.480 in the Hollywood Hills, and uh there was a pool 225 00:14:04.519 --> 00:14:06.879 in the backyard and they'd have people over all the 226 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:11.440 time and they jam and and uh go swimming, and 227 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:16.480 uh they found he found out uh Cream was doing 228 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:22.960 their their farewell concert out in La a deep purple opening, 229 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:27.840 and he wanted to throw a party at the Benedict 230 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:31.320 Canyon house for them. So that was a pretty wild party. 231 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:34.200 All the all the musicians were there, and it was 232 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:38.159 pretty wild back then. Like all all the musicians back 233 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:42.120 then in the sixties, they all hung out, a lot 234 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:45.080 of them. It's like every weekend out there, and in 235 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:49.559 uh Los Angeles and San Francisco there were parties and 236 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:53.720 a lot of these musicians were there, so it was 237 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:54.480 pretty wild. 238 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.279 Well, you know, and that brings another question to my mind. 239 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:02.120 You know, many people often when they think of Jimmy, 240 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.519 they do think of the West coast. We spent a 241 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:07.360 lot of time on the East Coast, particularly in New Jersey. 242 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:12.159 And the Isley Brothers, if I remember correctly, had a 243 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:16.120 strong influence on him. Talk a little to that, David. 244 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:20.240 Yeah, that was before he became famous. He played in 245 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:25.919 a bunch of famous bands. The iSER Brothers was one 246 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:29.679 of them. He also played in the King Curtis Band, 247 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:36.200 Joey Dean and Starlighters, Curtis Knight and the Squires, and 248 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.440 the Little Richard Band, and that was in the mid 249 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:43.600 you know, sixty four to sixty six. He played with 250 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.960 all those bands, and the Isley Brothers were We're living 251 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.720 in t Neck, New Jersey, so he stayed at their 252 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:54.679 house there for a while and did gigs with them. 253 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:59.039 And there's a segment in the documentary about the Isley Brothers. 254 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:01.399 They did a segment on one of these famous bands 255 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:05.519 of notoriety that he played in, and it's it's really 256 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:10.200 interesting because they they a lot of them, tore the 257 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:13.320 uh Chitlin circuit down south and played in these little 258 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:17.519 clubs and stuff like that and uh that's where he 259 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:20.480 really got his chops and R and B chops and 260 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:24.120 learned how to be a showman, playing with people like 261 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:30.720 little Richard. He was a major showman, right what you know. 262 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.840 Again probably rhetorical question, but what do you think he 263 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:37.840 may have accomplished had he lived to today? What could 264 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:39.559 he have done? 265 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:43.960 And where we've done some amazing things. Uh, he was 266 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:51.200 he was starting to uh improvise more and and and 267 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:56.480 lean more towards jazz and jamming with people like Larry 268 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:03.320 Corriel and uh getting together with Miles Davis, you know, 269 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:09.880 and they jammed in Jimmy's apartment once with no microphones 270 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:13.240 or anything, just Smiles and Jimmy and they met a 271 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.079 few times and they planned on going into the studio, 272 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:23.519 but it never happened. A producer named Alan Douglas who 273 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.839 ran in the Hendricks of State from seventy four to 274 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:39.039 till about ninety ninety three, something like that, he was 275 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:43.160 he was involved with different jazz musicians, so he was 276 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:47.480 trying to hook Jimmy up with different jazz musicians. And 277 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.680 Larry Young, the keyboard player, great keyboard player, jazz keyboard player. 278 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:58.799 He came down and jammed with Hendricks a bunch of times, 279 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.799 and some of those things have been released on nine 280 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.519 to the Universe, which is the name of the album. 281 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:09.359 It's just all jams. It's probably out of print now, 282 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:13.160 but you might be able to find the bootlego or 283 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:15.160 get it on eBay or something like that. But just 284 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:20.279 some real cool jams on there. And yeah, I think 285 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:22.160 it would have been amazing what he could have done. 286 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:26.279 That's the sad part of the whole thing, because he 287 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:28.680 was only around for three and a half years. It's 288 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:33.480 Jimmy Hendrix and just he was just spreading his wings, 289 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.480 you know, he was just he was as a songwriter. 290 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:40.599 He was just starting to write incredible songs. He was 291 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:43.759 only twenty seven when he died, so we'll never know 292 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:46.200 what he could have done, but I'm sure it would 293 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.039 have been some amazing stuff. 294 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:53.480 What would you say his ultimate legacy is to musicians 295 00:18:53.559 --> 00:18:56.839 and to people who listen to him, Well, what is 296 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:58.680 he left behind in your mind? 297 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:09.440 The ability to play with that freedom to improvise and 298 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:15.680 play differently. Play the same song and it'll sound different 299 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:19.440 every time. He never played the song live the same 300 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:25.960 way twice. It was always different improvising and that was 301 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.359 The thing about his playing it was always it was 302 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:33.880 always different, and he'd stretch it out or shorten it, 303 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:38.599 or play a different style or on a different guitar. 304 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.519 They just always had a different, unique sound to it. 305 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:47.759 And that's what some of his contemporaries say, some of 306 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:53.119 the other musicians, they talk about how it was he 307 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:57.240 played with such freedom. So I would say that's the 308 00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:58.680 main word for him. 309 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:04.519 Freedom implies to certain restlessness. What would you say to 310 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:08.720 that like that, that constant improvisation, always reaching. What was 311 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.400 it about that and about the man where he connected 312 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:12.079 on that level. 313 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:16.839 I think a lot of it has to do with 314 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:23.079 his childhood. You know, he listened to all these records 315 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:27.720 when he was a kid from some of his relatives 316 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.839 and his father's blues collection, and he got turned onto 317 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:34.559 Muddy Waters and BB King and all those great blues 318 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:38.079 players when he was just a little infant. You know, 319 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:43.119 he'd hear all that stuff and then he just kept 320 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:46.680 hearing more, and just the way he grew up, he 321 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:49.640 wanted to get out of Seattle because of the way 322 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:52.720 he was grown up. You know, there's a lot of 323 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:57.160 abuse in the house, and he was basically pretty poor, 324 00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:02.319 so he didn't have, He didn't have a lot of clothes, 325 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:04.759 he didn't have a lot to eat. It was kind 326 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:08.759 of tough growing up the way he did. So he 327 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:12.440 wasn't happy in Seattle. So his big thing was he 328 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:16.960 wanted to leave. And when he was, when he was 329 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:21.039 pretty young, six seven, eight years old, he used to say, 330 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.519 when I get big, I'm going far far away. 331 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:27.519 And never he did leave, you know, and he did 332 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:31.200 literally and figuratively musically. I mean, he went far far 333 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.119 away and he never went never looked back. 334 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:36.319 Yeah, he said I'm never coming back, you know. He 335 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.720 he's a pretty sad kid. Yeah. 336 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:43.039 Interesting for such a dynamic and joyful. His performance is 337 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:46.359 always I think it's fair to describe him as joyful, 338 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:49.720 energetic certainly and in his own right because he enjoyed 339 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:51.799 playing so much it became obvious, I think. 340 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:55.039 And he wanted to make people happy with his music. 341 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.839 That was that was his thing. He wanted people to 342 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:02.359 be happy and he was. That's why everybody loved him 343 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.079 because he there was no drama with him, you know, 344 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:11.119 everybody loved him. All the musicians idolized him at first 345 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:14.039 before they they met him. When he went to England, 346 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:21.319 there were some musicians that were jealous and and uh, fearful, 347 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:26.079 like Eric Clapton was the guy in England. He said 348 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:30.480 that Clapton's God, and he pretty much was the top 349 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:33.839 guy for a while. But then when Hendricks came, he 350 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.680 scared the crap out of all these guys because they 351 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:39.839 were blown away by him when he came. 352 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.960 Yeah, and and and and still does. That's what's amazing, 353 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:47.519 you know, that's amazing. 354 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:50.440 Well, they got to know him, you know, once they 355 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:52.279 got to know him, they all loved him and they 356 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.400 all became friends with him. So he was just a 357 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:00.200 good guy. It's funny. And then everybody wanted to be 358 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:03.359 his friend. Women wanted to be his lovers, Guys wanted 359 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:07.039 to be his friend, and fans wanted to be his friend. 360 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:09.319 They just wanted to be around him because he's just 361 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:10.519 a really good guy. 362 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:16.359 Well, that's great segue into the documentary series. As you 363 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:21.240 mentioned fourteen parts that you have created. Tell us a 364 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:24.759 little bit about that. You know, what is the what 365 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:28.200 are you looking to accomplish with the documentary? Break down 366 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:32.119 a little bit why fourteen different episodes? Tell us a 367 00:23:32.119 --> 00:23:32.839 little bit about that. 368 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:38.759 I started doing interviews and I think, like I said before, 369 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:41.200 I thought it would take about a year or two. 370 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:44.119 I thought it would be like an hour and a 371 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:48.200 half two hour documentary. But then the more I found 372 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.160 out and the more people I interviewed, the more interesting 373 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:56.160 stories came up. The more it kept growing in different 374 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:59.759 parts and became a series because there's so much information 375 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:03.319 and it's so interesting. Is the childhood, like I was 376 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:08.359 just talking about, and then he leaves to go into 377 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:11.640 the military right after. You know, he dropped out of 378 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:16.680 high school to go in the military because, like I said, 379 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:21.279 he had a tough childhood. So he was having problems 380 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:24.640 at home and he didn't want to be there. And 381 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:28.680 when his mom died, he was like fourteen, and his 382 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.920 father wouldn't let him or his brother go to the funeral. 383 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:35.680 So he was really upset about that because the father 384 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:40.640 was so bitter that she left that he just didn't 385 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:43.839 even want the kids to have any contact with the mother. 386 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:51.279 So when she died, you know, some of the relatives 387 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:56.000 and aunts said that Jimmy just he went off. He 388 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:01.799 was just really upset about it, and he just wanted 389 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:04.599 to get the hell out of the house. So he 390 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.240 started he did a few things that he got arrested 391 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:11.640 for with a couple other people taking a car out 392 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:18.079 on a joy ride, stolen car, and uh he did 393 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:21.519 he did. Uh he got caught for shoplifting once. But 394 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:25.359 then he put the he put the uh close back 395 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:30.200 that he stole that he got caught. So he's just 396 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:33.000 he's just a good guy and so humble that you know, 397 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:35.759 he didn't want to do anything wrong, but uh, he 398 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.519 might have been looking for attention when he did that, 399 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:42.119 and he got it. So when he got arrested, the 400 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:44.720 judge said, either you go into the military or you're 401 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:49.079