Jimi Hendrix‘s relationship with Little Richard dates back to his childhood. Before Hendrix became a musician himself, he wanted to model his performance skills after the famed rock ‘n’ roll pioneer.
Little Richard became a preacher after becoming a famous singer
In the 1950s, Little Richard became one of the hottest rock ‘n’ roll artists in the country thanks to hit songs like “Tutti Frutti” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” By the end of the decade, however, Richard joined the chorus of people around the country who viewed rock ‘n’ roll as the music of the devil, and turned his life to God.
Philip Norman’s 2020 book Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix chronicled when Jimi Hendrix first experienced Little Richard in person after Richard decided to pivot his career to the church.
“It was to the church that [Jimi Hendrix] owed his first sight of a figure that would loom large in his future career,” Norman wrote. “One day, [Jimi’s brother] Leon came home in great excitement to report having seen Little Richard downtown, getting out of a long black limousine.”
“Recently his fans in the US and Europe had been stunned by an announcement that he was quitting show business to enter church ministry,” Norman continued. “It turned out that Richard had an aunt living in the Central District who worshipped at the Baptist Pentecostal church, and had come to preach there as a warm-up for his new career.”
Jimi Hendrix and his brother went to see Little Richard preach
Jimi’s brother Leon recounted when he and his brother — who went by Buster at the time — went to go see Little Richard preach.
“Buster and I went to hear his sermon twice,” Leon recalled. “We looked the best we could, in white shirts that were grey, odd socks, shoestrings that were broken and we had to tie together. The entire church hung on his every word as he pranced about the pulpit, hooting and hollering about the almighty power of the Lord.”
“He explained that he had recently had a vivid dream in which a diamond-encrusted airplane he was flying in crashed to the ground,” Leon continued. “It was clear as day to him that God was telling him he needed to become a preacher.”
Even though Richard wasn’t in front of the crowd as a musician, Hendrix still absorbed Richard’s showmanship and ability to capture an audience.
Jimi Hendrix played backup guitar for Little Richard when he returned to music
In the early 1960s, Little Richard began playing secular music again and transitioned back to the world of rock ‘n’ roll.
Throughout the early and mid-1960s, Jimi Hendrix began working as a professional musician playing backup guitar for acts including Ike and Tina Turner and The Isley Brothers. In 1965, he became a part of Little Richard’s band. But after a while, Richard had to fire Hendrix because he was upstaging the singer with his guitar playing.
Hendrix went on to form his own band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. They released three hit albums in 1967 and 1968 — Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland. Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27.
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