Born in Seattle, Washington, Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division; he was granted an honorable discharge the following year. Soon afterward, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and began playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit, earning a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. He then played with Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after being discovered by Linda Keith, who in turn interested bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals in becoming his first manager. Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary". He achieved fame in the U.S. after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and in 1968 his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, reached number one in the U.S.; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his first and only number one album. The world's highest-paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.
Hendrix was inspired musically by American rock and roll and electric blues. He favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in utilizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amplifier feedback. He helped to popularize the use of a wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, and was the first artist to use stereophonic phasing effects in music recordings. Holly George-Warren of Rolling Stone commented: "Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before him had experimented with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began."
Hendrix was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967, readers of Melody Maker voted him the Pop Musician of the Year, and in 1968, Rolling Stone declared him the Performer of the Year. Disc and Music Echo honored him with the World Top Musician of 1969 and in 1970, Guitar Player named him the Rock Guitarist of the Year. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked the band's three studio albums, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland, among the 100 greatest albums of all time, and they ranked Hendrix as the greatest guitarist and the sixth greatest artist of all time.
Astro Man
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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A little boy inside a dream just the other day
His mind fell out of his face and the wind blew it away
A hand came out and happened to pin that bag on his chest
It said get out there man and a do your best
And he's called the astro man
That old faggot superman
Ever could
Oh, they call him cosmic nut
And he's twice as dense as Donald Duck
And he'll try his best to screw you up
The rest of your mind
Oh, look out, my guitars
Astro man, flyin' across the sky
Two times higher than that old faggot superman
Ever, ever could
Ever could
There he goes, there he goes
Where he stops, no one knows
There he goes, there he goes, uh
He's tryin' to, tryin' to blow out the rest of your mind
He's gonna blow out the rest of your mind
Talkin' about lookin' for peace of mind
Astro man will leave it in pieces
Have you put our trouble behind him
Make you fly around in pieces
Yeah, blow out the rest of your mind
Astro man will blow out the rest of your mind
He's gonna blow out the rest of your mind
Oh oh
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Blow out the rest of of your mind
The song "Astro Man" by Jimi Hendrix tells the story of a little boy who dreams about a character named Astro Man. In the dream, the boy's mind falls out of his face and a hand appears to pin a bag on his chest with the message to "get out there man and do your best." The boy awakens to a world where Astro Man is real and he's flying higher than Superman could ever go. Astro Man is not your average superhero, however. He is referred to as a cosmic nut and is twice as dense as Donald Duck. He may even try his best to screw you up, blowing out the rest of your mind.
The lyrics are open to interpretation, but it's possible that they reflect Hendrix's own struggles with fame and the pressure to constantly perform and exceed expectations. The little boy in the dream represents an innocent and imaginative part of himself, while Astro Man is the larger-than-life persona that he has become. Astro Man may symbolize the expectations and demands that come with fame, while the lines about blowing out your mind may reflect the negative effects that drugs and alcohol had on Hendrix's mental state. Overall, "Astro Man" is a psychedelic journey through the mind of Jimi Hendrix, and perhaps a reflection on the highs and lows of his own life and career.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I come to save the day
A boy had a dream where he was given a mission to do his best.
A little boy inside a dream just the other day
The singer of the song is a boy who dreamed of becoming a hero.
His mind fell out of his face and the wind blew it away
The boy becomes overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas that he can't control and loses them.
A hand came out and happened to pin that bag on his chest
A guiding force comes along and gives the boy a purpose.
It said get out there man and a do your best
The guiding force encourages the boy to take action and make the most of his opportunity.
And he's called the astro man
The boy becomes known as Astro Man, the hero he dreamed of being.
And he's flyin' higher than That old faggot superman Ever could
Astro Man soars above Superman in his abilities.
Oh, they call him cosmic nut And he's twice as dense as Donald Duck And he'll try his best to screw you up The rest of your mind
Astro Man is seen as crazy and unpredictable, and has the potential to disrupt people's thoughts and beliefs.
Oh, look out, my guitars
The artist warns others that the music (and message) of the song will be powerful.
Astro man, flyin' across the sky Two times higher than that old faggot superman Ever, ever could Ever could
Astro Man continues to exceed Superman's capabilities.
There he goes, there he goes Where he stops, no one knows There he goes, there he goes, uh He's tryin' to, tryin' to blow out the rest of your mind He's gonna blow out the rest of your mind
Astro Man is unpredictable and has the power to disrupt people's thinking and beliefs.
Talkin' about lookin' for peace of mind Astro man will leave it in pieces Have you put our trouble behind him Make you fly around in pieces Yeah, blow out the rest of your mind Astro man will blow out the rest of your mind He's gonna blow out the rest of your mind Oh oh Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Blow out the rest of of your mind
Astro Man has the power to change people's thinking and make them feel free, but it comes at the cost of breaking down old beliefs and habits.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMI HENDRIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Devin Kennedy
on Spanish Castle Magic (alternate take)
Is this really the alternete take