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.
Born under a Bad Sing
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck
Wouldn't have no luck at all
Bad luck and trouble
Been my only friend
I've been down ever since I was ten
Born under a bad sign
Been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for real bad luck
If it wasn't for real bad luck
I wouldn't have no luck at all
The song "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Jimi Hendrix, which was also performed by Albert King, is about a person who has had a tough life since they were born. The first stanza "Born under a bad sign, been down since I began to crawl," indicates that the person has had issues in their life from the very beginning. They have had a string of bad luck that has followed them throughout their life, which has affected their ability to succeed in life. The person acknowledges that their only friend is bad luck and trouble, and they have been down since they were child. This is a perfect example of how our childhood and early-life experiences can impact our adulthood and future.
The song's chorus is a bit of a play on words, "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all." Here, the person is acknowledging that their life has been a rollercoaster, and without their bad luck, they would not have any luck at all. The song is a reminder to listeners that it is possible to experience difficult times, but it's how we react to them that matters. Whether we choose to overcome them and emerge stronger on the other side, or allow them to define us, will determine the course of our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Born under a bad sign
I was born with the curse of bad luck and misfortune
Been down since I began to crawl
I have been struggling with bad luck since my early days
If it wasn't for bad luck
Without the bad luck, I would not have any luck at all
Wouldn't have no luck at all
I would have absolutely no luck or success without the bad luck that I have been experiencing
Bad luck and trouble
Trouble and misfortune have always been my constant companions
Been my only friend
I have come to accept and rely on bad luck and trouble as my only companions
I've been down ever since I was ten
My bad luck started at a very young age and I have been struggling with it ever since
If it wasn't for real bad luck
Without the extreme misfortune that I have faced, I would not have any luck or success at all
I wouldn't have no luck at all
My luck would be non-existent without the real bad luck that I have endured
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOOKER T. JONES, WILLIAM BELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Crasherxtreme
Are you kidding me. First, my ex got me this in CD for my birthday about when it was released. Maybe a few years later. But, I put it in and played the whole album over and over. I know this note for note. I've never seen anyone nail this with your precision. You not only have the notes down, you got jimi's feel. His emotion. Second: I consider myself a pretty fair guitar player. I learn by ear. And when I listen to your riffs, my ear is telling me, I will never be on your level. That's okay. Because I still enjoy playing. But I will get some licks if you keep this video up long enough. And thirdly, thank you. That was a pleasure.
Bradley Thompson
My thoughts exactly. I have heard this many many times. Dude got it down.
HeyHi0
Jimi had speed but didnt care about speed. Jimi had skill plus technique didnt care so much about it. Jimi had finesse...didnt care he made mistakes. Jimi had raw soul and just let it flow baby!
Daniel Ignacio Rosato
Well said m8
Gabriel Caldera
Exactly, music sweet music 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶
mark ellis
Jimmy was very high
Gabriel Caldera
Probably, but so's my buddy, and he ain't no Jimi 🤣🤣🤣
Chicken Twisties 22
It's those little mistakes that made it more musical imo
Victor Brown
This is one of my favorite songs by Jimi Hendrix- I know, William Bell wrote it. In recent years I've started watching people play his songs on Youtube and it gives me insight into how his fingers may have played the songs. Truthfully, it makes me appreciate him all the more- what a musician, what a feel he had. Plus it makes me appreciate his mind all that more because it was his mind that came up with how he played stuff. The man had so much soul. First heard him when I was about 15 and I was immediately hooked. I'm now 65 and he's still my favorite musician hands down. Sooner or later, I always go back to Jimi. His music is like an addiction; I have to have a dose and when I do, I'm good. Thanks so much for the cover a la Hendrix. Great job,
Musselchee
Among my family and friends I engulfed Jimi in isolation. At age, cough cough, for a long time I thought I was alone in my cosmic idolatry of The Master, times when I could never get enough. And its taken more years of digging around You Tube to begin to fully appreciate I am not alone in my pious adulation of his skills to the near exclusion of all others. Latterly, I have noticed the Jimi Hendrix: Blues album is finally getting an airing. It's consigned my aged cassette of this album to the museum. Good to hear and see others do justice to his notes. Now, if only I can get my friends and siblings to take note.