Jimi Hendrix (Biography (Lerner Publications Company).) - Softcover

Markel, Rita J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0822596970 ISBN 13: 9780822596974

Publisher: Lerner Pub Group, 2001

Synopsis

Discusses the childhood, young adulthood, musical career, and death of Jimi Hendrix, considered by many to be the world's greatest rock-and-roll guitarist.

About this title

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. This new entry in the A & E Biography series profiles rock legend Hendrix, whose life was troubled right from the start. Abandoned by his mother and raised by his father, who was constantly on the move, an inarticulate Hendrix was only able to express himself through his music. Eventually, he became rock's foremost electric rock guitarist, but before that there were years of abject poverty and unstable relationships. The text plods a bit and never conveys a sense of the fire that must have been in Hendrix. Yet Markel is able to describe Hendrix's musical innovations--the electronic hoots and whistles of the guitars and amps to add to the sound--in a way that will make readers want to hear the music. She deals with his drug use in matter-of-fact fashion and describes his drug-related death without sensation. The extensive back matter--a bibliography, Web sites, and a selected discography--add to the book's usefulness. Illustrated with black-and-white photos. - Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-This straightforward account of the short life of this `60s guitarist is a step ahead of most book-report fodder. It begins with Hendrix's childhood and includes a balanced, nonjudgmental discussion of the musician's unstable mother that doesn't gloss over her apparently considerable flaws. Markel also recounts how Hendrix progressed from a backup band member for groups such as the Isley Brothers, the Supremes, and Little Richard to his truly innovative solo work and the Jimi Hendrix Experience band. The description of the sounds he achieved during his rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock conveys the effect of his playing to those who might not have heard his version of the anthem. The book concludes with Hendrix's death in 1970, which is related with a touch of drama. Black-and-white photos are of higher quality than the standard-issue, public-domain glossies that regularly adorn series biographies.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lerner Pub Group
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0822596970
• ISBN 13: 9780822596974
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 112