Complete List Of The Jimi Hendrix Experience Band Members

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The power trio format found its ultimate expression through three young musicians who converged in London during the autumn of 1966 to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The band was assembled in London, England, in October 1966 with the help of former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, and consisted of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, drummer Mitch Mitchell, and bassist Noel Redding.

The Experience was active for just under three years, a run which resulted in three successful studio albums and four UK top 10 singles. Their albums Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967), and Electric Ladyland (1968) have all appeared high in rankings of rock history, including editions of Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and Hendrix was inducted individually into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

The original lineup remained intact from October 1966 until June 1969. After the band’s Denver Pop Festival performance on June 29, bassist Noel Redding departed, bringing an end to one of rock’s greatest trios. The original trio disbanded in mid-1969, though Hendrix later performed with a re-formed Jimi Hendrix Experience featuring Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox in 1970.

The three studio albums achieved significant commercial success, with Electric Ladyland reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The band’s innovative fusion of rock, blues, and psychedelia established them as one of the most influential groups in rock history.

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who served as the band’s guitarist, primary songwriter, and lead vocalist. Hendrix began playing guitar at age 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the US Army, but was discharged the following year.

Following his military service, he worked as a sideman on the chitlin circuit, backing artists including the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, and Curtis Knight. Hendrix moved to England in September 1966, after bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals became his manager.

Within months, he had formed his band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience with its rhythm section consisting of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, and achieved four UK top ten hits during the original trio’s run: “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” and “All Along the Watchtower.”

With The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he recorded the three studio albums that established him as one of the most innovative guitarists in rock history. Are You Experienced was released in 1967, followed by Axis: Bold as Love later that year in the UK (and in early 1968 in the US), and Electric Ladyland in 1968.

His third and final studio album with the original Experience, Electric Ladyland (1968), became his most commercially successful release and his only number one album on the US Billboard 200 chart. One of the world’s highest-paid rock musicians by 1969, Hendrix headlined Woodstock that year with the expanded Gypsy Sun and Rainbows lineup, then the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 with Mitchell and Billy Cox.

Hendrix’s contributions to The Experience extended beyond guitar playing to songwriting and production. He wrote most of the band’s original material and was heavily involved in the studio production of their albums. His innovative use of feedback, distortion, and various effects pedals revolutionized electric guitar playing and influenced countless musicians.

He died in London from asphyxia after taking sleeping pills in September 1970, at the age of 27. Outside The Experience, Hendrix had worked extensively as a session musician and backing performer for numerous R&B artists throughout the early and mid-1960s, developing the skills and stage presence that would later make The Experience legendary.

Noel Redding

David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress. Redding was recruited for The Jimi Hendrix Experience in September 1966 even though his previous experience was primarily on lead guitar, not bass. He had recently auditioned for the Animals as a guitarist.

Jimi’s benefactor in England, Chas Chandler, had until recently been the bassist in the Animals. Redding agreed to give bass a try, and on September 29, 1966, after jamming on “Hey Joe” and “Have Mercy on Me Baby,” Jimi asked Noel to join his band.

Redding remained with The Experience from its formation in October 1966 through June 1969, playing on all three studio albums. With the group, he recorded three landmark albums: Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland. Redding also wrote and sang lead on two songs, “She’s So Fine” from Axis: Bold as Love and “Little Miss Strange” from Electric Ladyland.

His playing style was distinguished by the use of a pick, a mid-range “trebly” sound, and in later years the use of fuzz and distortion effects through overdriven Sunn amps. On Are You Experienced, Redding established the bass lines that became integral to The Experience’s sound, providing the rhythmic foundation for Hendrix’s experimental guitar work and Mitchell’s jazz-influenced drumming.

His contributions to Axis: Bold as Love included both bass playing and songwriting, with his compositions adding variety to the album’s psychedelic rock sound. On Electric Ladyland, tensions within the band began affecting the recording process. By late 1967, Hendrix was an international star, but Redding and Hendrix were barely on speaking terms.

Redding did not play bass on “All Along the Watchtower,” where Hendrix played the instrument himself, or on “Voodoo Chile,” which featured Jack Casady on bass. The last straw came at the Denver Pop Festival when Hendrix discussed enlarging the band without consulting Redding or drummer Mitch Mitchell. Redding recalled confronting Hendrix after the performance, saying goodbye, and flying back to London.

After leaving The Experience in June 1969, Redding pursued various musical projects. He had formed Fat Mattress while still in The Experience, and the band released their self-titled debut album in 1969. Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 and the dissolution of Fat Mattress in 1970, Redding formed the short-lived group Road in the United States, which released the self-titled album Road before he relocated to Clonakilty, Ireland, in 1972.

There he formed the Noel Redding Band with former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell, with whom he released two albums. Although by the 1980s Redding had largely removed himself from the music business, he would later perform around his new hometown with wife Carol Appleby. Redding died at his home in Ireland on May 11, 2003, at age 57.

Mitch Mitchell

John Graham “Mitch” Mitchell (9 July 1946 – 12 November 2008) was an English drummer and child actor, best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Mitchell joined The Jimi Hendrix Experience in October 1966, remained through the original trio’s final performance in 1969, and returned for the re-formed Experience in 1970.

Mitchell auditioned for the Jimi Hendrix Experience in October 1966. A widely repeated account says he won the position over Aynsley Dunbar following a coin toss. Mitchell’s fast, driving, jazz-influenced playing meshed well with Hendrix’s open-ended, revolutionary approach to the electric guitar.

Before joining The Experience, Mitchell had established himself in the London music scene. As a 13-year-old, he had a leading role in the British film Bottoms Up (1960) with Jimmy Edwards. As a teenager he starred in a children’s television programme, Jennings at School.

From December 1965 until October 1966, Mitchell was the drummer of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, appearing on their 1966 album Sweet Things. His jazz background and training proved essential to The Experience’s sound, as his playing style incorporated elements that were uncommon in rock drumming at the time.

Mitchell played on all three Jimi Hendrix Experience studio albums and was integral to their sound. Those recordings were Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (released in 1967 in the UK and 1968 in the US), and Electric Ladyland (1968). On Are You Experienced, Mitchell’s drumming provided both rhythmic support and melodic counterpoint to Hendrix’s guitar work, establishing the template for the band’s approach.

His contributions to Axis: Bold as Love showcased his ability to adapt his playing to various musical styles within the album’s diverse range of songs. On Electric Ladyland, Mitchell’s drumming reached its peak complexity and innovation within The Experience, demonstrating his mastery of both rock power and jazz subtlety.

With the original Experience, Mitchell performed at legendary venues and festivals including the Monterey Pop Festival. He also played behind Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969 and the Isle of Wight in 1970, but those later appearances featured different lineups. His live performances with The Experience became the standard for rock drumming virtuosity.

He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2016, Mitchell was ranked number 8 in Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time”. After The Experience disbanded in 1969, Mitchell continued working with Hendrix in various configurations until the guitarist’s death in 1970.

After Hendrix’s death, Mitchell finished production work with engineer Eddie Kramer on incomplete Hendrix recordings, resulting in the releases The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge. Mitchell died in Portland, Oregon on November 12, 2008, at age 62.

Billy Cox

Billy Cox became the bassist in the re-formed Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1970, joining Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell for the guitarist’s final concert tours. Cox and Hendrix had known each other since their military service at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and their friendship preceded the international success of the original Experience.

Hendrix renewed that musical partnership in 1969, bringing Cox to New York for studio sessions while tensions with Noel Redding continued. After Redding left the original trio, Cox played alongside Hendrix and Mitchell in the larger Gypsy Sun and Rainbows ensemble at Woodstock in August 1969. This was a separate project from the original Experience.

At the end of 1969 and beginning of 1970, Cox also recorded and performed with Hendrix and drummer Buddy Miles as the Band of Gypsys. Their concerts at New York’s Fillmore East produced the live album Band of Gypsys, released in March 1970. When Hendrix subsequently reunited with Mitch Mitchell, Cox remained on bass.

The new Jimi Hendrix Experience performed its first concert at the Los Angeles Forum on April 25, 1970. The trio toured throughout the spring and summer and performed at the Isle of Wight Festival shortly before Hendrix’s death that September. Cox also contributed bass to Hendrix’s final studio recordings, several of which appeared on posthumous albums including The Cry of Love.

Although Cox did not play on the three original Jimi Hendrix Experience studio albums, his membership in the 1970 Experience lineup makes him an essential part of the band’s complete history.