Widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century, Jimi Hendrix pioneered the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. Hendrix's innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new musical form. Since he was unable to read or write music, it is nothing short of remarkable that Jimi Hendrix's meteoric rise in music occurred in just four years. His musical language continues to influence a host of modern musicians, from George Clinton to Miles Davis, from Steve Vai to Jonny Lang.Jimi Hendrix, born Johnny Allen Hendrix at 10:15 a.m. on November 27, 1942, at King County Hospital in Seattle, he was later renamed James Marshall by his father, James "Al" Hendrix. Young Jimmy (as he was called at the time) became interested in music, drawing influence from virtually every major artist of the time, including BB King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Holly and Robert Johnson. Entirely self-taught, Jimmy's inability to read music made him focus even more on the music he listened to. Al noticed Jimmy's interest in the guitar, recalling, "I always asked Jimmy to clean the bedroom while I was gone." , and when I came home I would find a bag of broom straws at the foot of the bed and I would say to him, "Well, didn't you sweep the floor?" and he'd say, "Oh yeah," he would. But I found out later that he was sitting there at the end of the bed and strumming the broom as if he were playing a guitar. Al found an old one-string ukulele, which he gave to Jimmy to play, a vast improvement over the broom. In the summer of 1958, Al had bought Jimmy a five-dollar second-hand acoustic guitar from one of his friends. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy joined his first band, the Velvetones. After a three-month stint with the group, Jimmy left to pursue his own interests. The following summer, Al bought Jimmy his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S; Jimi used it when he joined the Rocking Kings. In 1961, Jimmy left home to enlist in the United States Army, and in November 1962, he earned the right to wear the "Screaming Eagles" patch for the Parachute Division. While stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Jimmy formed the King Casuals with bassist Billy Cox. After being discharged due to an injury sustained during a parachute jump, Jimmy began working as a session worker under the name Jimmy James..