1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: Jimmy Hendricks are insane. His last performance with the Experience 3 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: erupted into a riot. His drug habit often lured him 4 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: into the clutches of enemies, like the Mounties who arrested 5 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: him at the Canadian border, or the mafia wannabes who 6 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: kidnapped him and held him hostage in New York. He 7 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: was a natural escape artist who dodged childhood, poverty, prison time, 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: and even the United States Army, and he couldn't avoid 9 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: his faith with the Twenty Seventh Club. But before Jimmy 10 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: Hendrix haccumbed to his spot alongside Janis Joplin, Jim Morris, 11 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: and Ron Pigpen McKernan and the rest, Jimmy Hendrix made 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: great music. Unlike that music, I've played a few with 13 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: t top of the show that wasn't great music. That 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,199 Speaker 1: was a preset loop for my mellotron called ubib Web 15 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: forty MK two. I played you that loop because I 16 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: can't afford the rights to love theme to Romeo and 17 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: Juliet by Henry Mancini. And why would I play you 18 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: that specific slice of Wherefore Art thou Cheese. Could I 19 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: afford it? Because that was the number one song in 20 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: America on June twenty ninth, nineteen sixty nine. And that 21 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: was the day Jimmy Hendrix narrowly escaped a riot by 22 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: catching a ride in a U haul, a memory that 23 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: would serve him well just months later when he had 24 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: to escape the clutches. 25 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: Of a pair of kidnappers. 26 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: On this episode, riots, drug habits, escape artists, mafia wannabees, 27 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: and the kidnapping of Jimmy Hendricks. I'm Jake Brennan and 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: this is disgraceland. Jimmy Hendrix didn't know where the driver 29 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: was taking him. He rested against the back door of 30 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: the U haul. Nol Redding, his bass player, sat to 31 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: the left of him, This drummer Mitch Mitchell to his right, 32 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,359 Speaker 1: or was it the other way around. Jimmy couldn't see 33 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: shit in the dark. He could even tell if the 34 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: truck was moving right now. That's the thing about U hauls, 35 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: no windows, no direction. The three members of the Jimmy 36 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: Hendricks Experience were in their own little world inside the 37 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: U haul. 38 00:02:54,280 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 2: It was still silent outside. It was anarchy. A cloud 39 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 2: of tear gas swallowed the Denver Pop Festival. 40 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 1: Seventeen thousand people staggered through the haze, eyes burning, lungs tight, 41 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: drooling all over themselves like sick animals, and the cops 42 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: foolishly thought their plan would clear out the mile high stadium. 43 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: Big mistake. The gas loomed over the crowd. Nobody could 44 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: see three feet in front of them, thus nobody could 45 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: find an exit. Ten minutes ago, this was a mere riot. 46 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,519 Speaker 1: Now it was more like a war zone. And Jimmy 47 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: technically didn't start the drama. The hippies did that for him. 48 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: People rioted at the gates and demanded free tickets long 49 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: before Jimmy even showed up. 50 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 2: The crowd was in a mood. So was Jimmy. He 51 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 2: was tired, listless. 52 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: He'sed up just because he could make his fingers fly 53 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: across his s frepboard. It didn't mean he wasn't bored 54 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: with his own band. It was the summer of nineteen 55 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: sixty nine, and there wasn't much peace and love flowing 56 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: among Jimmy, Nol and Minch anymore. The Jimmy Hendricks experience 57 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: was fresh out of good vibes. Jimmy's stage presence underlined 58 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: this fact. The band tore into Voodoo Child, that white, 59 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: hot bluesy bolt of lightning, moult lava psychedelia streaming from 60 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: jimmy six string. Not today today, It was Jimmy's battle cry. 61 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: They're gonna make a lot of money and buy this town. 62 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 2: He sang. 63 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: Wait, that wasn't anything near the actual words of the song. 64 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: It was a mighty fine fuck you to no one 65 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: in particular, but Denver took it personally, and Jimmie kept 66 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: it up. Gonna buy this town and put it all 67 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: in my shoe, he sang. And that really would the 68 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: crowd up. Then came the kicker. This is the last 69 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: gig will ever be playing together, Jimmy announced. It was 70 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:53,239 Speaker 1: like he dropped a bomb. Fans raged, they threw themselves 71 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: forward and started climbing up the sides of the stage. 72 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: And that's all the cops needed to see. And they 73 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: brought up the tear gas canisters into the crowd like 74 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,840 Speaker 1: free t shirts. Rebels began to drop like flies. It 75 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: was an amusing sight for Jimmy in his bitter mood. 76 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: We see some tear gas. That's the sign of the 77 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: Third World War, he said into the microphone. The scene 78 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 1: was a joke to Jimmy until it wasn't funny anymore. 79 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: The gas wafted in the band's direction. The cloud flooded 80 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: the stage. 81 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 2: There was no time to think. 82 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: The trio dropped their gear and rushed backstage. They needed 83 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: to get the hell out of there, but so did 84 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: seventeen thousand other people. The crowd bottlenecked at the exits, 85 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: stumbled over each other, swarming in circles. Making an exit 86 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: alongside all those people wasn't an option. There was only 87 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: one escape plan, climb into the back of the U 88 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: haul and plow through them inch by inch. So here 89 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: Jimmy Hendricks was nosing through a crowd in the darkness 90 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: slow that's crosstown traffic. 91 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 2: Only thin metal walls separated. 92 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: The band and from the bedroom outside. The tear gas 93 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: wasn't clearing anything. One fan vaulted himself onto the roof 94 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: just to stick his heead above the clouds. And then 95 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: another and another, and Jimmy could hear the roof start 96 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: to crackle in dent from above. People were getting wise, 97 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: and they suspected Jimmy was in the U haul. Jimmy, 98 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: that jackass who just mocked them, Who said he was 99 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: going to buy their town and shove it in his shoe. 100 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: He was leaving in a truck full of clean air. 101 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: Fans beat on the sides of the U haul. The 102 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: walls began to buckle, and Jimmy gritted his teeth. He 103 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,039 Speaker 1: needed to get the fuck out of here in more 104 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: ways than one. He needed to get away from the 105 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: fans who said they loved him but didn't really, the 106 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: same ones who wanted to hear the same four songs 107 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: over and over again. He needed to get away from 108 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: the bandmates that he couldn't jive with anymore. 109 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 2: Noel was a prick. 110 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: To be fair, Jimmy was a prick right back. Midge 111 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: kept out of the way, but looked like a coward 112 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: in the process. Jimmy was playing sick of the experience 113 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: of being in the experience. The band had done what 114 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: they set out to do. They rewrote the rule book 115 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: for rock and roll, and then they lit it on fire, along. 116 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 2: With one of Jimmy's guitars. 117 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: Three mind blowing albums in under eighteen months, and their 118 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: latest record, Electric Ladyland, was a double LP, and it 119 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: shot to number one on the Billboard two hundred instantly 120 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: that just didn't happen with double albums. But Jimmy Hendrix 121 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: made something beyond records. He made revelations, divine experiences that 122 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: invented new ways to make a guitar sing and scream. 123 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: The promotional posters didn't call him Dylan Clapton and James 124 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: Brown all in one for nothing. The Jimmy Hendricks experience 125 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: was a snapshot of rock and roll history that no 126 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: one would be able to bury or forget. And that 127 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: was the issue. Everyone was holding on to, that snapshot, 128 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: treating Jimmy and his music like static, one dimensional beings. 129 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: There was nothing one dimensional about Jimmy Hendrix. He was 130 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: living inside of a kaleidoscope, dripping with intergalactic sounds and 131 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: colors that bled into every aspect of his being. His 132 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: playing was fast, fuzzy, textured, so far out. Jimmy wanted 133 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: to flow, but no one would let him. Everything was 134 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: now rigid. Play these songs, go on this tour, and 135 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,679 Speaker 1: do these interviews, make these political statements or don't, depending 136 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: on who you're okay with. Pissing off, even setting his 137 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: guitar on fire, felt wrote and uninspired. These days, the 138 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 1: truck barely moving forward reminded Jimmy of that reality. He 139 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: would never move forward with the experience. He would be 140 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: stuck at a crawl at best when he wanted to 141 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: sprint somewhere. Slow is nowhere fast, And Jimmy didn't work 142 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: this hard to go nowhere. Drugs moved him when his 143 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: career couldn't. It started as a practical house taking cheap 144 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 1: and phetamines to lot more hours practicing and playing. 145 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 2: As a young. 146 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: Man, Jimmy rarely had the cash for grass, and smoking 147 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,199 Speaker 1: mellowed him out anyway. Speed was the way to go. 148 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,560 Speaker 1: Speed didn't make you dumb, It just made you go. 149 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: With enough red devils, Jimmy could buldoze through a set, 150 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: rushed to a studio, and still have the stamina for 151 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: a recording session in the wee hours of the morning 152 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: when the rates were cheaper. But man cannot survive on 153 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: speed alone. Not in London, not in Manhattan, neither, and 154 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: Jimmy paid his drug dues in both cities. 155 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:36,439 Speaker 2: His taste expanded. 156 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: Pop was good, hashish was great, and heroin could be 157 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: a bitch, but that never stopped him from snorting summer 158 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: shooting it up. Cocaine was powdered lightning and LSD. Those 159 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: seductive little tabs. 160 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 2: They made him superhuman. 161 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: Jimmy could chop down mountains with a little acid on 162 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: his tongue. He could seduce the sky, hold it, kiss it, 163 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: and then puncture it with whatever jagged new riff entered 164 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,959 Speaker 1: his mind. When Jimmy Hendricks needed to escape, there was 165 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,319 Speaker 1: a chemical for that, and it was around somewhere. But 166 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: the company he kept, Jimmy didn't have to look far. 167 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: All he had to do was to ask the right person. 168 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 1: When Jimmy Hendricks did eventually ask the right person, it 169 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: was otherworldly. The warm glow of euphorias spread across his body. 170 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: He took slow, deep breaths in hell, start us, exhale, ashes, 171 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: purge the poison. 172 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 2: Just be man. Jimmy had to just be right now. 173 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:04,079 Speaker 2: He was too doped up. 174 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: To do anything more than sit in space out. His 175 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: eyelids were clamped shut and his mouth dry as cotton. 176 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: His skin flushed with color. He poured all his energy 177 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: into forcing one eye open. Something shifted in front of him, 178 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: strange beings, amorphous blobs with mouths and noses. With those hands, 179 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: Jimmy couldn't tell. 180 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 2: He shrugged off the vision. His imagination had dreamt up 181 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 2: worse things before. 182 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: He slumped back into his chair with another deep exhile, 183 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: and then he pictured himself melting into the high and 184 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:39,679 Speaker 1: dissolving into the dream. 185 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 2: He's awake? What who said that? 186 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: The voice disturbed Jimmy's perfect high. He brought his head 187 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: upright and forced both eyes open this time, and those 188 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: amorphous blobs sprouted arms and legs, and their faces slowly 189 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: came into focus. Were those things actual? 190 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 2: Peo? Real people? 191 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: Jimmy's eyes darted around the room, searching for other details 192 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:06,680 Speaker 1: of the clues. 193 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 2: Shit, those men. 194 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: Were real, real as the straps that kept them tied 195 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: to his chair. Oh no, no, no, no, no, it 196 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: couldn't be, Jimmy jostled around in the chair. It's legs 197 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: scuffed the bare hardwood floor. There was no other furniture, 198 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: nothing to knock go over, and he used to his advantage. 199 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: Not a potential weapon in sight. It was just the 200 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: three of them, Jimmy and the two goons. One looked 201 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 1: amused and the other just scowled. Jimmy recognized these guys. 202 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: There was something hungry about the look in their eyes, animalistic. 203 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: Even he knew they're glare from somewhere. But where Not 204 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: at a show, not in the studio at Salvation. Yes, 205 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:57,199 Speaker 1: he'd met them in Manhattan after a jam session. Jimmy 206 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:04,559 Speaker 1: Hendricks found his own personal hell at Salvation. I'm telling you, man, 207 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: that's him. No way, Jimmy Hendrick doesn't just hang out 208 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: in public like a regular guy. The two goons bickered 209 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: at the corner of the bar. One was lanky s 210 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: felt as a gazelle, and the other was more stout 211 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: with ruddy cheeks. Both of them looked ready to fight 212 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: and better yet, ready to hustle. 213 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 2: For a few extra dollars. 214 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: And they came to the Salvation nightclub in Greenwich Village 215 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:30,319 Speaker 1: after work on weeknights to let off a little steam. 216 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: The stout one always got testy when they went boozing together, 217 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,199 Speaker 1: blame it on the stiff pores from their favorite barcep. 218 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,439 Speaker 1: But tonight the stout man kept his temper in check 219 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: because his friend might just have a point. It was 220 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 1: fall nineteen sixty nine. Woodstock was a few weeks in 221 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: the rear view, but Jimmy's rifts were still ringing. In 222 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: America's years, Everyone and the brother knew about Jimmy Sunrise set, 223 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: which meant everyone and their brother knew what Jimmy did 224 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 1: to the national anthem, and to some addition, was heresy. 225 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: Anothers thought it was heroic, a slice of ultimate patriotism. 226 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: But no matter what you thought, one thing was for sure. 227 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: Jimmy Hendrix was hot. Shit. You think a regular guy 228 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: dresses like that. The tall goot jerked his thumb in 229 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: the direction of the man drinking by himself in a 230 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: corner when there's a butterfly at the bar. You notice 231 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: the stranger was decked out in an old British military jacket. 232 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: His afro was teased to the heavens. Scarves flowed down 233 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: the front of his shirt, which from this angle looked 234 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: like a blouse. The stout one peeked over his shoulder 235 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: and sighed in resignation. You're right, dudes, in a blouse. 236 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: Only rock stars wear blouses. Jimmy Hendrix was in the 237 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: corner of the bar, His skin was clammy and the 238 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: blouse clung to his back like glue. And Jimmy wasn't 239 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: here for the drinks, he was here for the drugs. Normally, 240 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: world class music didn't have to roam the streets looking 241 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: for a fix. 242 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 2: They had people to keep. 243 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: Them high and happy at all hours of the day. 244 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: But Jimmy Hendrix wasn't some delicate prima donna, and he 245 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: definitely wasn't about securing his own dope. He dressed like 246 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 1: a diva, true, in velvet pants and western hats, but 247 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: that didn't make him one. It was all part of 248 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: the experience, even though the actual experience was over. Jimmy 249 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: had a newd band, now called Gypsy's Sun and Rainbows. 250 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: Tonight he was a lone gypsy jamming under the moonlight 251 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: at Salvation, with the last of his stash already dwindling 252 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: in his bloodstream. He gets a sniff out a dealer 253 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: for himself, and quick Jimmy locked dies with the two goons. 254 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 2: He sized them up and they didn't look. 255 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: Like dealers, but he never knew anyone, and everyone was 256 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: pedaling dope these days. The lanky goon. 257 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 2: Japped his buddy in the ribs, quit staring, what's it 258 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 2: matter to you? 259 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: We could kidnap him. His buddy nearly spit out his skins. 260 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: Was a stupid idea. 261 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 2: What were they gonna do? 262 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 1: Trick Jimmy Hendricks gang up on him and stow them 263 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 1: away in an empty apartment, make his manager spring him with. 264 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 2: His hefty check book. Huh, the goon mauld it over. 265 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: Maybe it wasn't such a stupid idea. It could be 266 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: a stupendous idea if they pulled it off. That was 267 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: a big if. 268 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 2: But what was standing in their way? 269 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: Jimmy was alone, and he was clearly jonesing not to 270 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: mention one hundred and fifty five pounds soaking wet. If 271 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: they kept them doped up, he wouldn't even be able 272 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: to fight back with the little muscle he had. The 273 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: goons calculated the risks. They had no guns, no qualifications, 274 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: and they didn't know how to negotiate, but that almost 275 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: didn't matter. Any sum would do as long as it 276 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: came from Jimmy's deep pockets. Worn't on the street was 277 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: that Jimmy earned fourteen thousand dollars a minute at a 278 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: show at Madison Square Garden with the experience, and that 279 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,040 Speaker 1: was for one show. If they did this right, he 280 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: could swipe his Woodstock paycheck in a snap, and this 281 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 1: could be some mafia livel shit. Jimmy locked eyes with 282 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: the goons again. He sat up from his bar stool 283 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 1: this time, dropped some cash on the counter and started 284 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: walking over. Oh shit, not now, not yet. Jimmy wandered 285 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: over to the end of the bar asked if they 286 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: had any dope he could take out their hands. His 287 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 1: voice was cool, but his eyes were desperate. Up close, 288 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: the colors of his clothes seemed even more vibrant against 289 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,679 Speaker 1: the ashen color of his skin. For once, Jimmy Hendrix 290 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: didn't look so hot. This is going to be easier 291 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,159 Speaker 1: than they thought. All the puzzle pieces were falling into place. 292 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: There were two of them, and only one Jimmy a 293 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: week Jimmy at that the lanky goon knew how junkies were. 294 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: They'd do anything to score again. It was written all 295 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: over Jimmy's face. Yeah, man, we got some goods back 296 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 1: at home. 297 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 2: He sold Jimmy. You up for a ride. 298 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: Jimmy nodded. He'd go anywhere if it meant getting high again, 299 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: and the goons could tell. Jimmy watched his new palace 300 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,920 Speaker 1: just as closely. Their eyes were hungry like his. Maybe 301 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: not for drugs, maybe for something else, but that wasn't 302 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: any of his business right now. The two ushered him 303 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: into the back seat of their car and told him 304 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 1: to buckle up. Jimmy Hendrix was precious cargo, but only 305 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: if he was alive. 306 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 2: It was bastards. They were hungry. Jimmy knew it. 307 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: He could smell a bad vibe a mile away. Yeah, 308 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,359 Speaker 1: they had drugs already, enough drugs to keep Jimmy doped 309 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 1: up and dumb for days. Apparently that was the plan. 310 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:40,920 Speaker 1: They explained how they strapped him into his chair without 311 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: a fight. They explained how an entire day had passed 312 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: in an instant too. The men weren't in the room now, 313 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: but Jimmy heard them murmuring down the hall, not necessarily. 314 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 2: To each other. Jimmy strained to hear. We have him here. 315 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: You want to see him again, Jimmy sighed. You didn't 316 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: have the energy to get worked up. He was too mellow. 317 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: The plan was working. Dope did do the trick. His 318 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:10,439 Speaker 1: body melted into the chair. There was no use fighting. 319 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: The high one side of Jimmy told him the panic 320 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 1: or if they broke his knees, slit his throat, robbed 321 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,119 Speaker 1: him blind. Whoever was on the other end of that 322 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 1: phone better know what the hell they were doing on 323 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: the other side of Jimmy couldn't muster the energy. He 324 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: was dissolving, becoming one with the chair. 325 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:30,360 Speaker 2: He heard a. 326 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: Few more words before he slipped back in unconsciousness. 327 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this. We're we're where. 328 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: There was no clock ticking, no television humming, no voices, 329 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: and no murmurs to overhear, just quiet darkness. Jimmy Hendrix 330 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: wasn't used to the silence. It burrowed into his ears, 331 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,959 Speaker 1: clawed at. His mind was unsettling. He tapped his boots 332 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: on the hardwood floors to fill the dead air. He 333 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: would give anything for just a little music, a rhythm, 334 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: to help his mind wander away from here. Since the 335 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,480 Speaker 1: last dose of dope had already worn off, his stomach growled, 336 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: not the kind of noise he hadn't mind. Those goons 337 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: hadn't bothered to feed him today. They just pumped him 338 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: full of dope every few hours. Jimmy kept track of 339 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: the time by watching the sun rise and sink a 340 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,080 Speaker 1: needle in the arm at midday, in another just before sunset, 341 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,360 Speaker 1: and then a little midnight snack. 342 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 2: After darkness fell. 343 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:42,639 Speaker 1: It was as if they thought Jimmy could live on 344 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: drugs alone, like some kind of superhuman, and that was 345 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: the problem. Everyone thought Jimmy Hendrix was something other than human, 346 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: an angel, an alien, a rock. 347 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 2: Star from Mars. 348 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: But he was just like anyone else, and he really 349 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: needed a bite to eat, maybe a piping out played 350 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: a spaghetti or strawberry shortcake with cool whipped cream dripping 351 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:10,119 Speaker 1: down the sides. Jimmy's belly gurgled again, and the hunger 352 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: nodded his stomach, as if his guts were eating themselves. 353 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,920 Speaker 1: Jimmy knew the feeling well. Growing up in Seattle. Hunger 354 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: was just as common as joy or sadness. Hunger was inevitable, 355 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,400 Speaker 1: a fact of life. He spent a lot of days 356 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: as a child, just like he was now alone in 357 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: a barren room, hungry, huddled in the dark because the 358 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,159 Speaker 1: power bill had gone unpaid, totally alone except for the 359 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: bugs scuttling around the unkempt floor. The Hendricks family was 360 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: a specific kind of poor. To keep cardboard in your 361 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: shoes so they last longer kind of poor. Play a 362 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: guitar with one string kind of poor. The same kind 363 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: of poor that made you craftier than the other kids. 364 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: Jimmy learned when and where he needed to go if 365 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,720 Speaker 1: he wanted to eat it all, split a sandwich with 366 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 1: a cute girl at school her sandwich. Of course, Jimmy 367 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 1: almost never had his own lunch, and then hit up 368 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,719 Speaker 1: the local burger joint just before closing and ask if 369 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:08,879 Speaker 1: they had any leftovers they could toss your way instead 370 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,679 Speaker 1: of into the trash can. And if all else fails, 371 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: sit down with the neighbors for dinner. They'll always make 372 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: an extra plate, mainly because Jimmy looked so malnourished. Technically 373 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 1: he was malnourished many days. If Jimmy didn't eat with 374 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: the neighbors, he didn't need at all. The problem was 375 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 1: that Jimmy's father, Al preferred drinking to eating. He didn't 376 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:34,639 Speaker 1: think twice about knocking back a few bottles or knocking 377 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: his own children around with his belt. Either home meant 378 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: hunger for Jimmy, it meant pain abuse. Home held nothing 379 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:48,560 Speaker 1: for him, so Jimmy wandered. Sometimes he wandered into taverns 380 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 1: at night looking for Al not to bring his father home. 381 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: Jimmy knew better than that, but he was there to 382 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 1: retrieve the house key to let himself in when his 383 00:22:57,119 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 1: father didn't bother to turn up that night. Other times 384 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,200 Speaker 1: he wandered into the homes of local musicians. It didn't 385 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: matter what they played or what genres they liked. If 386 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,879 Speaker 1: you had an instrument, Jimmy wanted to jam. He had 387 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 1: a new guitar deflex. For years he clung to a 388 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: shitty acoustic mons during guitar experimenting with his warn tones. 389 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 2: But not anymore. He swept that. 390 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: Guitar out for a white supro Ozark when he was 391 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: just sixteen. He toted that thing all over town in 392 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,440 Speaker 1: a paper dry cleaner sack. Jimmy even had the misfortune 393 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: of wandering behind the wheel of a stolen car twice 394 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: in the span of five days. He claimed he didn't 395 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 1: know the cars were stolen. The court didn't care. They 396 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: gave him two options, five years in an orange jumpsuit 397 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:47,160 Speaker 1: or three years in an army uniform. Jimmy naturally picked 398 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: the lesser sentence. In May of nineteen sixty one, the 399 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: federal government shipped into California for basic training, miles away 400 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: from the hunger, the abuse, and the harrowing poverty. Jimmy 401 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:04,639 Speaker 1: did just curb prison. He curbed his childhood. And now 402 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,320 Speaker 1: Jimmy Hendrix thought he was stone free, well. 403 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 2: Sort of. 404 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: The consistent meals and clean clothes and basic training were great. 405 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 2: Being told when to eat and what to wear. 406 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: Not so great. There was order in the army like 407 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:22,399 Speaker 1: Jimmy had never experienced before. Someone told him when to 408 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:24,320 Speaker 1: wake up and when to go to bed, and how 409 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: to style his hair, and how to speak and how 410 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: to be spoken to. That regiment didn't give with Jimmy Hendrix. 411 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:35,159 Speaker 1: He was used to his rules, his timetable, both of 412 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 1: which revolved around music. Leaving the army wasn't an option, though. 413 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: If Jimmy bounced before they agreed upon three years of service, 414 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: he'd get tossed behind bars, no questions asked. So he 415 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: needed to get sick, break something frighten his fellow soldiers 416 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: with madness. He came in with the big guns and 417 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: went right to the base psychiatrist said he had disturbing thoughts, 418 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: homosexual thoughts about his bunk mates. That didn't get him anywhere, 419 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: so he came back with new complaints. Again and again. 420 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: He bitched that he couldn't sleep, and then when he did, 421 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: he was gripped by night terrors. That he was love 422 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: sick over a fellow soldier to the point of losing 423 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: fifteen pounds, and then he wet himself regularly and his 424 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: chest spasmed with pain. Eventually, the bass doctor either got 425 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,080 Speaker 1: freaked out or just fed up with Jimmy. He discharged 426 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: Jimmy for his original quote unquote concern about homosexual tendencies, 427 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: and by the summer of nineteen sixty two, Jimmy Hendrix 428 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:33,879 Speaker 1: was out of the Army and back into the sweet 429 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: embrace of freedom. Come to think of it, Jimmy spent 430 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,399 Speaker 1: his whole life trying to get free, and Jimmy was 431 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,679 Speaker 1: so delirious he couldn't help but chuckle being kidnapped. 432 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,399 Speaker 2: So what he was Harry Houdini. If he could escape 433 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 2: the clutches of the United States Army, he could get 434 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:50,959 Speaker 2: out of this ship hole wherever he was. 435 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: He had to otherwise there would be no more music, 436 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: No more festivals and fans and tours that took him 437 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: in circles, No more riots and teargas, No more playing 438 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 1: the same songs on repeat like a well trained circus animal. 439 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 1: No more political organizations jumping down his throat demanding him 440 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:13,320 Speaker 1: take sides. Shit, would that be so terrible? The positives 441 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: piled up in Jimmy's mind. No more setting guitars on fire. God, 442 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 1: that was getting old. He'd rather set himself on fire 443 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: at this point. And no more court dates staying here 444 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 1: kidnapped men, skipping his upcoming drug bus trial in Toronto, 445 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 1: Now that would be a relief. It was all innocuous 446 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: stuff at first, Vitamin C tablets, a bottle. 447 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 2: Of Alvocado cream shampoo. 448 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police rifled through Jimmy's luggage at 449 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,679 Speaker 1: the border. Normally Mounties didn't hang around accustoms for drug bus, 450 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: but there was nothing normal about a rock star like 451 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:54,919 Speaker 1: Jimmy Hendrix passing through Toronto. The experience had prepared for 452 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 1: this exact situation. Each member of the band scoured their 453 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: luggage for anything questionable ahead of time, remember, except Jimmy. 454 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: The officer pulled out a book called You Can Change 455 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 1: Your Life Through Psychic Power, the type of garbage of 456 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,919 Speaker 1: the Mountes assumed any dirty hippie would read. They were 457 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 1: getting warmer. The Mountes knew that hippies didn't leave the 458 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: house without a solid stash. Jimmy Hendrix was packing plenty 459 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: of goods. At the Toronto airport on May third, nineteen 460 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: sixty nine. Namuni then pulled a glass vial out of 461 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,679 Speaker 1: Jimmy's bag. Inside were six cell of Fame packages of 462 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 1: white powder, dark resin smeared across the inside of the vial. Boom, 463 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: two h bombs, heroin and hashish. Jimmy just shook his 464 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: head busted. The police arrested him on the spot. It 465 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: didn't matter how many times he claimed the drugs weren't his. 466 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:50,480 Speaker 1: Nobody was going to believe that Jimmy Hendrix, the father 467 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: of psychedelia, was the victim of drugs being planted on him. 468 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: The cops didn't believe it, and Jimmy knew the courtroom 469 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: wouldn't either. They could lock him up for ten years easy. 470 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 1: Prison guards didn't care if you were gay, or if 471 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,679 Speaker 1: you pissed yourself, or if you couldn't see. He couldn't 472 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 1: talk his way out of a jail cell, so given 473 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: the choice, Jimmy would take his current hostess situation over 474 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: a Canadian prison. At least his kidnappers gave him privacy 475 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:21,960 Speaker 1: in heroin. The floorboards creaked down the hall. That must 476 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: be them now returning with another dose of heroin, or 477 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,640 Speaker 1: maybe a savior was finally walking down the hall toward him, 478 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: someone coming with a fat check to spring him from 479 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 1: this room once and for all. In a few minutes, 480 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: Jimmy Hendricks would either be on his way home or 481 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: on his way to the moon with veins full of dope. 482 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 1: Either way it was fine with him, because one way 483 00:28:45,120 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: or another, Jimmy Hendricks was escaping. The fortune Teller's long 484 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,480 Speaker 1: fingers ran through Jimmy Hendrix's hair. Her nails grazed the 485 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:15,520 Speaker 1: top of his scalp. 486 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 2: She murmured in French. 487 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 1: She traced his facial features, then his forehead. She made 488 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: a fuss over how large it was. Someone in the 489 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: room translated for Jimmy said his forehead meant he was 490 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: an artistic genius. Jimmy's crew shared a couple of knowing smirks. 491 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: The oracle didn't know who Jimmy was or what he 492 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 1: did for a living. She had to be pretty legit 493 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: if she could see star power in a patch of skin. 494 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 1: She was one of the finest clairvoyants in Morocco, hired 495 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: by the King of Morocco himself. Incense wafted across the room. 496 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,800 Speaker 1: Peace radiated from Jimmy's core like a warm glow. This 497 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 1: felt too good to be true. He put it all 498 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: together as the woman uttered more premonitions in French. This 499 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: was a dream, no, wait, a memory, yes, a memory 500 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: from his time in Morocco earlier that summer. She pulled 501 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,239 Speaker 1: out a tarot deck and shuffled the cards with her 502 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: sleek fingers. She wanted to divine the future of this 503 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: apparent creative genius in her presence. Card won the star. 504 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 1: The oracle spoke in a whir of French something about 505 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 1: how the card meant grace and that Jimmy would be 506 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: surrounded by a large number of people soon. Jimmy nodded, 507 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 1: not much was true. Performing kept him near crowds all 508 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: the time. She flipped over the second card, the middle 509 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,840 Speaker 1: of a traditional three card spread, but there would be 510 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: no third card tonight. The oracle held the middle card 511 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:52,000 Speaker 1: in front of Jimmy's face death and Jimmy freaked out. 512 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: He sprang from his seat, screaming that he was going 513 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 1: to die, and he paced in circles, and the oracle 514 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: spoke another string of French. She tried to calm him, 515 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 1: but Jimmy couldn't hear her, saying that the death card 516 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: didn't literally mean that he was going to die. It 517 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: was just a symbol of natural endings and new beginnings. 518 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 1: It could mean one chapter of his life was ending 519 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,200 Speaker 1: so that another could open. The death card could be 520 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: a good thing, a very good thing. 521 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:18,520 Speaker 2: But it was no use. 522 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: Panic could seize Jimmy's body. The end was coming. It 523 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: was already on its way to him, hunting him down 524 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,959 Speaker 1: following his footsteps. He needed to run and get the 525 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: fuck out of Dodge before the reaper found him before. 526 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: Jimmy awoke with a shudder, his body burned with anxiety, 527 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: sweaty palms. That wasn't some dream, That was a real memory. 528 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 1: That tarot reading really happened somewhere back in Morocco. Death 529 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,840 Speaker 1: was coming for him. And now look at him, tied 530 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,680 Speaker 1: to a fucking chair, ready for the taking. Everything would 531 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 1: not be fine. Everything was not cool, man, Not today. 532 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: Jimmy thrashed around in the chair for the first time, 533 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 1: and two days, three days, one week didn't matter. He 534 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:08,200 Speaker 1: was a sitting duck for the reaper. As long as 535 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,720 Speaker 1: he was sitting here and the legs of the chair 536 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 1: moaned against the hardwood floor, death was coming. Was gliding 537 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,400 Speaker 1: up the steps, sniffing him out in a nameless location. 538 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,880 Speaker 1: Death was smart like that, didn't need a map. He 539 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: could sense Jimmy for miles away. Here it was now, 540 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: and the jig was up. Maybe he'd go out with 541 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 1: a gun wound fast and easy. Maybe he'd get shot 542 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: so full of heroin he'd soar up to heaven and 543 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,600 Speaker 1: never come back. Jimmy stopped tussling. 544 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 2: There was no use fighting it now. 545 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 1: His manager slipped through the door. Jimmy almost couldn't believe 546 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 1: his eyes. His manager had apparently negotiated Jimmy's safe release, 547 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: used some actual mafia muscle to spring Jimmy without paying 548 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: a penny. It wasn't Jimmy's time to go, Just as 549 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 1: time to go home. His manager untied Jimmy from the chair. 550 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 1: Jimmy walked back into the world in a daze, back 551 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: into the drama, back into the demands of the road 552 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: and the public. He slipped back into life like nothing 553 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: ever happened in that barren, silent room. But he couldn't 554 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: shake that feeling that he wasn't safe, that he was 555 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: within the reaper's grasp, that he could only cheat death 556 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: and danger so many times. Someday he would fail. Someday 557 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:33,040 Speaker 1: death would catch up to him a day like September eighteenth, 558 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, in a bedroom in London, next to a 559 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:41,280 Speaker 1: strange woman in a puddle of his own vomit. Jimmy 560 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 1: Hendrix escaped poverty, prison time, riots and kidnappers, but he 561 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: couldn't escape what he saw in the cards. And that 562 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: is a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan and this. 563 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:57,720 Speaker 2: Is disgrace Land. 564 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 565 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 566 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:19,919 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 567 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank 568 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:24,160 Speaker 1: you for supporting the show. 569 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 2: We really appreciate it. 570 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,000 Speaker 1: And if not, you can become a member right now 571 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:32,560 Speaker 1: by going to disgracelampod dot com slash Membership. Members can 572 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus you'll 573 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:40,800 Speaker 1: get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted 574 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:44,799 Speaker 1: bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise 575 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:49,799 Speaker 1: and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com slash Membership for details, 576 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:52,720 Speaker 1: Rate and review the show, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, 577 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:56,800 Speaker 1: Twitter and Facebook at disgracelampod, and on YouTube at YouTube 578 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,879 Speaker 1: dot com, slash at disgracelampod, Rock and Roller. 579 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 2: He's a bad, bad man.