Starting At Zero: His Own Story
by Jimi Hendrix
Bloomsbury USA, 2014
208 pages
No one asked Jimi Hendrix to write an autobiography while he was alive. No one expected him to die when he was only twenty-seven. One of the most innovative guitarists of all time never sat down to write his life story, but by pulling quotes from interviews, letters, lyrcis and journals, we have the left-handed rocker’s life presented to us in his own words. The collaboration by filmmaker Peter Neal, record producer Alan Douglas, and fan Michael Fairchild is the closet we will ever have to an authentic Hendrix autobiography.
When reading through this book, one wonders how the man was not locked up in an insane asylum. The things he says are so off-the-wall that any normal person would certainly be evaluated on his mental status. But as a celebrity, and one who was usually under the influence, his words were seen merely as eccentric. He took his music seriously, though, and was affected by its public and critical reception. He wanted to be heard, and he wanted to be remembered. The editors present these words as the final words of the autobiography: “When I die, just keep on playing the records.”
An interesting book, one that Hendrix fans will appreciate. There is not much revealed here that has not been stated in other biographies, but it is enlightening to read them from the guitarist’s own thoughts.
The Writer's Journey 