Jethro Tull’s frontman Ian Anderson joined an interview with Classic Rock and expressed his thoughts on Jimi Hendrix, saying the death was inevitable for him.
Born on November 27, 1942, Jimi Hendrix is among the musicians who departed really early from this world. Although his music career lasted a short period of time, Hendrix is still regarded as one of the most influential and iconic guitarists in popular music history. With his death on September 18, 1970, he also became one of the members of the 27 Club.
Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15 and first started performing gigs in his 20s. He then moved to England in late 1966 and continued to work with Chas Chandler of the Animals who became his manager. Following that, he achieved remarkable success within months with his backing band the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
After he became known as a worldwide renowned guitarist, Hendrix began to abuse drugs and alcohol heavily. Although the guitarist was a quiet and a little bit insecure person, he would become violent and angry when he used substances. Besides, with the 1960s cultural atmosphere, Hendrix found himself in the middle of the sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle.
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, the band which did a few shows supporting Jimi Hendrix in the past, recently joined an interview with Classic Rock during which he talked about this change in Hendrix. He stated that he saw Jimi Hendrix while smoking a cigarette in a hotel corridor, and the guitarist told him that he doesn’t like being surrounded by people.
According to Anderson, he and Hendrix had something in common: they weren’t the party guys. However, Anderson recalled that a couple of years later he saw Hendrix surrounded by people trying to amuse him and supply him with drugs. It was at this point that Anderson thought Jimi Hendrix’s demise was inevitable.
Ian Anderson told Classic Rock about Jimi Hendrix the following:
“I lit a cigarette and looked down the corridor, and I could see the glow of another cigarette. In the gloom, I sort of recognized the profile of Jimi Hendrix. He said, ‘Oh, man, I don’t like these things. People won’t leave me alone.’ And we exchanged a few words of mutual sympathy for not being the party guys.
But a couple of years later, when we played some festivals together in the US, he was surrounded by a phalanx of lackeys who seemed to have the principal function of keeping him amused, up all hours and feeding him an ample and ongoing supply of various drugs.
I think he was still something of a quiet, modest person, but he had definitely put in a lot of hours being the party guy, and in a way, I think his demise was inevitable.“
In the end, his drug abuse and heavy drinking habits became the end of Jimi Hendrix. On September 18, 1970, the guitarist was found to aspirate his own vomit, and as a result, he died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates.
