Jimi Hendrix: The Man, the Magic, the Truth

by Sharon Lawrence

Book Overview

The Jimi Hendrix legend has lived on longer than the man, who died in 1970 at the age of twenty-seven. More than thirty years later, what the world knows about him has become deeply distorted. Now Sharon Lawrence, a trusted friend of Jimi's in the final years of his astonishing life, has written a serious exploration of his life, death, and enduring legacy, based partly on the author's never-before-heard recorded interviews with the late musician...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060562994
• ISBN13: 9780060562991
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: It Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Well Done Sharon

At last !...a book about Jimi by someone who knew him, cared about him and understood his music. I have been a Hendrix fan for many years and have read just about everything there is to read about Jimi and I still learned a few new things...but more importantly this isn't a book obsessed with nerdish facts and figures (and in fact sometimes the facts are slightly out)...but it is a book about Jimi and what he was all about-and shockingly about the horrific exploitation of the man during his life and particularly after he died. I note that some other reviewers have criticised Sharon's view on Jimi's death, but from everything I have read, heard about and spoke to people (who know) about, I think she may be pretty close to the truth. It isn't true that Jimi was in 'good spirits' in the final weeks before his death (as one reviewer wrote)...you only have to read the late Tony Brown's detailed and well researched book on Jimi's final weeks to understand that Jimi was in poor health and his mental state was not good. This of course doesn't necessarily mean that he committed suicide, but I don't think Sharon actually says that he committed suicide...although I am pretty sure he took a large number of sleeping pills to 'escape' from all the hassles and pressures and the upcoming legal hassles with PPX (Chalpin) and a potential wrangling with Michael Jeffery over his future and management. Sharon is also 100% correct about Monika Danneman who lied for many years about the fateful morning of 18.09.70. It does really appear that she failed to properly help/assist Jimi when he was dying (the large number of sleeping pills probably effectively disabled his coughing reflex and as he was probably lying on his back in bed he choked). If Danneman was awake, she could have laid Jimi on his side in a recovery position (she had lied over the years that she had accompanied Jimi in an ambulance and the ambulance men had failed to lie Jimi in a recovery position)...and there is the mystery of the large quantities of red wine which were all over Jimi and the bed (but there was very little alcohol in his bloodstream)..the inference being that the wine had been pured down his throat/over him as he was dying or after he had died. Given that it is assumed that only Danneman was in the flat with him that morning-she must have poured the wine down Jimi's throat. Why she did this we may never know, but as suggested in Sharon's book, maybe Danneman in some weird misguided way thought this might help clear Jimi's airways. It is unlikely that Danneman murdered Jimi, but she clearly didn't help him adequately and this may explain the nonsense that she spoke and published over the years. Tony Brown's book also confirmed (via interviews with ambulance men and police men) that Danneman was not at the flat when they arrived and Jimi's body was lying in a ghastly state on the bed alone. Danneman killed herself a few years ago when she was 'rumbled' by Cathy Etchingham an

Fascinating!

Truly a fascinating read and one of the best rock biographies I have ever read! Kudos to Sharon Lawrence for a very insightful and in depth book about Hendrix the person..You can almost imagine the conversations between the author and Hendrix..Quite a revealing side to a legendary rock icon!! It's quite eye opening how Hendrix's music has generated so much income after his death..it's kind of like Elvis..these artists continue to make tons of money even though they died years ago...This book gives you quite a bit insight into the meanderings of the music business and the power struggle among those who chose to exploit the Hendrix "money making machine"..It's sad but quite revealing! Jimi was a star that flashed brilliantly..whose legacy continues to inspire new generations! One somewhat wonders where he would be now if he had lived...he died so young at 27.. I highly recommend this book! It is very well written and gives you quite a revealing look at Hendrix the person as opposed to Hendrix the "guitar GOD"..It's a fascinating read!

Touching and long Overdue!

I just finished Ms. Lawrence's compelling, honest, heartbreaking and touching biography of Jimi. I could not put it down. I have been a fan since I was 13 years old and while not a maniac had a curiosity about this musician who came and left all to quickly, but left an endelible mark on the music of his generation and many more to come. This book tells the story of Hendrix through the eyes of someone who cared about him, who had an honest relationship with him and this has allowed her to descibe this man in a way no other really could. She describes him in such a way that I was almost in tears by the time Sept 18th rolled around. Such a loss for all of us, one that I had not really comprehended before or for that matter mourned at the time. 2 months prior to his death he played at New Yorks Randalls stadium. I begged my mother to allow me to go and after hours of pleading she relented. I went early that morning in July because the radio station was looking for volunteers. For whatever reason I was selected to sit on stage and make sure people did not climb up during the shows. There were many acts that night, Tull, Grand Funk, John Sebastian and of course Jimi. I could not have been more than 6 feet away from him during that 60 minute set, virtually at his feat, watching in awe, the man whose records I listened to over and over again. I think back to that time every so often and after reading Ms. Lawarence's book much of the dynamics of that night started to come back to me. Now if I could only find a copy of the video, I could die a happy man! Any way read this book, even if your not a Hendrix fan. He was a good man who treated people fairly and who really got a raw deal in life. I never would have known many of the things that I learned in this book and I'm a better person for having been a fan and been able to sit at the masters feet all those years ago! JOHN HOVING NYC

Thank you, Ms. Lawrence

I too have read many biographies of Jimi Hendrix. But when I saw this one was being published I felt that I had to read it because many of the other biographies about Jimi were penned by individuals who were too involved in Jimi's business (either while he was alive and after his death). For instance John McDermott's (with Eddie Kramer) biography is very interesting but may be somewhat suspect as Mr. McDermott is now an employee of Experience Hendrix. But I have to say thank you to Ms. Lawrence both for her touching and poignant biography but also for being Jimi's friend when he did indeed desperately need a friend who was not interested in his business and who wanted nothing from him but his friendship. And from Ms. Lawrence's book, it is apparent she cherished Jimi and their friendship. So I have to thank her for sharing this part of her life with Jimi's fans. She portrays Jimi as a very polite, very giving, and very unassuming person...someone who did not think of himself as a genius, even though now it is apparent that he was. All Jimi wanted was to make music, the way he wanted to make it, no matter the cost and apparently it cost him his life. It is very tragic that Jimi did not have better management who actually cared about him and his talent, as it is apparent that Michael Jeffrey only cared about Michael Jeffrey and only cared about Jimi as long as he was making money for him. Unfortunately, as Ms. Lawrence points out, Jimi has not fared much better after his death. His image and his music are still being exploited so that persons who claim to be his family can make money and live off of his great legacy. All I can say is that we miss you Jimi, and wish you were still around making "truth and emotion" as you called it. Unfortunately you are not, and that is a tragedy for the entire world and for those of us loved your music 35 years ago and still love it to this day. If you are a Jimi Hendrix fan, you will definitely enjoy Ms. Lawrence's book. I recommend it.

A hard book to put down

I have read so many biographies of Jimi Hendrix that seemed first and foremost to serve the purposes of the author that I had resigned myself to the idea that the truth behind the life and death of this inspired musician would never be known. And yet Sharon Lawrence's book has a credibility to it that I find compelling. Part of it may be that I simply want to believe much of what she writes (Hendrix as a kind and sensitive human being, Hendrix who was NOT a heroin addict, Hendrix whose trusting nature left him ill-equipped in his business involvements with the likes of Michael Jeffrey and Ed Chalpin, or with the hangers-on that constantly wanted a piece of his fame or his fortune). This book also has credibility for me because Sharon Lawrence doesn't seem to have a stake in the outcome of the story. Unlike the Curtis Knights or the Monika Dannemans in this tale, there is no spin being applied in an attempt to polish a reputation or justify a stake in the multi-million dollar estate. And because I believe Sharon Lawrence's account of the life of Jimi Hendrix, I find myself mourning his death on many more fronts than I did previously. His lousy relationship with his father, his incredibly convoluted and misguided business relationships, his painfully lonely death (Accident, murder or suicide? A case is made here), the terrible way that his estate has been handled since his death, the denial of royalties to Noel and Mitch, the exclusion from the estate of Jimi's blood brother Leon - it all adds up to a story of greed, deceit and betrayal that stands in deep relief to the gentle soul and inspired genius at the center of it all. Read Sharon Lawrence's book for yourself and make your own decisions about Hendrix. One thing is clear, Sharon Lawrence cared for Jimi Hendrix, and that care comes through in these pages. I consider it to be the best biography of Hendrix that I have ever read.