James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix, November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in musical history, and one of the most influential musicians of his era across a range of genres.
DEATH.
Early on September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London. He had spent the latter part of the previous
evening at a party and was picked up by girlfriend Monika Dannemann and driven to her flat at the
Samarkand Hotel, 22 Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill. According to the estimated time of death, from
autopsy data and statements by friends about the evening of September 17, he died within a few hours
after midnight, though no precise estimate was made at the original inquest.
With Monika Dannemann
Dannemann claimed in her original testimony that after they returned to her lodgings the evening before,
Hendrix, unknown to her, had taken nine of her prescribed Vesperax sleeping pills. The normal medical
dose was half a tablet, but Hendrix was unfamiliar with this very strong German brand. According to surgeon
John Bannister, the doctor who initially attended to him, Hendrix had asphyxiated in his own vomit, mainly
red wine which had filled his airways, as an autopsy later confirmed. For years, Dannemann publicly
claimed that she had only discovered that her lover was unconscious and unresponsive sometime after 9 a.m.,
that Hendrix was alive when placed in the back of the ambulance after half past eleven, and that she rode with
him on the way to the hospital; the latter two are denied by the ambulance crew. However, Dannemann's
comments about that morning were often contradictory, varying from interview to interview. Police and
ambulance statements reveal that there was no one but Hendrix in the flat when they arrived at 11:27 a.m.,
and not only was he dead when they arrived on the scene, but was fully clothed and had been dead for some time.
Later, Dannemen claimed that former road managers Gerry Stickels and Eric Barrett had been present before
the ambulance was called and had removed some of Hendrix's possessions, including some of his most recent
messages. Lyrics written by Hendrix, which were found in the apartment, led Eric Burdon to make a premature
announcement on the BBC-TV program 24 Hours that he believed Hendrix had committed suicide. Burdon often
claimed he had been telephoned by Dannemann after she discovered that Jimi failed to wake up.
Following a libel case brought in 1996 by Hendrix's long-term English girlfriend Kathy Etchingham,
Monika Dannemann committed suicide.
ALLEGATIONS OF MURDER
A former Animals "roadie," James "Tappy" Wright, published a book in May 2009 claiming Hendrix's manager,
Mike Jeffery, admitted to him that he had Hendrix killed because the rock star wanted to end his management
contract. John Bannister, the doctor who attended the scene of his death in 1970 stated in 2009 that it "sounded plausible".
It was claimed that Mike Jeffery was not "in London," he was in Spain when Jimi died in London on September 18, 1970.
"There was a freak storm across Mallorca and all the phone lines were down. Somebody told Mike that Jimi had been
trying to phone him. The first call that got through was to say Jimi was dead. Mike was terribly upset at the thought of Jimi not being able to get through to him." - Trixie Sullivan, secretary/assistant for Mike Jeffery
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