By Logan Langlois
NASHVILLE, TN — The summer of love is coming to the Jefferson Street Sound Museum this Saturday, as the building will be hosting a one-day exhibit for legendary guitar player and vocalist Jimi Hendrix, as well as a Q&A sesssion about his legacy. Rock music and Jimi Hendrix historian David Piercy said the informative and entertaining exhibit will be opening at 11 a.m. with a $25 cover for the full day, and closing at 5 p.m.
Jefferson Street Sound Museum founder and curator Lorenzo Washington said Hendrix is one of the most asked about ‘60s and ‘70s musicians who have left their legendary mark on the history of Jefferson Street, and that his consistent public interest is what inspired the upcoming exhibit.
“I’ve seen Jimi Hendrix walk up and down Jefferson Street,” Washington said while recalling the period he met Hendrix himself during the beginning of 1963. “When I met him, shook hands with him, he was just a nice guy. That’s how he appealed to most of the local bands that he played with, and he played behind some of my good friends like Marion James.”
Piercy, who donated the items being featured in the exhibit, said Hendrix honed what would become his legendary style of guitar playing while living on Jefferson Street for a little over a year. He said to reflect Hendrix’s time in Jefferson Street, he will be bringing several images and signed autograph items from Hendrix and other famous musicians he played with or around such as Steve Winwood, Bill Cox, Delaney & Bonnie, Dave Mason, Billy Gibbons, and ZZ Top. Piercy said a one-of-a-kind item he has is a picture of Hendrix and Little Richard from when Hendrix played guitar for Little Richard. Piercy said that Little Richard, much to his nature as an ordained minister, signed the picture “To David, God cares.”
Washington said before Hendrix made his life-changing move across the Atlantic, he was known as just another local artist. Washington said though the musicians around him recognized his undeniable talent, many didn’t particularly care for playing with Hendrix largely because he was “a bit ahead of his time.”
“He played the blues but it had a lot of rock in his blues message. And a lot of the R&B artists liked for you to stay in groove when you play with their band,” Washington said. “And Jimi was always jumping out front taking lead parts during those days. So, a lot of local musicians didn’t like playing with him so much, but they liked Jimi because he was such a nice person.”
Piercy said Saturday’s exhibit only became possible because of a friend of his who told him about Jefferson Street. He said upon visiting the museum at his friend’s encouragement, he was drawn in by Jefferson Street’s mission statement of preserving history and teaching it to the public. Piercy said he and Washington hit it off right away, and he came back several weeks later to donate several items.
Piercy said on the day of the exhibit he will be talking about both Hendrix’s everlasting influence, as well as the mark that he had already made on Nashville before moving to England and eventually stepping on the world stage.
“Just a look at his life, because he faced poverty, racism, and just the struggle to get his music heard, the way he heard it,” Piercy said. “He had to leave the country to actually make that happen.”
Future updates regarding events at the Jefferson Street Sound Museum can be found on the museum’s website, jeffersonstreetsound.com
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