This week on the beat go on blog we are doing something a little different. Today marks the 50th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death. What the Guitarist did for Rock music in his three years of fame has never been matched. Even for bands who have been touring for decades.
His untimely demise has never sat well with some fans. Some people believe that someone so talented at the axe could die of a self-imposed accident. Rumours started as soon as the news broke that it wasn’t an accident. Murder, Suicide or even faking his death rumours swelled for years afterwards. Then when the internet came along people could document their theories. No matter how crazy or far out.
So, with this in mind, it’s the anniversary of his death. I thought it would be fun to look at some of the theories and debunk them. I found five in total and have ranked them most believable to the down-right far-fetched. This week The Beat Marches On to 18th September 1970. The day Jimi Hendrix was found dead.
Manager Mike Jeffrey Killed Him
When former Animals member Chas Chandler discovered Hendrix back in 1966, he knew he needed help. He needed someone who knew the other side of the business, someone who wouldn’t take any crap from dodgy club promoters. So, he reluctantly called his old band manager Michael Jeffrey.
Jeffrey had already screwed the Animals out of touring money by keeping it in a “safe” place for them which happened to be his bank account in an offshore tax haven. The rumours were already circulating about the same with his relationship with Jimi.
Having already owned and running successful nightclubs in the UK and Spain Jeffrey now wanted to go across the pond and break out in the USA. After sweet-talking Hendrix, the pair decided to construct a new nightclub in New York as a joint venture. However, Jimi didn’t want a nightclub he wanted a studio where he could invite friends and spend the night jamming away. Jeffrey reluctantly agreed and the Electric Lady Studios was born.
The location of Electric Lady was on West 8th Street in Greenwich Village and at that time let’s just say the Mob rules. The Mafia wasn’t really happy that this rock star hippy was going to be their new neighbour.
A few months after The Electric Lady was opened the Mob was after some repayment on their loans, and also the IRS was starting to sniff at the studio’s records. The pressure was getting to Jeffrey and with the help of drug consumption he was paranoid that Hendrix was going to leave him. So unbeknownst to Jimi, his manager took out a $2 million life insurance on him.
According to a book released in 2009 Hendrix roadie James “Tappy” Wright has claimed that Jeffrey admitted to him that he killed the guitarist. In 1973 after a late night of heavy drinks, Jeffrey confessed to the roadie. The story goes that he bought a couple of goons with him and shoved pills down Jimi’s throat and then grabbed a bottle of Red Wine and rammed that down his throat.
We will never know whether or not the story is true as Jeffrey because shortly after the omission of guilt he died in a freak accident of two planes colliding mid-air. What we do know is that Jeffrey did cash in on the life insurance which did pay off his debts. He also was making lots of money from releasing concert footage in the cinema. Although he said at the time of Hendrix’s death he was in Mallorca attending one of his clubs, there are multiple reports that he was in the area at the time but nothing is concrete.
The Current Girlfriend (Monika Danneman)
Monika Danneman first met Jimi Hendrix in 1969. A national figure skater champion was dragged by a friend to a concert in Dusseldorf Germany of the legendary guitarist. Jimi invited them to the backstage area and said to come along to the next show in Cologne. Which she did. They spent the night together and the love blossomed.
Before long the two were living together in London and everything seemed normal (as much as the world’s biggest Rockstar would consider “normal”) until the day Hendrix died.
After Hendrix died, her story gets weird. When the paramedics arrived the door was open to the apartment and Dannemann was nowhere to be seen. she later stated because of the contraband in the flat she didn’t want to get arrested for it. Speaking of statements every time the police took one from her it was different.
This didn’t help her cause in the police investigation as Dannemann was the last person to see her alive. And the pills he overdosed on were prescribed to her. Some fans and friends of Hendrix were getting sceptical.
As the years went by Dannemann was requested interviews from journalists and reporters and got a good living from these. A little bit of celebrity and norite capitalising from Hendrix’s death. That was until 1996 when she was writing a book on the final days of Hendrix. Love rival Kathy Etchingham who had been one of the most outspoken against her, sued for libel and won halting production on the book. Two days later Danneman was found in her car. In the Garage. With the ignition on.
The FBI/CIA
Did you ever think that the deaths of the previous two people were suspicious? Think about it dying in a freak mid-air collision and an apparent suicide. Seems a little fishy.
There were files on Jimi Hendrix by the FBI as there were with anyone who threatened the establishment. The conspiracy is that the three people who died in Club 27 around this time, the other two being Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, were all apparently killed by the FBI or CIA to stop misguiding the youth. There was even a film made about it. Beyond the Doors.
Meetings with civil rights leaders didn’t help Hendrix’s cause which is well known that the FBI were keeping close tabs on the leaders at the time. Although it isn’t well documented there are some hints about Jimi’s links to the leaders. What is mentioned is that he wasn’t deeply involved with the activists. It’s under the impression more they were trying to lure him for their cause more than Hendrix being part of it.
It Was Suicide
A couple of days after the death of Jimi Hendrix, a good friend of his went on TV under the influence and said to the interviewer that it was suicide. That friend was Eric Burdon. Who was in the same band as manager Chas Chandler, The Animals.
Burdon was first on the scene after Dannemann found Jimi. This was for one reason only: to hide the contraband scattered around the apartment before the authorities got there. Saving their backsides.
Upon the cleansing of the apartment, a note written by Jimi for Monika was found by Burdon. Upon discovery, he thought the note was a suicide note. We do not know if Burdon was under the influence at this time or how much.
As soon as the interview was broadcast close friends of Jimi were debunking it. Managers Michael Jeffrey and Chas Chandler, former bandmates, current bandmates, former girlfriends and groupies all denied the allegation made by the former Animals singer. With this many people debunking it then it’s probably less likely to happen.
He Faked His Death and Became Morgan Freeman
This is one of the craziest theories I have seen but some people believe it. Morgan Freeman is a successful actor who has so many amazing performances and critical accolades. But as he’s such a talented actor maybe the talents of a certain guitarist may have transferred.
The short answer to this is no. There are a few facial similarities but no actual evidence to prove this. There are a couple of common interests which is not any different to a couple of buddies being into the same thing.
The first time this came up was when Freeman was involved in a car crash back in 2008 where the injuries sustained were affecting the feeling in his left hand. There’s the first clue. Upon further discovery, Freeman was en route to his Blues club in Mississippi. There’s the next clue. Then looking into the actor’s career it skyrocketed after the death of Jimi.
This is where the evidence gets sketchy. Yes, Morgan Freeman did get bigger roles in the past fifty years than before 1970 which is bound to happen to be in the same industry for that period. Just because a person of the same skin colour who is left-handed and likes the blues doesn’t mean he is Jimi Hendrix. It’s like adding 2+2 and getting 53.
The truth of the death of Jimi Hendrix is we will never know. Whether he was murdered, committed suicide, or even faked his death there will always be people trying to make a buck by making up stories or rumours. Ex-roadies, ex-lovers or people in the entourage know how much, even 50 years after his death, people want to know about the enigma of Hendrix. Whatever the outcome was let’s just enjoy the music he made and live by his mantra peace and love.
The Beat Marches On is a music blog written by Jimmy Whitehead. Jimmy has been blogging for six years specialising in Sports (especially American Football). If you want to follow Jimmy on Twitter: @Jimmy_W1987
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If anyone reading this would like to read more about this story, the sites used for research were
https://www.rocksoffmag.com/monika-dannemann/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/morgan-freeman-jimi-hendrix/
http://www.jimitunes.co.uk/conspiracies.html
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