By John McDermott. First Rays Of The New Rising Sun marked the last graceful gesture by the innovative artist Jimi Hendrix, and the first album prepared under the watchful supervision of his family. It draws together 17 songs whose creation span from March 1968 to the last sessions at Electric Lady Studios in August 1970. As we mark the 25th Anniversary since the album’s April 1997 debut, we explore the album’s original concept and the music production which featured some of Hendrix’s most creative musical achievements, including “Night Bird Flying,” “Angel,” “Dolly Dagger,” “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun),” and “In From The Storm.”

By John McDermott. On this day which marks the 53rd Anniversary of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s concert at the Oakland Coliseum—April 27, 1969—we’re exploring a piece of music history. Not only was this historic concert, a triumphant return for The Experience revisiting the Oakland Coliseum a mere 7 months since their last performance; but in how fate transpired to bring a previously unreleased concert recording to life as the debut release in the now long-running “bootleg” series by Dagger Records, a unique record label established by Experience Hendrix.

By Dave Thompson. In 1967, the BBC studio complexes in London played host to one of the greatest ensembles of rock 'n' roll talent ever assembled under their respective roofs: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Procol Harum, Denny Laine, Pink Floyd, The Idle Rice, The Move, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Traffic, The Nice, Tomorrow, Tim Rose, The Bee Gees, and The Incredible String Band.

It was a roll call that read like the greatest festival ever, as though every underground happening that had stirred London's psychedelic imaginings that year was being recreated once again, but this wasn't a concert, and it wasn't a dream. It was simply the line-up for the first three installments of a new weekly BBC radio show, Top Gear, and a new era in the history of British broadcasting.

By Dave Thompson. Between February 13, 1967, and December 15 of that same year, The Jimi Hendrix Experience went into the studio to record sufficient material to stuff a double album to bursting point. Nearly thirty tracks were taped and completed, some reprising the band's own recent releases, others documenting moments that might never occur again, still others hammering back at songs that the group wasn't completely happy with. What is amazing about all this is that it took them less than a week of work to do it.

By Jon Price. It’s early Saturday evening on January 4, 1969. This is traditionally the time for variety programs on British television, time for family viewing 'round the idiot box and this week, for the nation's pleasure, The Jimi Hendrix Experience are to play a couple of numbers on a show called Happening For Lulu. The live appearance turned out to be The Experience’s last appearance on the BBC and has made for one of the most legendary moments in rock ‘n’ roll television history.

By Frank Moriarty Texas. Small word, big state. It’s certainly one of the most unique members of the United States of America, one that is proud of its heritage and traditional values but not afraid to call attention to itself. Just consider the state’s slogan: “Don’t Mess With Texas.” The amount of time that Jimi Hendrix spent in Texas may have been brief, but it’s clear that his influence on the Lone Star State shines on brightly even more than 50 years after that short tour of February 1968.

By Matt Taylor. Hendrix historian Matt Taylor has created a richly detailed oral history of Jimi Hendrix's performance at the Men's Gym at Sacramento State College on February 8, 1968. In addition to the February 8, 1968 performance, Taylor's journal also details two later visits to Sacramento by Hendrix on September 15, 1968 at the Memorial Auditorium and April 26, 1970 at Cal Expo. Born in 1966, Taylor never had the privilege of seeing Hendrix in concert. Nonetheless, his oral history helps to provide Jimi's fans with a vivid appreciation of the Hendrix phenomenon in its earliest and most vibrant stage. This excerpt explores some of the history behind The Experience’s February appearance.

By Dave Thompson. The holidays were over in every sense of the word, not that Hendrix's schedule ever lightened up for long. The Experience were due to begin their next European tour in Sweden, and by their second date, the group had arrived in Stockholm to headline two shows at the famed Konserthuset venue on January 9 where they were supported by Jethro Tull. Featuring songs jokingly introduced by Jimi as being "first recorded in 1733 at the Benjamin Franklin Studio," to dedication to the "American Deserters Society," it was a night that Jimi attributed to "all those people who can actually feel and think for themselves."

By Andy Aledort. Fifty years after their debut, the Band Of Gypsys remains a towering achievement in the stunning, all-too-brief career of Jimi Hendrix. Their recordings have long been hailed as a touchstone of blues, funk, fusion, and rock that exemplified Hendrix’s quicksilver transition from pop phenomenon to new unchartered territories. It is improbable that the Band Of Gypsys album, and perhaps even the band, would have materialized without a series of unusual extenuating circumstances. Here’s a brief look back at how it all came together for one magical message to love.

By Dave Thompson. New York had never seemed so unforgiving. At the beginning of November 1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience was thrown out of the St. Moritz Hotel, presumably for being longhaired musicians. Three weeks later, they weren't even allowed into the Hilton Hotel in Rockefeller Center and, in between times, the most prestigious show on the band's latest run through the United States had encountered a very unexpected problem. It was Thanksgiving, and the group had been invited to play New York's Philharmonic Hall; the first rock band ever to be admitted into those hallowed grounds.