In May 1961 at the age of seventeen, Jimmy left Seattle and joined the army. He enlisted in the 101st Airborne Paratroopers where he stayed for fourteen months and made 25 successful jumps. On his 26th jump he sustained a substantial ankle injury and was given an honorable discharge. After the army he began to play guitar on many star-studded package tours. Playing in the shadow of many greats like B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Soloman Burke, Chuck Jackson and Jackie Wilson, he later joined Little Richard's band and went on to play with Ike and Tina Turner.

Although Jimmy was learning important things to help him later on in his music career, he was frustrated by the fact that he was not free to play the way he wanted. So he started his own group where he elected to sing for the first time. The group had a regular spot at Greenwich Village. One night when the were playing in the Cafe Wha, Greenwich Village in 1966, they were spotted by former bassist with the Animals, Chas Chandler. Chandler convinced Jimmy to come to London with him, and from that arose Jimmy's stardom.

Once they arrived in London on 24 September 1966 they decided to change Jimmy's name to Jimi. The two thought it would be more "memorable." Soon Chandler became Jimi's manager. They agreed that the best setup for Jimi would be a trio. They chose Mitch Mitchell on drums, and Noel Redding to play bass. So on 6 October, 1966 The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed.

In the next four years, from 1966 to 1970, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released three major albums: "Are You Experienced", "Axis: Bold As Love" and "Electric Ladyland". Jimi also had a side band named The Band of Gypsies, once the Experience disbanded. With The Band of Gypsies he released one live album and played at Woodstock '69. He later released an album with a band called The Cry of Love Band, called The Cry of Love.

On Friday 17 September 1970 Jimi was staying in London with a girlfriend named Monika Danneman. He had a big gig to play the next day so he needed to get some sleep. He took some sleeping pills and went to bed; the next morning Danneman saw that Jimi had vomited during the night but paid no attention to it. When she tried to wake him a little later and he did not stir, she called an ambulance. By the time the ambulance arrived, Jimi had died of suffocation from his vomit. The night before he had been working on a new song. The closing lines were:

The influence of Jimi Hendrix upon modern music is paralleled only by other greats such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Presley. His guitar playing ushered a whole new way to experience rock n' roll. You probably won't find many guitarists who wouldn't cite Jimi as some sort of influence upon their style of playing, or at least as a source of inspiration. Countless bands have done covers of Jimi's music, and there are many tribute albums available.

"There are those who come before the public eye and are commercialised into the consciousness of the masses. We are told they are popular, and we echo, they are popular. Then there are a few who are so intuitively tuned into the universe that they are still influential even though they are beyond sight. This is immortality, and Jimi Hendrix is immortal. It is exciting to know that the world has yet to truly be exposed to Jimi's genius. Maybe the overshadowing rumours that are used by some to cloud his image will be replaced by an understanding of the man I knew - a child of the universe, a guitar master, a warm and gentle soul." - Billy Cox