Rare pre-fame Jimi Hendrix recording from his short stint as Little Richard's guitarist is now up for auction

Janelle Borg
·2 min read
2
Left-American rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) performs live on stage playing a white Fender Stratocaster guitar with The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 24th February 1969; Right- Black and white photo of Little Richard while he's posing behind a piano.
Left-American rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) performs live on stage playing a white Fender Stratocaster guitar with The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 24th February 1969; Right- Black and white photo of Little Richard while he's posing behind a piano.

Before Jimi Hendrix became a global star, he was part of Little Richard's backing band The Upsetters. Now, a recently discovered recording of Jimi Hendrix's session guitarist stint is up for auction and expected to fetch an eye-watering amount.

The recording features the then-unknown Hendrix, playing with Little Richard at his show at Back Bay Theatre [formerly the Donnelly Theatre] in Boston in 1965. Hendrix, Little Richard and the band can be heard playing hits like Lucille, a cover of The Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There and Shake a Hand.

While Hendrix stayed within the remit of Little Richard's music, he did rip a notable solo that gives a glimpse of his then-developing sound.

Boston radio personality Little Walter DeVenne recorded the show on a Scotch 190 reel-to-reel tape at 7.5 IPS, which was part of DeVenne's personal collection until it was recently released publicly.

Speaking about the recording, Executive Vice President at RR Auction Bobby Livingston says, “Hearing Jimi Hendrix attack the opening chords of I Saw Her Standing There makes your hair stand up. Finding a live recording with both Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix is akin to discovering a musical holy grail.”

In Charles White’s The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography, Little Richard spoke about how he discovered Hendrix when the latter was strapped for cash and had nowhere to go.

“My bus was parked on Auburn Avenue and Jimi was staying in this small hotel,” he said. “And so he came by to see us. He had watched me work and just loved the way I wore these headbands around my hair and how wild I dressed.”

Little Richard's brother and tour manager Robert Penniman also revealed why he was forced to fire Hendrix. “I fired Hendrix, who was using the name Maurice James all the time I knew him. He was a damn good guitar player, but the guy was never on time.

“He was always late for the bus and flirting with the girls and stuff like that. It came to a head in New York, where we had been playing the Apollo and Hendrix missed the bus for Washington, DC. I finally got Richard to cut him loose.”

Despite the short working relationship, Hendrix learned a lot from Little Richard, famously saying, “I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice.”

At the time of writing, the bidding war has already reached $41,315. With 12 hours left, the pre-fame Jimi Hendrix recording is expected to sell for more than $45,000.

For more information about this auction, visit RR Auction.