It’s the birthday

… of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. She’s 48 today.

Johnny Allen Hendrix was born in Seattle on this date in 1942. His name was changed to James Marshall Hendrix at age four. We know him as Jimi. He acquired his first guitar at age 16.

Jimi Hendrix expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar into areas no musician had ever ventured before. Many would claim him to be the greatest guitarist ever to pick up the instrument. At the very least his creative drive, technical ability and painterly application of such effects as wah-wah and distortion forever transformed the sound of rock and roll. Hendrix helped usher in the age of psychedelia with his 1967 debut, Are You Experienced?, and the impact of his brief but meteoric career on popular music continues to be felt.

Excerpt from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum: Inductee Detail