31 December

🌴 December, 31


1966.

🌴 Folkestone, “Hillside Social Club”, 14-16 Dover Road, Kent
Concert (60 minutes).
Travelled by train.
It is rumoured that Noel & Jimi jammed with members of The Circuit.

Noel: “We supplemented our income in anyway possible. I figured I’d rather eat by playing music with ‘The Experience’ and organised a New Year’s Eve gig for the band at ‘Stan’s Hillside Club’ in Folkstone – fifty whole pounds! I was the only one he’d heard of and Stan worried about booking an unknown band for such an important night. I had to sell hard to convince him that we were worth it. Then the management and agent contacted Stan and bang went our pocket money.

It was a great night – amazing warmth and acceptance from the regular Folkstone crowd. But English Licensing laws madly insist on throwing you into the street just before midnight even on New Year’s Eve.”
↪ Jimi, Kathy, Mitch and Noel attend the New Year’s Eve party at Margaret Redding’s (Noel’s mother) house in Folkestone.

Margaret: “It was very cold that night. Jimi asked me if it would be alright to stand next to the fire, that’s how he got the idea for the song Fire.”

Shortly after 12 o’clock Jimi performs the ‘First Footing’...

1967.
🌴 London, “Speakeasy” - Jimi attends the New Years Eve party and jams with various musicians. According to Melody Maker reporter Chris Welch, Jimi played a 30-minute version of “Auld Lang Syne.”

Noel: “Dropped acid again on New Year’s Eve.”

1968.
🌴 No News…

1969.
🌴 Fillmore East, New York Two Shows Prior to their two concerts later that evening, Jimi and his Band Of Gypsys held an afternoon sound check and rehearsal at the Fillmore East.

Later that evening, before a sold out crowd of 2,639, Jimi rang in the New Year and new decade with two unforgettable performances. The evening’s festivities opened with a spirited set by the Voices Of East Harlem, an enthusiastic young gospel ensemble.
With the anticipation of the sold out Fillmore audience heightened to fever pitch, Jimi led his trio through a scintillating, seventy-five minute opening performance.

None of the eleven songs presented had yet to grace an Experience album. In the place of signature songs like “Purple Haze” and “All Along The Watchtower” were confident renditions of “Izabella” and “Hear My Train A Comin’”. At midnight, Kip Cohen, the venue’s master of ceremonies, rang in the new year and decade buffeted by Guy Lombardo’s “Auld Lang Syne”. Never one to be upstaged, Jimi and company greeted the joyous house with their own inspired reading of the holiday staple. For Amalie Rothschild, the Fillmore East’s house photographer, the experience was an unforgettable one. “Then there was the countdown at midnight. It was the countdown that was a real scream. We’re talking about the end of the Sixties. December 31, 1969 turning into January 1, 1970–.

A new decade.

This was significant. After all, we were living through it and we knew that the Sixties were the Sixties. We had this big countdown on the [Joshua White] light show screen with this big clock 10, 9, 8, 7, 6…and everybody is yelling together. Then the light show screen pulls up and everybody is on stage–all the crew and the musicians. Hendrix, who is now on stage, launches into this amazing rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and I filmed it [excerpts of Rothschild’s color film footage can be seen in the VHS/DVD Band Of Gypsys].

This was history in the making. You could not miss this. His performance was just so inspired. It was just terrific and I can’t find the words to describe it.” The recordings which make up both Band Of Gypsys and its two disc sequel Live At The Fillmore East certainly bear out Rothschild’s remembrances. Jimi’s celebrated work with the Band Of Gypsys stands among his most impressive and lasting achievements. After the show, Ian Dove of Record Mirror interviewed Jimi Hendrix for the January 10, 1970 edition of the British paper. Later that night, Hendrix retreated to The Café Caliph (previously known as The Café Au Go Go) in Greenwich Village where he joined The James Cotton Blues Band on stage for a jam.










Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/SlpIeivbAA4FVQ7E3
Fillmore East: https://youtu.be/9yR6e4qf9gQ

30 December

🚗 December, 30

1966.
🚗 No News…

1967.
🚗 London, “Olympic Sound Studios”
Demo recording session without Jimi and Mitch.
Noel: ’’Did some adding to my track ‘Dream’. Chas messed it up, scrubbed rhythm guitar.”

1968.
🚗 No News…

1969.
🚗 No News…


🚗 Born on this day
Bo Diddley (Ellas McDaniel)
(Dec 30, 1928 - Jun 2, 2008)
Bo Diddley (1958) full album: https://youtu.be/l7031HvXLuk

Del Shannon
(Dec 30, 1934 - Feb 8, 1990)
Runaway: https://youtu.be/8TLLcvWeiKw



29 December

💫 December, 29


1966.
〰 London, “BBC Lime Grove Studios/Area C”, TV rehearsals and live show for Top Of The Pops’.

The Experience went to the studio about 9.30 in the morning for rehearsals. They stayed all day until it was time to perform a live version of “Hey Joe” (3:46) during the live broadcast on BBC1 between 19.30 and 20.00. The Breakaways (Gloria George, Barbara Moore and Margaret Stredder) were yet again used (OOV) for additional background vocals. The Experience were introduced by DJ Simon Dee.

1967.
〰 London, “Olympic Sound Studios”
Studio recordings with Jimi and Mitch.
Songs: Dream, Little One take, Sweet Angel (overdubs)

1968.
〰 No News…

1969.
〰 Baggy’s, New York City, BOG. Rehearsal for the New Years Fillmore East concerts

Born on this day
♡ 1946, Marianne Faithfull
Sister Morphine: https://youtu.be/rdtM2YGaJ4k



28 December

🎸 December, 28


1966.
🎸 No News…

1967.
🎸 London, “Olympic Sound Studios”. Studio recordings.
Jimi guitar and drums, Dave Mason sitar
Song: Little One (aka Try Out) (basic track)

1968.
🎸 NYC ‘Flight To Lowlands Paradise Festival’ in Utrecht, Holland cancelled.
Jimi wheels out his ‘broken leg’ story again.

1969.
🎸 Baggy’s, New York City, BOG. Rehearsal for the New Years Fillmore East concerts

🎸 Born on this day
Roebuck “Pops” Staples
(Dec 28, 1914 - Dec 19, 2000)
Down In Mississippi: https://youtu.be/uBAeDSVwk0o

♡ 1946, Edgar Winter
Big City Blues: https://youtu.be/UsZILXdBoxY

🎸 Gone to Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven
Freddie King
(Sep 3, 1934 - Dec 28, 1976)
Blues Band Shuffle: https://youtu.be/0COkPgo44lU





27 December

🍯 December, 27

1966.
🍯 No News…

1967.
🍯 No News…

1968.
🍯 No News…

1969.
🍯 Baggy’s, New York City, BOG. Rehearsal for the New Years Fillmore East concerts

🍯 Born on this day
♡ 1948, Larry Byrom, Steppenwolf
Snowblind Friend: https://youtu.be/AxU0tLulWH4


26 December

🍓 December, 26


1966.
🍓 London, “The Upper Cut”, Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate - Concert (60 minutes).
Support: The Fantastic Freddie Mack Show.
Jimi writes “Purple Haze” in the dressing room of “The Upper Cut”, while he was waiting to go on to play.

https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/357494/2/boomer-babes

1967.
🍓 London, home of Bruce Fleming, 38 Grays Inn Road - Jimi spends Christmas with Bruce Fleming and friends.

Bruce Fleming: “I had asked Jimi ‘What are you doing for Christmas, are you going back to the States?’ Jimi said, ‘No, I sort of don’t know what to do.’ And it occurred to us that the silly thing was... I mean nobody invited Jimi for Christmas... We got to talk about architecture, painting, all sorts. He was into everything, especially the arts. Yeah, so we just had a brilliant time, and a lot of laughs... with turkey, the whole thing... He stayed over night. He was very radical in his opinions and his ideas: a very original thinker, very laid back, very quiet, very funny. He had a beautiful sense of humor."

1968.
🍓 No News…

1969.
🍓 No News...




25 December

💦 December, 25


1966.
💦 Noel’s 21st Birthday.

Kathy Etchingham: Christmas Day 1966 at Montagu Square, London. I had just given Jimi a pair of socks (a traditional British gift) as a Christmas present and he seemed somewhat surprised by this! It's a nice photo of Jimi.

1967.
💦 Transmission of the JHE performing “Purple Haze” on ‘Top Of The Pops ‘67’ (BBC1 TV, between 14.05 and 15.00), tele-recorded on 16 December 1967.

London, Jimi’s flat - Due to Kathy Etchingham’s “limited cooking skills” Jimi was treated to a Christmas dinner consisting of “egg and chips”.

London - Jimi turns up in the evening for a party at Noel’s house, who’s celebrating his 22nd birthday, and stays until the early morning hours.

Noel: “Dropped acid on my 22nd birthday, [...] I found my trips were changing. First I lost my memory while up, and then the bad trips started. I couldn’t forget these, no matter how hard I tried. Gone were the days when we would play around, tossing energy and thoughts to each other like kids having a pillow fight. It was hard to even get coherent, because we weren’t leaving any time between trips to sort ourselves out. Only when we were working did I feel whole.”

1968.
💦 No News…

1969.
💦 No News…

💦 Born on this day
Noel Redding
https://youtu.be/YtmZw33e9Do

💦 Gone to Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven
James Brown
I feel good: https://youtu.be/SzlpTRNIAvc






24 December

🌳 December, 24


1966.
🌳 The “Hey Joe” single gets reviewed in UK the music press.

Record Mirror: “Should justice prevail, this’ll be a first-time hit...flip is more urgent and equally soul-laden.”

New Musical Express: “Here’s a young man who could make a profound impression in the future...it’s guttural, earthy, convincing and authentic...this is a disc for the connoisseurs.”

1967.
🌳 Transmission of the ‘Top Gear’ radio show recordings of 15 December 1967 on BBC Radio 1, between 14.00 and 17.00, introduced by John Peel and Tommy Vance.

1968.
🌳 Jimi reportedly attends a poetry reading at St. Mark’s Church in New York.

1969.
🌳 No News…







23 December

🏊 December, 23


1966.
🏊 Although Noel does not mention a gig on this date in his manuscript, apparently a contract was made for the Experience to appear at the Hounslow Ricky Tick for two shows this night.

1967.
🏊 Dave Mason's flat, London.
Jimi on painted Flying V and Dave Mason on sunburst Strat are photographed jamming after the 'Christmas On Earth Continued' show.

Dave Mason: “This photo was taken at 7 in the morning at my flat after an evening in London at a concert featuring Hendrix, Traffic and other bands that I can't remember now, but it was quite an evening, as you can imagine. I will always be grateful to Linda Eastman (later Linda McCartney) for capturing this moment."

1968.
🏊 No News…

1969.
🏊 Baggy’s, New York City, BOG, Rehearsal for the New Years Fillmore East concerts.

↪ Record Plant, New York City, BOG.
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Songs: Honeybed, Night Bird Flying, Come Down Hard On Me, unreleased.
Technical failures brought this session to a premature close.










22 December

🔮 December, 22


1966.
🈂️ Southampton Guild Hall, Civic Centre, Hampshire, England, JHE
‘Dance concert’ ie the usual discotheque with live bands doing short sets in between. Organised by the ‘Ricky Tick’ club chain.
They are advertised as, ‘Jimmy Hendric’s Experience’
Supporting Geno Washington And The Ram Jam Band
Songs: unknown

1967.
🈂️ London, Olympia, Hammersmith, England, JHE
Concert: ‘Christmas On Earth Continued’ – at 02.00. Title came from a 1965 avant-garde film script by Barbara Rubin of New York.

Noel: “At the London Olympia, a prestige gig, I encountered strobe lights for the first time. I got lost in them, feeling far too detached, but knew I had to play. I was caught in a slow-motion, black and white time warp. All I could see were old-time movie flickers of Jimi laughing at me as I tried to keep in touch with the tempo. I still can't handle strobes. Everything was designed to let it 'flow', but it was sometimes hard not to just melt away.”

1968.
🈂️ No News…

1969.
🈂️ Baggy’s, New York City, BOG. Rehearsal for the New Years Fillmore East concerts.

🈂️ Born on this day
Lil Green
(Dec 22, 1919 - Apr 14, 1954)
Every Time: https://youtu.be/8Ba13rXHd4Q

🈂️ Gone to Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven
Joe Strummer
(Aug 21, 1952 – Dec 22, 2002)
Mondo Bongo - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: https://youtu.be/vPjaXu6g1Xk

Joe Cocker
(May 20, 1944 – Dec 22, 2014)
High Time We Went: https://youtu.be/MPs9c1jhMhw _Feelin' Alright_: https://youtu.be/FoAO0851FwA

Video from the ‘Christmas On Earth Continued’ (Wrong caption): https://youtu.be/fSy-PKBCJ6w



21 December

👒 December, 21


1966.
👒 London, “Blaises”
Concert (see Debbie’s post for details)
https://plus.google.com/109564805347348145270/posts/Vb3mEMdPY2k

1967.
👒 London
↪ Anim office - JHE interview conducted by Linda Eastman.
↪ “Olympic Sound Studios” - Studio recordings until the next morning.
Producer: Chas Chandler
Engineer: Eddie Kramer

Crosstown Traffic (with Jimi on kazoo & piano), And The Gods Made Love (aka At Last The Beginning) (demo) - unreleased

Jimi: “I was playing piano on it. And then we sang in the background, You know.”

Eddie Kramer: “The piano sound was very heavily compressed with a Pye limiter and, as it was going through that, it was also being EQ'd. I also varied the EQ to make it sound like a mini wah-wah. Jimi doubled up the melody line by singing what he's playing on the guitar. Then he put a kazoo on top of that.”

1968.
👒 No News…

1969.
👒 Baggy’s Studio, New York City, BOG. Rehearsal for the Fillmore East concerts

👒 Born on this day
Peetie Wheatstraw
(Dec 21, 1902 - Dec 21, 1941)
You Can't Stop Me From Drinking: https://youtu.be/hhQWOVaiudc

👒 Gone to Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven
Albert King
(Apr 25, 1923 - Dec 21, 1992)
The Feeling: https://youtu.be/N8UF7Zlmyz0

Lee Dorman
(Sep 15, 1942 - Dec 21, 2012)
Tribute BLT2012: https://youtu.be/H5fhwJqKlDA