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List Price: $29.95 | | Publisher: Alijas Enterprises LP
Salesrank: 1723633
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
"He was an ordinary, run-of-the-mill kid coming along," James "Al" Hendrix remembers about his son, "but he had an imagination." Many books have been written about Jimi Hendrix's guitar techniques, amps and whammy bars, but none explores his humanity in the depth revealed here by his loving father. In this extraordinary biography, Al Hendrix shares stories, letters, never-before-seen snapshots, and previously unpublished artwork by his remarkable son. Essential for every Hendrix fan! 192 pages. bios: James "Al" Hendrix worked as a professional landscape gardener for nearly three decades and is now the chairman of the board of Experience Hendrix. Jas Obrecht was an editor at Guitar Player magazine for 20 years and is the primary author of Blues Guitar: The Men Who Made the Music. He is the 1997 winner of the W.C. Handy "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award in journalism. "So many books have come out over the past 25 years...Writers who've never talked with Jimi or me don't know anything about his childhood, and his childhood had a whole lot of bearing on who he became...I had to set the record straight." - Al Hendrix
My Son Jimi Reviews:
Great book 
2008-06-22 - Al Hendrix shares his entire relationship with Jimi from birth to death in this book. He writes a lot about Jimi's childhood, Jimi's mother, Al's brothers and parents, etc. He talks about Jimi's visits home and how everyone would then come over and the house would be full. He talks verbatim about the conversations he had with Jimi during these visits to Seattle: whether Jimi was involved with drugs, Jimi saying that he was going to get married, how much Jimi liked to come home to get away from everything. He describes the Seattle concerts in 1969 and 1970. There are a lot of great photos of Jimi with June, Al and Janie during these visits home. Then Al explains what happened to Jimi's possessions and estate after his death and the subsequent posthumous recordings. This is a very informative book and I learned a lot about Jimi and Jimi's family.
One side of the story 
2008-05-27 - Don't expect to find out a lot about what Jimi thought while he was growing up. It appears that he, like fellow dreamer Bix Beiderbecke, grew up in families that were incapable of understanding the genius in their midst. It is a fascinating read though. One begins to grasp the grinding poverty, familial insecurity, and multiculturalism that shaped James Marshall Hendrix. It is fascinating to explore the human vessels that the universe decides to pour its greatest talent into.
Jimi Henrix was also a very talented songwriter and artist. His penmanship was beautiful. This book shows you the roots of a very sad little boy that mysteriously flowered into one of the most gifted musicians of all time. It makes it doubly sad that he never made it to a secure base in life from which he could look back and give his own perspective on his meteoric career that continues to reverberate with each passing generation.
After this book I suggest 'Room Full of Mirrors' by Charles Cross for the rest of the known story.
Al's 'Bad' Memory 
2007-09-18 - I know it's wrong to criticise the dead, but this book is very much written through bright rosey red coloured spectacles. Al was getting on in years when he collaborated on this book and I suspect a lot of it was very much taken from one-to-one chats between Al and his 'ghost writer'; but unfortunately the book appears to have been very much influenced by the step -daughter from hell (and not a blood relative of Jimi)....one Janie Hendrix. Therefore, although Al's early memories of Jimi as a child and early adolescent are interesting and have some value, his assertions that Leon was not his child and how much Jimi was fond of his 'little sister Janie' devalue the rest of the book. Even if Leon was not Al's child, he was Lucille's son and that makes him Jimi's blood half-brother....which is a damn site closer to Jimi than Janie will ever be (he only met Janie on a couple of occasions)...........I suspect that Janie poisoned Al's mind at the time that this book was written with one thing in mind...Al's will and inheritance and the control of Jimi's music...which all spells one word......GREED. Unfortunately her scheming paid off, as Al effectively disowned Leon and gifted more or less evrything to Janie (including the rights to Jimi's music).
Finally, I am sure Al loved Jimi in his own way and I am sure Jimi had some affection for Al, but it is all overplayed in this book and Jimi told a lot of people that Al beat him quite badly when he was growing up and Kathy Etchingham in particular recalls a number of occasions when Al was not exactly a loving father..........however times were very hard for Al and Jimi (and Leon) and it is unfair to be too hard on Al in the early days....and to some degree in later life when I suspect he was slightly senile and therefore very susceptible to Janie's worm tonguery.
BEANSTO YOU AL HENDRIX! 
2005-03-06 - when sharon lawrence called al hendrix to plead with him to not make jimi's funeral a spectacle, Mr. Hendrix's first response to her was. do you know how much money he had?
This man was only ever interested in his son as a meal ticket and even 29 years later here he is tryig to make money off his dead genius son. all i can say is shame on you al hendrix!
JOHN HOVING
Essential Perspective
2004-02-09 - For years, while reading conflicting opinions by numerous authors of all things Jimi, it seemed natural to wonder what Jimi's dad would have had to say about it. Fortunately, rather than sit back and wonder about it, Jas Obrecht worked with Al Hendrix to get the story told. Of all people, Jimi's father surely had an important story to tell, from a vital perspective - that being the family anchor throughout most of Jimi's often scattered childhood.
"My Son Jimi" is a tender yet objective look into the life of a uniquely gifted soul. The childhood personality traits that Al reveals sync well with what we know of the adult Jimi. With so much known about nearly every breath of his life once he became famous, it's refreshing to hear so many stories and details of Jimi's early days and the events that influenced his view of the world. Al's memory was obviously sharp, as evidenced by the depth of chronological details and his ability to wrap the up-close human perspective into those details. For example, in describing the lean years when money was tight, Al was forced to move from place to place and chase employment opportunities. Al closes the history loop by describing the impact these events had on young Jimi. Likewise, the descriptions of home life when Jimi's mother Lucille was living elsewhere, often with other men, are treated with respect to all, allowing as much dignity to be preserved as possible, even in very undignified circumstances. These touches add a healthy coating of reality and personality that can never be touched upon by an author merely reporting a historical perspective.
I found Al's descriptions of Jimi's music illuminating and intriguing. Obviously, Al was proud of his son's accomplishments, but was still able to hear the music for what it was, with open ears. I believe that his need to be honest and realistic was a key component leading to the success of Experience Hendrix once the family had acquired the Hendrix legacy. Look at it this way - for decades, Alan Douglas had been the caretaker of Jimi's music and although I don't think he was deserving of all of the hateful criticism he received, I do believe he was a puppet in the machine that turned its head away from Jimi's clearly stated intentions of where his music was headed. Al listened to Jimi, for example Jimi's eagerness to work with and appreciation of Eddie Kramer and Al then brought Eddie into the fold to help move the music in the right direction. This was no mistake - it was action motivated by love.
Al's prose is not particularly colorful, nor embellished - instead he speaks economically, to the point and from the heart. This may lead some to criticize this book unfairly, but I believe that the content, honesty and perspective Al has brought forth make My Son Jimi essential reading for those interested in learning the true story of Jimi Hendrix.
