Starting At Zero (26 page)
Authors: Jimi Hendrix
The moment I feel that I don’t have anything more to give musically, that’s when I won’t be found on this planet, unless I have a wife and children, because if I don’t
have anything to communicate through my music, then there is nothing for me to live for. I’m not sure I will live to be twenty-eight years old, but then again, so many beautiful things have
happened to me in the last three years. The world owes me nothing.
When people fear death, it’s a complete case of insecurity. Your body is only a physical vehicle to carry you from one place to another without getting into a lot of trouble. So you have
this body tossed upon you that you have to carry around and cherish and protect and so forth, but even that body exhausts itself. The idea is to get your own self together, see if you can get ready
for the next world, because there is one. Hope you can dig it.
People still mourn when people die. That’s self-sympathy. All human beings are selfish to a certain extent, and that’s why people get so sad when someone dies. They haven’t
finished using him. The person who is dead ain’t crying. Sadness is for when a baby is born into this heavy world, and joy should be exhibited at someone’s death because they are going
on to something more permanent and infinitely better.
I tell you, when I die I’m going to have a jam session. I want people to go wild and freak out. And knowing me, I’ll probably get busted at my own funeral. The music will be played
loud and it will be our music. I won’t have any Beatles songs, but I’ll have a few of Eddie Cochran’s things and a whole lot of blues. Roland Kirk will be there, and I’ll
try and get Miles Davis along if he feels like making it. For that it’s almost worth dying. Just for the funeral.
It’s funny the way people love the dead. You have to die before they think you are worth anything. Once you are dead, you are made for life.
When I die, just keep on playing the records
.
THE STORY OF LIFE IS QUICKER THAN THE WINK OF AN EYE
THE STORY OF LOVE IS HELLO AND GOOD-BYE
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Narrative composition and Introduction: P
ETER
N
EAL
Authentication and compilation of source material: M
ICHAEL
F
AIRCHILD
Design and art direction: D
AVID
C
OSTA
, Wherefore Art?
(with thanks to N
ICKY
P
AGE
)
Project coordination: K
EITH
R
OBINSON
Illustrations: B
ILL
S
IENKIEWICZ
Consultant: R
AY
R
AE
G
OLDMAN
Final edit: R
OSS
F
IRESTONE
Business administration: Marco Mercieca (Tri-Mer Services)
Associate Producer: M
ICHAEL
L
EMESRE
Legal Counsel: K
IRK
H
ALLAM
PRODUCED BY ALAN DOUGLAS
W
ITH SPECIAL THANKS TO
S
ANDY
L
IEBERSON AND
J
OHN
M
ASOURI FOR
HELPING TO FREE THIS BOOK FROM CAPTIVITY
COVER AND TITLE PAGE:
Jimmy at 3 by D
ELORES
H
AMM
H
ALL
{courtesy Leon Hendrix Collection
}
Jimi at 25 by G
ERED
M
ANKOWITZ
{©2013 Bowstir Ltd/mankowitz.com}
PHOTO REFERENCE FOR ILLUSTRATIONS:
photographer Delores Hamm Hall {courtesy Leon Hendrix Collection}
courtesy Leon Hendrix Collection
original photo by William
PoPsie
Randolph
K&K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns/Getty Images
Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images
Elliot Landy/Redferns/Premium Archive/Getty Images
Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
For information concerning the sources used in this book, please go to
www.startingatzero.net
Copyright © 2013 Gravity Limited
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital,
optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Starting At Zero
(originally titled
Room Full Of Mirrors
) was produced without the input, assistance, or authorization of Al Hendrix, Janie Hendrix, Experience
Hendrix, L.L.C., or any parties associated therewith.
Published by Bloomsbury USA, New York
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR.
eISBN: 978-1-62040-333-4
First U.S. Edition 2013
This electronic edition published in October 2013
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