Wild Thing: The short, spellbinding life of Jimi Hendrix

"Arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music," states Jimi Hendrix's citation in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. James Marshall Hendrix remains unique as an African American who transcended the traditional 'Black' genres of blues, R&B, and soul to perform hard rock to a predominantly white audience, almost single-handedly originating what became known as heavy metal.

With unprecedented access to Jimi's younger brother, Leon, the two most significant women in his life, and numerous previously unexamined sources, bestselling music biographer Philip Norman resurrects the real Jimi from the almost mythical icon who continues to influence young guitarists. His death in 1970, at the tender age of twenty-seven when his fame was at its peak, has long been rock's greatest unsolved mystery. However, this book finally reveals where the responsibility lay for Jimi's lonely, squalid end.

As The Times aptly puts it, this is "an engaging memorial to a rock revolutionary whose music, in contrast to many of his revered Sixties peers, retains much of its explosively thrilling voodoo power."