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Jimi Hendrix: A Brother's Story
More than forty years after his death, Jimi Hendrix—recently named the greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine—continues to inspire fans. Many have written about Hendrix’s life and music, but Jimi Hendrix: A Brother’s Story provides a revealing and unprecedented look at this visionary icon: an intimate biography written by Jimi’s younger brother, Leon.
Leon Hendrix takes us back to the days before Jimi’s amazing rise to fame, beginning with their tough childhood in Seattle, when their fascination with science fiction and UFOs helped them escape a difficult family life. (Jimi insisted his family call him “Buster,” after Flash Gordon actor Buster Crabbe.) The author reveals Jimi’s early fascination with sound, from his experiments with plucking wires attached to bedposts to the time when he got in trouble for taking apart the family radio (“I was looking for the music,” he explained) to Jimi’s purchasing his first guitar—a Sears, Roebuck and Co. acoustic, from a neighbor.
Leon recounts Jimi’s early days performing on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” when Jimi would call from the road to play early versions of tracks for the classic album Are You Experienced, and illuminates the biographical roots of Jimi’s most well-known songs. Readers learn about the heady days of sex and drugs that came with Jimi’s skyrocketing fame and how Leon felt Jimi’s management isolated him from the rest of the family. The author speaks of his own heartbreak, learning of his brother’s sudden death while incarcerated in Washington State’s Monroe Reformatory.
Commemorating what would have been Jimi's seventieth birthday, Leon Hendrix’s poignant and captivating account sheds new light on a music legend.
Leon Hendrix takes us back to the days before Jimi’s amazing rise to fame, beginning with their tough childhood in Seattle, when their fascination with science fiction and UFOs helped them escape a difficult family life. (Jimi insisted his family call him “Buster,” after Flash Gordon actor Buster Crabbe.) The author reveals Jimi’s early fascination with sound, from his experiments with plucking wires attached to bedposts to the time when he got in trouble for taking apart the family radio (“I was looking for the music,” he explained) to Jimi’s purchasing his first guitar—a Sears, Roebuck and Co. acoustic, from a neighbor.
Leon recounts Jimi’s early days performing on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” when Jimi would call from the road to play early versions of tracks for the classic album Are You Experienced, and illuminates the biographical roots of Jimi’s most well-known songs. Readers learn about the heady days of sex and drugs that came with Jimi’s skyrocketing fame and how Leon felt Jimi’s management isolated him from the rest of the family. The author speaks of his own heartbreak, learning of his brother’s sudden death while incarcerated in Washington State’s Monroe Reformatory.
Commemorating what would have been Jimi's seventieth birthday, Leon Hendrix’s poignant and captivating account sheds new light on a music legend.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2012
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443 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
February 12, 2017
From the very start of this book I could immediately tell that the title had duped me and this book wasn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting a biography of Jimi Hendrix through his brother's eyes. Sadly it turned out to be more of a biography on Leon Hendrix with glimpses of Jimi throughout. I tried really hard to be interested but I was honestly bored to tears as I couldn't care less about Leon. This was totally and utterly disappointing!
January 2, 2013
I am only half way through this book, but I couldn't wait to write a review anyway. So I might be jumping the gun so to speak, but I love the honesty of the author, Leon Hendrix and feel all the pain and love and admiration that he felt for his brother Jimi (whom Leon knew as being called, Buster, a name that Jimi picked for himself since he didn't want to be called his birth name of Johnny). As a fan of Jimi's music, I did not know too much about Jimi's background, so this book is a very informative read for me. And I am not disappointed in reading that Jimi was very loving towards his family and tried his best to take care of his younger brother, Leon, when they were growing up. I will read the rest of the book now and maybe edit this when I'm done, but so far -so good! I would recommend this book as a good book that will keep you up at night since it is very interesting.
August 25, 2018
3.5/5
Let me first state that this book is not an autobiography of Jimi, it briefly portrays some of his life through his brother's eyes and there's a lot more about Leon's life than about Jimi's. So, it gets too boring often but at the end the stories about Jimi makes it worth the while. Some parts of it are amusing and inspiring while others are heartbreaking. Leon's admiration for his brother is loud and clear. There are some bits that I didn't know about before that I've learned here.
All in all, I'm fond of Jimi for a variety of reasons and when I read this book I fell for him even more. He was such a significant person. This memoir could've been far more excellent, if it focused more on Jimi, and if it were 88 pages shorter to avoid dullness.
Let me first state that this book is not an autobiography of Jimi, it briefly portrays some of his life through his brother's eyes and there's a lot more about Leon's life than about Jimi's. So, it gets too boring often but at the end the stories about Jimi makes it worth the while. Some parts of it are amusing and inspiring while others are heartbreaking. Leon's admiration for his brother is loud and clear. There are some bits that I didn't know about before that I've learned here.
All in all, I'm fond of Jimi for a variety of reasons and when I read this book I fell for him even more. He was such a significant person. This memoir could've been far more excellent, if it focused more on Jimi, and if it were 88 pages shorter to avoid dullness.
July 17, 2012
Not the best bio on arguably the most influential guitarist of our time, but it contains a unique perspective by his troubled brother. Leon may not have been there during the height of Jimi's fame, but he was there in the early years and those are the chapters of most interest in this title. With their difficult childhood, it is a wonder Jimi didn't go the way of his brother Leon and end up in prison too. Worth reading if you are a Hendrix fan.
September 24, 2012
What an eye opening story! From UFOs to the harshest earthly realities, this interesting biography weaves a intriguing story. Such a tumultuous childhood for Leon and his more famous brother, it boggles my mind how they made it through their formative years in one piece. The author pulls no punches and holds nothing back it seems, this is a tale told bluntly. More than just a look into the life of a star this is an intimate story of a family during good times and bad.
May 6, 2012
I received this through the GoodReads Giveaway.
Right off the bat, let me say that I rarely read biographies. It's just not what I like to read.
I was sort of excited to get this book because I love Jimi Hendrix's music and was interested to see how his early life molded his music.
His brother paints a pretty bleak childhood where the only bright spots were kind neighbors and relatives, moments of sobriety on the part of the parents and the enduring love the brothers had for each other.
I kept waiting for the magical moment when Jimi finally gets his first guitar, but when it happens, it is sort of blah. In my mind, I kept wanting to read about the musical side of Jimi's early days, but this is more of what the brothers went through everyday to survive childhood.
After Jimi becomes the popular man, we get to see a bit of the behind the scenes action of his music/business world. It is interesting to read a relative's viewpoint of this because of what has been reported/rumoured about the shady dealing and the way Jimi was mistreated.
The story rolls to it's sad end and the remaining few chapters detail the struggle of Leon against addiction and crime, the ugly machinations of non-blood members to control Jimi's legacy, and maybe finaly, salvation and peace of Leon.
I don't know that I gained any insight into Jimi from this book, but I get the feeling that writing it was very important to Leon and a stepping stone for him to continue his clean life. And I hope that is successful.
This was an ARC and a few incorrect words in places (spellcheck?) and there was a lot of redundancy. It can be cleaned up a bit and will probably be a tighter, better read. I think we can understand after reading it once that the ladies were always surrounding Jimi, drugs were rampant, etc. Sometimes these facts would just appear on the page almost as an aside.
Right off the bat, let me say that I rarely read biographies. It's just not what I like to read.
I was sort of excited to get this book because I love Jimi Hendrix's music and was interested to see how his early life molded his music.
His brother paints a pretty bleak childhood where the only bright spots were kind neighbors and relatives, moments of sobriety on the part of the parents and the enduring love the brothers had for each other.
I kept waiting for the magical moment when Jimi finally gets his first guitar, but when it happens, it is sort of blah. In my mind, I kept wanting to read about the musical side of Jimi's early days, but this is more of what the brothers went through everyday to survive childhood.
After Jimi becomes the popular man, we get to see a bit of the behind the scenes action of his music/business world. It is interesting to read a relative's viewpoint of this because of what has been reported/rumoured about the shady dealing and the way Jimi was mistreated.
The story rolls to it's sad end and the remaining few chapters detail the struggle of Leon against addiction and crime, the ugly machinations of non-blood members to control Jimi's legacy, and maybe finaly, salvation and peace of Leon.
I don't know that I gained any insight into Jimi from this book, but I get the feeling that writing it was very important to Leon and a stepping stone for him to continue his clean life. And I hope that is successful.
This was an ARC and a few incorrect words in places (spellcheck?) and there was a lot of redundancy. It can be cleaned up a bit and will probably be a tighter, better read. I think we can understand after reading it once that the ladies were always surrounding Jimi, drugs were rampant, etc. Sometimes these facts would just appear on the page almost as an aside.
July 17, 2012
This book was an intimate portrayal of Jimi' Hendrix's life before all the fame as told by his younger brother Leon. I loved every minute of this book, as I have been a fan of his music since I was 12 when I first heard "Hey Joe" on Forrest Gump. To me this book was a real as real could get. The entire time reading the story I felt as if Leon was just sitting next to me telling the story. Some parts were redundant and I think will be fixed in editing but overall a great read insight into Jimi's early life, the stardom, and the aftermath.
May 9, 2012
I won this book through a goodreads giveaway. It is wonderfully written. The stories of his childhood and growing up just break your heart. It tells of his entire life from start to finish in a way that helps you to understand Jimi and his brother, Leon, more and more. I would recommend this to anyone who is a Jimi Hendrix fan! I absolutely enjoyed reading every part of it and found it very interesting.
December 8, 2012
While I enjoyed reading this book for the stories, I was never sure what to believe about their truth. Leon Hendrix describes himself over and over as a hustler and tells several stories of his schemes. Then there are all the lawsuit struggles between him and other members of the Hendrix family. Not knowing what to believe, I simply read the book as entertainment. Probably only good for Hendrix fans such as myself.
April 30, 2012
I won this book in Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed this book because of the honest portrayal of events. I would recommend this book to anyone intersted in Jimi Hendrix's life before he became a phenomenal rock star.
January 10, 2017
Heartbreaking at some points, inspiring in others.
December 24, 2020
Men d sjukaste va väl att de i usa lägger kroppen i kistan och inte kremerar? Så alla kollar på det uppklädda liket 😬och ngn jobbar med att klä upp lik 😬
Också hahha när jag köpte denna boken: det va en butik med begagnade böcker i kirse. Jag råkade typ välta ner alla böcker så jag ba FUCK nu måste jag köpa alla hans böcker. Plockade på mig massor och sen ...såg jag att de va helt galna priser. En mini-bob-Dylan-bibel som mest va söt kostade 600 SPÄNN!!!Och en annan bok 200 och en tredje 180. Så basically la jag sakta men säkert tillbaka alla en efter en och köpte denna för den va billigast😬
Också hahha när jag köpte denna boken: det va en butik med begagnade böcker i kirse. Jag råkade typ välta ner alla böcker så jag ba FUCK nu måste jag köpa alla hans böcker. Plockade på mig massor och sen ...såg jag att de va helt galna priser. En mini-bob-Dylan-bibel som mest va söt kostade 600 SPÄNN!!!Och en annan bok 200 och en tredje 180. Så basically la jag sakta men säkert tillbaka alla en efter en och köpte denna för den va billigast😬
March 18, 2022
Focused on Leon and Jimi's life growing up. Leon's life and his interactions with Jimi when Jimi was on tour. Interesting read on Leon's life and how sharing the Hendrix name has affected him. If you're looking for big setails on Jimi's life, you'll want to supplement with another book.
May 9, 2016
This is a hard book to rate because I think his brother baited me in with the title, I thought it was going to be a biography of Jimi through his brother's eyes. There ended up being a lot of biography of his brother because you come to find out he wasn't around Jimi that much. Therefore, you do get a glimpsed into the tumultuous family relationship that Jimi grew up in, but many stories don't include Jimi or barely involves him. This to me was more of a bio of his brother which unfortunately is not why most people would pick up this book to read. Most want to read about Jimi. If you go in with the right mind set and heed what I just said above, then it might be more enjoyable for the next reader. I had high hopes and was disappointed.
There are good insights like I said into how Jimi was raised and therefore explaining how he got to where he did, but that is it.
There are good insights like I said into how Jimi was raised and therefore explaining how he got to where he did, but that is it.
April 6, 2019
I don't know about this book.
Yes, there are some interesting tales of when the Hendrix brothers were growing up, but the book totally swings to more of The Leon Hendrix Story and bragging about being a street hustler, major thief, and a quite shady con-artist on the downtown streets of Seattle.
Leon is too full of himself and what is printed here made me after a while strongly want to quit reading about HIS exploits.
Not at all a good book and very low on recommending it.
Sad amount of photos when there could have been more enclosed than just a mere eight pages total.
Actually, this should had been called: Leon Hendrix - My Story And Mostly About Me And Not Jimi.
Soon to be found in a cut-out book bin near you.
Yes, there are some interesting tales of when the Hendrix brothers were growing up, but the book totally swings to more of The Leon Hendrix Story and bragging about being a street hustler, major thief, and a quite shady con-artist on the downtown streets of Seattle.
Leon is too full of himself and what is printed here made me after a while strongly want to quit reading about HIS exploits.
Not at all a good book and very low on recommending it.
Sad amount of photos when there could have been more enclosed than just a mere eight pages total.
Actually, this should had been called: Leon Hendrix - My Story And Mostly About Me And Not Jimi.
Soon to be found in a cut-out book bin near you.
June 26, 2012
HB -- from the library
Leon was too high for far too long and missed his own story let alone his brother's. the family never profitted from the 'experience' but the step family did. All Leon had to do was sober up and he missed that call. I di enjoy Leon's unrealistic look at his childhood after years of being too high. This story is similar to what YOKO did to John's 1st family but in Jimi's case it was done by his father's second wife. I certainly will not purchase anything Hendrix as I do not support Yoko.
Leon was too high for far too long and missed his own story let alone his brother's. the family never profitted from the 'experience' but the step family did. All Leon had to do was sober up and he missed that call. I di enjoy Leon's unrealistic look at his childhood after years of being too high. This story is similar to what YOKO did to John's 1st family but in Jimi's case it was done by his father's second wife. I certainly will not purchase anything Hendrix as I do not support Yoko.
September 28, 2012
I loved hearing stories of a childhood growing up---the bulk of this book is literally that, a tale of brothers living day in and day out together. Understanding that all of the legal issues between the families is nonsense (and personally I believe that Janie Hendrix is a perfect example of a slithering snake in a human body), it is encouraging to me that there is still someone in his real and true family concerned for his legacy and setting things correct on the public record.
March 31, 2016
Since Jimi Hendrix is one of my favorite musicians I had really high hopes for this book. However, it felt more like the story about his brothers life.
Leon Hendrix tells the story about his brothers fame, you get to follow them through their younger years but as Jimi grows older and moves away from home the story centers more on Leon than his brother.
It was still really good though, the parts where Leon accompanied Jimi on the road were really interesting and fun to read about.
Leon Hendrix tells the story about his brothers fame, you get to follow them through their younger years but as Jimi grows older and moves away from home the story centers more on Leon than his brother.
It was still really good though, the parts where Leon accompanied Jimi on the road were really interesting and fun to read about.
July 22, 2012
I recommend this book to 1960's and 1970's music lovers. I enjoy learning about the lives of the musicians that influenced my musical tastes. And, as so often is the case, Leon Hendrix' describes the greed of those surrounding the star...lawyers, managers, as well as family members who come out of the woodwork when money is involved...in this case, step-sister Janie.
September 17, 2012
Insightful and honest, full of surprising facts and details. Heart breaking and inspiring. Before his death, Jimi Hendrix was exhausted and continually pushed and manipulated by those in charge of his career. This is an excellent biography of an incredibly talented, shy and conflicted young musician. One of the most talented musicians ever.
May 8, 2017
This really is the story of Leon Hendrix's life. It has a solid background of their struggles in youth in poverty and a broken home. Then when Jimi left for the service it turns to a history of Leon's hustling on the streets to make some money then quickly turns into the story of a hanger on as Leon walks in and out of Jimi's life of fame and excess.
November 18, 2012
Very quick read. Interesting to read about Jimi's upbringing in Seattle as told from younger brother Leon. Wish there was more, but Leon and Jimi spent a large number of years a part from each other as well.
May 7, 2013
It was very a wonderful memoir - it depicted life with Jimi from the only person who could truly say he shared his life with him. I feel it was very sad on how Leon was cut out of the will, monies by people who did not even share his or Jimi's genetic makeup.
May 22, 2013
This book was AMAZING! I learned so much about him and how he came to be the legend that he is. He came out of nothing and had a real gift for what he did. This book was written exceptionally well, and I felt like I became part of their family through reading
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June 2, 2015This is a great book. It is cool to read a book from a primary source and to get his brothers perspective about how they both lived. It is crazy to read about how tough life was. I loved this book. He even explained how he was fascinated with sound, and he got in trouble for trying to find sound.
July 27, 2019
Found it interesting at the beginning but soon grew bored as I found it more of a biography of Leon Hendrix rather than Jimi. I finished it but wanted to know more detail about Jimi’s rise to fame and his death, rather then the life of his brother.
May 1, 2012
I won this book through goodreads. I am a huge Jimi Hendrix fan and I learned so many new things. I love the book and was very impressed. I highly recommend.
May 29, 2012
Not the greatest bio on Hendrix. Yes, even though it was written by his brother. As my friend Cathy says, "Sorry for your troubles."
Thank you Jimi for the great music and may you rest in peace.
Thank you Jimi for the great music and may you rest in peace.
August 4, 2012
I grabbed the book for several reasons the main one Hendrix is my number one favorite guitarist. An interesting glimpse into his life from his brother's perspective. Worth reading....
December 2, 2012
Good insight into Jimi's formative years but I should have realized from the title it would ultimately be less about Jimi and more about Leon whose life has been almost as unremarkale as mine!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews