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Jimi Hendrix’s sister recalls when the family first heard Are You Experienced, teases more releases to come

“I remember dad saying, ‘That’s Jimi playing. I don’t know who’s singing, but that’s Jimi playing.’ Because in my dad’s mind, he didn’t think Jimi could sing.”

Jimi Hendrix Performing Live

Image: David Redfern / Getty Images

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Janie Hendrix, sister of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, has opened up about the first time their family heard Are You Experienced, something they apparently have their “hippy” neighbours to thank.

Speaking on The Vinyl Guide podcast, Janie shared how the Hendrix family first heard the song through the walls at their Seattle home, saying “Right, so we lived in a triplex, and there were the hippy girls — that’s what my parents called them — two girls who lived next door.”

“It’s like a house that is divided by three. The walls were thin, and we hear music. I remember dad saying, ‘That’s Jimi playing. I don’t know who’s singing, but that’s Jimi playing.’ Because in my dad’s mind, he didn’t think Jimi could sing.”

She continued, “My mom goes next door, she knocks on the door and says, ‘Can we ask you what record you’re playing?’ And she shows here, and it was the Are You Experienced record, and that’s how we acquired our first Are You Experienced album, because our mom said, ‘That’s our son!’”

“And the hippy girl said, ‘Oh my god! Here! Take it! We’ll go buy another one.’ I think he relied on his management to send us records but they never did.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Janie — who’s president-slash-CEO of Experience Hendrix — also teased more archive releases to come, saying “technology has finally caught up with Jimi, so cleaning up tape has become much better than it was decades ago.”

“Jimi worked really hard… My dad had a really great work ethic, which he passed on to Jimi and myself. [Jimi] was constantly working on his music, whether it was in his apartment on a four-track, or if he was in the studio, or just if he was on the road in a hotel room.”

“There were a lot of shows, a lot of live shows, and not all were recorded but we have put the word out, ‘If you were at this concert, even if you recorded it from your hand-held tape recorder or whatever, we would like to have that.’”

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