The first in-depth biography of the formative years of the greatest electric guitarist in history. The book not only breaks down the essential years of 1962-66 into six-month units, but also flashes back to his childhood in Seattle and his tumultuous life after taking the UK by storm and exploding onto the American scene at the Monterey Pop Festival. BECOMING JIMI HENDRIX explores threads like Jimi's evolution from rhythm and blues to rock, the reliance on certain women to help him survive, how his own feelings about racism changed the structure of rock bands, the masters he learned from, the influence of science fiction on his song lyrics and on and on. In addition to the fast-moving narrative of 185 pages, the 100 pages of back matter include an in-depth timeline of 1962-66, index, bibliography, sessionography and 25 rare black and white photos, 11 of which have never been published.