A fascinating look at what Jimi Hendrix was listening to at home can be seen at the Record Mecca blog. A collector acquired several of Jimi’s “well loved” (i.e. played to shit) albums in an auction from Kathy Etchingham, Jimi’s longtime girlfriend:

I thought people might enjoy knowing—and seeing—what Jimi was listening to during his London years.  The collection I purchased included Jimi’s copies of these albums:

Robert Johnson “King of the Delta Blues Singers”; Muddy Waters “The Real Folk Blues”; John Lee Hooker “Drifting Blues”;  Wes Montgomery “A Day In The Life”; The Roland Kirk Quartet “Rip, Rig and Panic”; Ravi Shankar “India’s Master Musician” and “Portrait of a Genius”; The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Electric Ladyland”; The Dream “Get Dreamy”; Howlin Wolf “The Howlin’ Wolf Album” and “Moanin’ In The Moonlight”; Bob Dylan “Greatest Hits” and “Highway 61 Revisited”; Elmore James “Memorial Album”; James Brown “Showtime”; Clara Ward “Gospel Concert”; Acker Bilk “Lansdowne Folio”; The Beatles “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” Various “Chicago The Blues Today”; Various “American Folk Blues Festival ‘66” and Bill Cosby “Revenge.”

The copy of “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits” has some psychedelic doodling on the back, clearly by Jimi.  Somehow Bonhams didn’t notice this for the auction description—a very happy discovery for me.

The copy of Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” has some of Jimi’s blood on the cover—according to Etchingham, the result of a wine glass accident.

 
Jimi Hendrix’s Record Collection (Record Mecca)

Thank you Michael Simmons!

I’d love to know how a doodle can “clearly” be by anyone.

I remember reading years ago that Jimi had a copy of The Red Krayola’s “Parable of Arable Land” that he had bought because he liked the cover.

Rider: Well, “clearly” in the sense that if the album had no other owner, it is “probably” Jimi’s doodling. Maybe there’s some writing in the doodles that is without a doubt his handwriting? Maybe there are other examples of his psychedelic doodling which are the same style?

Or maybe it’s wishful thinking on the new owner’s part…

Hi, Jeff Gold here, owner of the aforementioned albums.  The doodle mentioned in my post is indeed “clearly” the work of Jimi, as his artwork and handwriting is highly distinctive.  As someone who has studied Hendrix’s work seriously for nearly 40 years, it’s not difficult to see an album that Jimi owned, a doodle virtually identical to his known artwork and come up with the conclusion he drew it. FYI, I’m not just some yahoo—I had one of the world’s largest Hendrix collections, which I donated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992; and worked on a number of Hendrix projects while employed at Warner Bros. Records, as well as co-producing the album “Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.”  Hope that clears things up.  Jeff Gold/www.recordmecca.com