Jimi Hendrix was found dead at the age of 27 on this day in 1970. He entered the U.S. Army in 1961 as part of a plea deal for joyriding in stolen cars. He formed a band while stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. After being discharged the next year, he headed his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. He was spotted by a manager who convinced him to move to London, where he formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience and made his fame as one of the most talented electric guitarists in history.
After the band broke up in 1969, he got caught up in several legal troubles and fell deep into addiction. The drug misuse would be what killed Hendrix—he was found dead, having asphyxiated on his own vomit after an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol.
You can read more about Jimi Hendrix at PBS.
