# Jimi Hendrix postage stamp is being issued. Good idea or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700 "2014-03-14T16:44:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/41 "2014-03-14T21:11:06Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Jimi didn’t just play strats. Per Wikipedia, he played a telecaster on “Hey Joe” and “Purple Haze” (though accepting the latter assertion is a great source of cognitive dissonance) and was photographed using a Flying-V on occasion. He also “used Fender Jazzmasters, Duosonics, two different Gibson Flying Vs, a Gibson Les Paul, three Gibson SGs, a Gretsch Corvette, and a Fender Jaguar. He used a white Gibson SG Custom for his performances on The Dick Cavett Show in September 1969, and a black Gibson Flying V during the Isle of Wight festival in 1970.” > > [Jimi Hendrix - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix#Guitars_and_amplifiers) > [http://youtu.be/zElAYXooppM?t=3m27s](http://youtu.be/zElAYXooppM?t=3m27s) Oh yeah, when I had my Black Beauty Les Paul Custom, I was totally jazzed that there was a picture of Hendrix playing one. ETA: [hendix les paul custom - Search Images](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hendix+les+paul+custom&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=5BE5339BC6B1677972961700C730B7871D9CCCE4&selectedIndex=1) But, regardless, Jimi is the ultimate Strat player. The Stratocaster, if you can believe it, was _threatened with being discontinued_ by Fender due to weak sales the year or so before Hendrix broke big. Can you imagine? ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/42 "2014-03-14T21:41:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I got mixed feelings about honoring Jimi Hendrix. He certainly was a great guitarist and had the potential to have been the greatest ever. Except his drug use was out of control and he died. > > What do you think? Did this guy even come close to “legendary” status? Should he get a postage stamp? > > I just don’t see his short career as “legendary”. I went to see Hendrix less than a year before his death. It was an awe-inspiring event. What a very talented and innovative musician he was. I believe he choked to death after vomiting while unconscious due to drinking too much alcohol. Could you provide a cite that drug use figured in his cause of death? Unless you consider drinkers to be drug users? I’ll accept that, but it seems misleading. Hendrix basically invented using the interaction of an electric guitar, effects pedals, and an over-driven, high-wattage tube amp as a new form of musical instrument. He wasn’t just using the amp to make his guitar louder, or the pedals (and tremolo bar) to add sound effects … he was creating controlled feedback and percussive sounds that had previously not been used in a musical context. And he successfully created unique and groundbreaking music with these techniques. Terry Kath, of the band Chicago, also was an innovator in this style of electronic guitar music. Hendrix influenced Rock music and every guitarist who heard him and who’s careers continued after his amazing performances and recordings. He invented modern rock guitar. The famous musicians he inspired mostly hold him up as a legendary figure and a musical genius. Scroll down at this article for an interesting quote from Eric Clapton about Hendrix. He was respected by the guitar legends of his time. [http://www.uncut.co.uk/eric-clapton/eric-clapton-on-cream-i-was-in-a-confrontational-situation-24-hours-a-day-feature](http://www.uncut.co.uk/eric-clapton/eric-clapton-on-cream-i-was-in-a-confrontational-situation-24-hours-a-day-feature) ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/43 "2014-03-14T21:44:37Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > Hendrix influenced Rock music and every guitarist who heard him and who’s careers continued after his amazing performances and recordings. He invented modern rock guitar. The famous musicians he inspired mostly hold him up as a legendary figure and a musical genius. Beyond rock, Hendrix has been featured in every book on jazz guitar I’ve ever seen, usually on the cover. Honestly, if Hendrix is not a legend, no twentieth-century figure is. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/44 "2014-03-14T22:07:27Z")
Jimi got stopped crossing the Canadian border with heroin in his bag. He eventually beat the rap at trial. Was he doing drugs? I’d be shocked if he wasn’t. They were rampant throughout all the rock N roll scene. Quite a few musicians that lived have been very candid about their drug use. > **[Heroine To The Rescue: Jimi Hendrix Is Innocent](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/heroine-to-the-rescue-jimi-hendrix-is-innocent-190757/)** > > Dope? "I've outgrown it" I don’t hold it against Jimi. He should have known better, but it was the 60’s. Rock N roll, party and get laid while you’re young. It was the Cold War. We came oh slow close to destruction during the Cuban Missile crises. People weren’t sure they’d even live to see the future. Barry McGuire wrote [Eve of Destruction](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntLsElbW9Xo) for a good reason. My only issue was Jimi’s limited career. Imagine Joe Montana getting killed in a car wreck during his third year playing for San Francisco. All that potential for greatness snuffed out by a telephone pole. A lot of musicians and athletes die just as their careers are peaking. Anyway, I’m glad Jimi’s fans have something to collect and enjoy. He was a big part of Woodstock. > [@SirGalahad](#): > > I went to see Hendrix less than a year before his death. It was an awe-inspiring event. What a very talented and innovative musician he was. I believe he choked to death after vomiting while unconscious due to drinking too much alcohol. Could you provide a cite that drug use figured in his cause of death? Unless you consider drinkers to be drug users? I’ll accept that, but it seems misleading. > \ ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/45 "2014-03-14T22:10:29Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > I went to see Hendrix less than a year before his death. It was an awe-inspiring event. What a very talented and innovative musician he was. I believe he choked to death after vomiting while unconscious due to drinking too much alcohol. Could you provide a cite that drug use figured in his cause of death? Unless you consider drinkers to be drug users? I’ll accept that, but it seems misleading. Although Hendrix was well known to be an enthusiastic user of illicit drugs, his death was brought on by an unwise combination of wine and legal sleeping pills, used for their intended purpose. You are correct that the immediate cause of death was aspiration of vomit while unconscious. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/46 "2014-03-14T22:27:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > OK, so you’re not personally that familiar with his music and his career was short. Why does that mean he can’t be on a stamp again? > > Edit: Oh, you think volume is really important. Would you like to see the inventor of Muzak on a postage stamp? It would be a perfect stamp for junk mail… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/47 "2014-03-15T00:11:23Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Although Hendrix was well known to be an enthusiastic user of illicit drugs, his death was brought on by an unwise combination of wine and legal sleeping pills, used for their intended purpose. You are correct that the immediate cause of death was aspiration of vomit while unconscious. > [@](#): > > The post-mortem examination concluded that Hendrix aspirated his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. At the inquest, the coroner, finding no evidence of suicide and lacking sufficient evidence of the circumstances, recorded an open verdict. Dannemann stated that Hendrix had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage. > **[Death of Jimi Hendrix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jimi_Hendrix)** > > On September 18, 1970, American musician Jimi Hendrix died in London at the age of 27. One of the 1960s' most influential guitarists, he was described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music." > In the days before his death, Hendrix had been in poor health, in part from fatigue caused by overwork, a chronic lack of sleep, and an assumed influenza-related illness. Insecurities about his personal relationships, as well as disillusi... If accurate, that’s stretching the definition of “used for their intended purpose” just a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/48 "2014-03-15T01:13:36Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death\_of\_Jimi\_Hendrix](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jimi_Hendrix) > > If accurate, that’s stretching the definition of “used for their intended purpose” just a bit. That article goes on to explain that he wanted the tablets in the first place because he couldn’t sleep; admittedly the reason he couldn’t sleep was because he had taken speed earlier. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/49 "2014-03-15T01:53:15Z")
From reading David Henderson’s biography, decades ago, I got the impression that the pills he took were like four times stronger than what he was expecting. Then, the author goes on to suggest that the way he was transported in the ambulance may have contributed to his asphyxiation: sitting upright with his head falling backwards, making it impossible for him to clear his airways. So, attributing his death to drug abuse is debatable. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/50 "2014-03-15T01:58:24Z")
> [@For You](#): > > [Here is what it looks like](http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2014/03/13/Jimi-Hendrix-honored-on-new-USPS-stamp/9341394743833/). Make your jokes _now_ about licking it (even though it is adhesive peel off). > > I must say, I find the image a bit disappointing, it almost looks like they were going for Chubby Checker or something. It would have been so much better if they could have used the [the Philipe Druillet portrait](http://www.popsike.com/JIMI-HENDRIX-ELECTRIC-LADYLAND-ORIGINAL-RARE-FRENCH-PRESSING-DRUILLET-TOP-/321212415556.html). I absolutely agree. What I don’t like about the chosen design is that it doesn’t portray anything about Hendrix, especially the conservative colors. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/51 "2014-03-15T02:11:47Z")
> [@For You](#): > > From reading David Henderson’s biography, decades ago, I got the impression that the pills he took were like four times stronger than what he was expecting. Then, the author goes on to suggest that the way he was transported in the ambulance may have contributed to his asphyxiation: sitting upright with his head falling backwards, making it impossible for him to clear his airways. So, attributing his death to drug abuse is debatable. None of that makes any sense. It is not debatable that his death was related to drug use, and nothing you’ve posted contradicts that. “It doesn’t count. Those pills he took were too strong!” But, yeah. The guy was a total badass, and probably the best rock guitarist if all time. ETA: Shit, I see that you said drug **abuse**. Yeah, okay. You’re right that part is debatable, but I know which part of the debate I’d come down on. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/52 "2014-03-15T02:53:38Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Hey Joe. Where you goin’ with that stamp in your hand? I’m goin’ down to lick my ol’ lady ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/53 "2014-03-15T06:22:33Z")
“The post-mortem examination concluded that Hendrix aspirated his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. At the inquest, the coroner, finding no evidence of suicide and lacking sufficient evidence of the circumstances, recorded an open verdict. Dannemann stated that Hendrix had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage.” If this is accurate, I stand corrected, I guess. Are you saying the recommended dosage of this sleep-aid is 1/2 of one pill? That makes me question the veracity of the entire paragraph. Anyway, I will gladly stipulate that Jimi Hendrix used illicit drugs, abused legal pharmaceuticals, smoked pot and drank too much. Sounds like fun. As far as I’m concerned, none of that has anything to do with his musical genius or his qualifications as a legend. Just makes him more legendary. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/54 "2014-03-15T06:51:40Z")
But the real point is whether the Post Office should be allowed to make purchase and use of these stamps mandatory. When they came out with that Ronald Reagan stamp and forced me to buy them, boy howdy did that ever piss me off. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/55 "2014-03-15T11:55:37Z")
The portrait of Hendrix is LUDICROUSLY bad. Hendrix was lean as a whip, the portrait makes his face look fat. You could not get it more wrong. I would NEVER have guessed that was Hendrix if I had not known it was him beforehand. The “artist” who created this is one of those who do such bad work that you have to label the portrait with the person’s name so everybody will know it’s him (or her). Somehow they’ve managed to honor and dishonor Hendrix at the same time. Fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/56 "2014-03-15T12:04:31Z")
If that notorious cocaine fiend Walt Disney can be on a stamp, then why not Hendrix? Jus’ joke. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/57 "2014-03-15T15:53:20Z")
Jimi was a private in the Airborne Division but I doubt he was a paratrooper given his lack of military discipline! > **[Jimi's Private Parts](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/jimis-private-parts)** > > AUGUST 3--Days before Private James Marshall Hendrix (Jimi to his friends) was officially drummed out of the military, Army brass delivered withering assessments of the 19-year-old soldier. > Hendrix, C Rock on Jimi! And I doubt he GAF about any stamp too. It should be purple if at all. ---
**Author:** ![Roundabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@Roundabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roundabout)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/58 "2014-03-15T17:12:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Did this guy even come close to “legendary” status? I’d say “this guy” is widely known as one of the greatest guitarists off all time, and completely revolutionized a genre within a few years. Well deserving of a postage stamp at least. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/59 "2014-03-15T20:37:04Z")
I’m fine with there being a Hendrix stamp. But that is one shitty design. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700/60 "2014-03-15T23:51:38Z")
> [@Roundabout](#): > > I’d say “this guy” is widely known … … for, amongst other things, one of the most famous mondegreens of all time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimi-hendrix-postage-stamp-is-being-issued-good-idea-or-not/683700.md?page=4)