Death of Jimi Hendrix Death of Jimi Hendrix On September 18, 1970, and at the age of 27, the American musician Jimi Hendrix died in London. One of the most influential guitarists of the 1960s, he was described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music." For some days Hendrix had been in poor health, due in part to fatigue caused by overworking, a chronic lack of sleep, and an illness assumed to be influenza-related. Insecurities about his personal relationships and disillusionment with the music industry had also contributed to his frustration. Although
Jimi Hendrix billing, advertisements, and tickets were printed with the New Jimi Hendrix Experience or occasionally just Jimi Hendrix. During the first half of 1970, Hendrix sporadically worked on material for what would have been his next LP. Many of the tracks were posthumously released in 1971 as "The Cry of Love". He had started writing songs for the album in 1968, but in April 1970 he told Keith Altham that the project had been abandoned. Soon afterward, he and his band took a break from recording and began the Cry of Love tour at the L.A. Forum, performing for 20,000 people.