The Jimi Hendrix Experience Animals bassist, Chas Chandler, formed a backing band with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell was a seasoned London drummer formerly with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. Hendrix chose Redding because of his attitude towards music and his hairstyle. Redding had been a guitar player until that time, but played bass in the band. The name "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" was coined by their business manager Michael Jeffery. The first official appearance of "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" (invited by French singer Johnny Hallyday) was at the "Novelty" in Évreux, France, on October 13, 1966. Six days later
Jimi Hendrix with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began." Hendrix was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967, readers of "Melody Maker" voted him the Pop Musician of the Year, and in 1968, "Rolling Stone" declared him the Performer of the Year. "Disc and Music Echo" honored him with the World Top Musician of 1969 and in 1970, "Guitar Player" named him the Rock Guitarist of the Year. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the