Festivities Include Screening of Grammy-Nominated Documentary Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix in Maui
Q&A with Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer & John McDermott
The City of London is honoring Jimi Hendrix with a prestigious Blue Plaque, to be located at the Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch on June 10. Experience Hendrix L.L.C., together with the Hard Rock Hotel London, will unveil this permanent historical marker which commemorates Jimi’s last London residence, known then as the Cumberland Hotel, before his untimely death in 1970. As part of the festivities, there will be a screening of the documentary Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix in Maui, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Music Film last year. There will also be an exclusive Q&A with Jimi’s sister Janie Hendrix, his producer/engineer Eddie Kramer, and the film’s director John McDermott.
This new honor is bestowed by the Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT). Founded in 2006, NJCT is the only commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme focused on memorializing the historic contributions of Black and minority people of various ethnic origins in Britain and beyond. The NJCT has since installed more than 62 commemorative Blue and Black Plaques throughout the UK, including those celebrating the life and work of Bob Marley. The English Heritage organization which oversees the original Blue Plaque in London, dates to 1866, and celebrates the links between notable figures of the past and the buildings in which they lived and worked, and has similarly celebrated Jimi Hendrix. The first Blue Plaque recognizing Jimi Hendrix was unveiled in 1997 at his 1968-69 Mayfair residence. There is also a Blue Plaque at that same address (25 Brook Street) commemorating the fact that German-born composer George Frideric Handel lived there from 1723 until his death in 1759. The Hard Rock/Cumberland connection is manifested in the fact that Hendrix wrote song lyrics (title? titles?) on the hotel’s stationary that survive to this day and are vaulted in the archives of Experience Hendrix.
With two Blue Plaques, Jimi Hendrix is in rarified company of the few who have their name grace multiple Blue Plaques. These notables include Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Ministers Lord Palmerston and William Gladstone, and author William Makepeace Thackeray
“I’m so proud of my brother Jimi and his being honored again in London,” said Janie Hendrix. “His mission was to spread love across the world through his music, and we continue to see that come to fruition all these years later. Eddie, John and I all look forward to interacting with people on June 10, whose lives were touched by Jimi in London – a city that was so important to him and his career.”
