When the paramedics arrived at the Samarkand Hotel late on the morning of September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix's lover, Monica Dannemann, was nowhere to be found even though it was her room. They later testified that the apartment door was open and the small flat was empty with the exception of Hendrix's still body in the bedroom. Jimi had died in the early morning hours sometime between three and four AM. He was already cold. << MORE >>

Over the years, different accounts have appeared regarding Hendrix's final hours and the events leading up to his death. There are murder conspiracy theories galore regarding Hendrix's premature death all those years ago. The passage of time has not added any clarification to the issue. No earthshaking new information has been revealed that can be corrobrated. << MORE >>

The last week of Jimi Hendrix's life was filled with conflict. Most of it was due to his multiple relationships and jealousy between the women in his life, but there were also business considerations stirring up trouble. << MORE >>

Who murdered Jimi Hendrix? September 18, 2010 marks the fortieth anniversary of his death.<< MORE >>

Everyone is familiar with the sound of the Rickenbacker 360 12 string electric guitar. George Harrison played the second one ever made in the early days of the Beatles. Roger McGuinn took it's unique sound and turned it into the Byrds' trademark. Years later, Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers used it liberally in his retro folk-rock that so appealed to our aging ears. Peter Buck of REM used one extensively in the 1980's. << MORE >>

Pere Lachaise holds the remains of a lot of prominent people including Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Alice B. Toklas and of course, Jim Morrison, who used to frequent the cemetery in his final weeks, wandering among the deceased.<< MORE >>

During the course of their recording career, the Beatles seldom left the familar comfort of Abbey Road. Only Let It Be was recorded elsewhere. In the late sixties, the sidewalk in front of the building was often crowded with fans waiting for the four to show up for work. A smile and a wave from the steps by one of the boys would elicit shrieks from the fans and especially thrill the hardcore female Beatles' fans known as the Apple Scruffs. << MORE >>

Luckily, Goose Lake was planned before the Woodstock movie came out. The rock phenomena that had begun with Monterey Pop in 1967 was beginning to scare mainstream America. By the fall of 1970, after seeing the great mass of young people in the upstate New York countryside as shown in the documentary film, most local governments passed ordinances banning the gatherings. Luckily, Goose Lake was slipped in before the right-wing bureaucrats had a chance to get organized and legislate them out of existence. << MORE >>

I call it happy music. It was a phenomena of the mid-sixties we could use a little of these days. Happy music celebrated youth and freedom. It was decidedly non-political in an era when politics tainted society at every level. It wasn't like the blues, happy music was about connecting and being in love, not the devastation of losing the best thing you ever had. Happy music is the antithesis of the blues. In short, happy music has the potential to make you feel good when you hear it, even when you're down. Happy music will lift you from that black hole of depression in which we sometimes find ourselves mired. << MORE >>

The Alice Cooper band was living at the Admiral Motel that long, hot summer of 1970. It wasn't like they each had rooms at the motel or were sharing a suite, the whole band was living in one room, sharing the beds and floor. It was all they could afford on struggling rock band wages. << MORE >>