Hendrix's "Purple Haze". "Scuse me while I kiss the sky" is how it
really goes. But who knows how many have heard "Scuse me while I kiss
this guy." (I thought that's how it went myself, for a few months
after I first heard the tune.) But WI that's what he was really
singing? (Admittedly this is a POD that's more fanciful than
plausible, and it needs a start way before the changes manifest.)
1967
Jimi Hendrix was one of the most dynamic, legendary, and controversial
figures in rock history. The release of "Are You Experienced" blew
everyone away, and its single "Purple Haze" was a bona fide hit. Many
listeners were convinced of homosexual implications at the end of the
1st verse, until they checked the liner notes. Mitch Mitchell and
Noel Redding were amused by the misinterpretations, while Jimi denied
that's what he was singing.
1969
In June, police in New York City raided the Stonewall club because gay
activity was supposedly going on there. This had been done with other
suspected gay bars in the past, both in New York and around the USA,
even outside the country. But this time the people inside the bar
fought back, fending off the cops for 5 nights. In this TL, the cops
came back a 6th night, in full body armor and with twice the numbers
of the night before. A total of 37 customers, 2 employees and the
bar's owner were arrested. Within days, they had some high-priced
lawyers, funded from a secret source. The Stonewall defendants had
all charges dropped in January 1970, and the next month launched a
brutality suit against the city. Rumors began to circulate that the
legal help was bought and paid for by rock superstar Jimi Hendrix...
1970
By August of that year, reports in America, Britain, and Canada have
Jimi Hendrix being either gay or bisexual. In the southern and
midwestern USA, Christian fundamentalists have stirred up a
conflagration not seen since the Beatles proclaimed themselves bigger
than Jesus. Boycotts of Hendrix music and merchandise abound. At one
point in Alabama, a public burning is held of Hendrix stuff, but this
is the lone such instance.
Hendrix continues to deny everything, as gay rights in the US is not
far enough along to allow many to be openly homosexual. On Sept. 18,
a near overdose on drugs and alcohol causes Jimi to be rushed to a
hospital. When he is released on Sept. 23, he vows publicly to kick
drugs, saying that they almost killed him. He implores other rock
names to do the same.
Meantime, black leaders in the US have distanced themselves from Jimi.
The evangelical wing of the civil rights movement is reportedly not
comfortable with Hendrix's being gay, even though he is still in the
closet. The fact that he plays mainly to white audiences with a white
band does not help. However, this distancing means less pressure to
use black bandmates, and the Experience continues in its original
lineup.
The early '70s continue
Hendrix strikes up friendships with rock stars in England, where he lives almost exclusively now. (although he still records in the US at Electric Ladyland). He is never linked with them in any way other than just hanging out as buddies, but he is seen with David Bowie, Elton John, and Freddie Mercury. In this TL, Jimi recommends Queen for a record contract, and several Queen albums would be partially recorded at Hendrix's studio. Meantime, his music has moved away from the psychedelic toward straightforward rock. It is not so much influence from who he's met so much as it is the end of the sixties music style everywhere else. It is encouragement from these people that leads Jimi to admit on March 12, 1974 that A. he is gay and 2. he did sing "kiss this guy". Needless to say, there is a new firestorm in the US. Many libraries refuse to check out Hendrix records and 8-tracks to anyone, putting them on a banned list. The state of Mississippi goes so far as to ban Jimi's music from radio stations in that state in a 1975 law. (The law is struck down by the US Supreme Court in 1979, for 1st Amendment reasons.)
After Jimi comes out of the closet, he works for the cause of gay
rights in the US and the rest of the world. Mitchell and Redding
start solo bands in 1978, and future tours and albums are released
under Jimi's name alone. No more Experience.
1987
Jimi reunites with the Experience in a blockbuster world tour. After three months, though, he seems increasingly tired. The pressures of touring seem to be taking a greater than normal toll on him. His voice is ragged. He sometimes looks ready to pass out on stage. Starting with the April 20 show at Madison Square Garden, all the shows have Hendrix playing the entire concert sitting on a stool. About half the guitar work is actually done by a young backup musician named Wayne Campbell.
The fans started to lose interest. The Pontiac Silverdome was only
half full for the May 26 concert. Chicago Stadium got the same result
on May 29.
The diehard Jimi fans at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y. on June 15 had
no idea they were a part of history. 40,851 saw Jimi, Mitchell,
Redding, and Campbell, with some backup singers for effect, play a
two-hour show. Everyone was in good form except Jimi. He could
barely play guitar, and his voice was a shell of itself. The next day, the concert for the next stop (Syracuse, June 19) was called off. On June 18, the tour was canceled.
On July 1, the Cleveland Plain Dealer announced an exclusive: an
interview with an AIDS patient in Cleveland who claimed to have lived
with Jimi in San Francisco from 1979-82. The paper reported that
Hendrix had been living in SF then, and it was public knowledge. This
man was dying of AIDS, and said Jimi had the same disease. Jimi
admitted as much on July 6, the same day the Cleveland man died.
Jimi never toured again. Tickets in whole, mint, untorn condition
from the Buffalo show sell on eBay for $3,500 these days.
1988
Jimi Hendrix recorded and released a new album, Sunset and Fire. Everyone in rock, it seemed, was a guest on it, including John, Bowie, Mercury, Brian May, Redding, Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, and Jerry Garcia. The album came out on Oct. 26. On Nov. 1, Jimi Hendrix died with his album at the top of the charts, where it would stay for 23 weeks. His funeral in Seattle attracted 11,000 mourners. He will be missed.