Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
As Jimi Hendrix's engineer and producer, Eddie Kramer had a front-row seat on the famed guitarist's career -- and he made the most of it. Click through some of these moments provided by Kramer, and sample more music history at eddiekramerarchives.com.Hendrix at Woodstock, 1969: "During Jimi's legendary performance at Woodstock, I was in the truck behind the stage recording the show and everything was running smoothly so I asked the assistant engineer to watch the levels as I raced up to the side of the stage and grabbed this shot of Jimi. Then I ran back to the truck and continued recording the rest of the show. Woodstock for me was three days of drugs and hell ... !" -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix jams at The Scene club in New York in 1968:"Jimi showing his prowess as an all-round musician playing Noel (Redding)'s bass upside down accompanying jazz guitarist Larry Coryell at The Scene club, which he used as his own personal rehearsal space trying out new ideas, testing musicians and making selections for possible inclusion in the recording of 'Electric Ladyland' just around the corner at the Record Plant on 44th Street." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix relaxes and jams with Noel Redding at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1969: "He often would rehearse quietly before going on stage with a small amp and his Flying V as it suited his style of playing the blues." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix records "Electric Ladyland" at the Record Plant in 1968:"I had arrived in NYC to start work at the Record Plant in April of 1968 and jumped immediately into the recording of the 'Electric Ladyland' album. Jimi was in fine form and was always incredibly well-dressed, showing a taste for colorful shirts and green velvet pants." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix performs at Madison Square Garden in 1969:"I was always mesmerized by the transformation of Jimi's persona from the shy, soft-spoken individual into the towering monster guitarist that appeared on stage demolishing everything in his path with waves of intense sound. I rarely attended Jimi's shows as just a fan and not being in a mobile truck recording him,so it was such a moment of visceral pleasure to capture these images from the side and front of the stage." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix records at the Record Plant in New York in 1968:"Jimi was very self-demanding and a perfectionist. So when he heard back this particular solo, he was understandably pissed off at the result. His expression reminds me of a gunslinger about to knock off his next opponent ... except that it would be Take 29 of the overdub solo!" -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix works at the mixing board at the Record Plant in New York in 1968:"Jimi was totally into the technology of the day as demonstrated by his ability at the board. We often mixed together as a team, mostly ending in very creative collaborations or falling over laughing at the mess we had made of the sound. In fact '1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)' was mixed as one complete take with two or three rehearsals beforehand." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix at the Record Plant in 1968:"Jimi had the habit of making the final draft of a song he was working on just before he went into the booth to record the vocal. This photo shows a smiling Jimi putting the final touches to 'Gypsy Eyes' from the many notes he kept with him usually written on hotel stationery, napkins or matchbook covers. These would be assembled on a yellow legal pad just prior to singing the final vocal. An interesting observation is that he wrote right-handed even though he played lefty." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix records "Electric Ladyland" at the Record Plant in 1968:"Even though Jimi smoked grass he was never too stoned to work diligently and with tremendous focus on the task at hand. He had just smoked a huge joint and was very happy and gave me a knowing smile, which I call the glint in the eye." -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix and Buddy Miles at the Record Plant in New York in 1968:"Jimi had a longstanding warm relationship with Buddy Miles. In this photo Jimi and Buddy can hardly contain their laughter. One of Jimi's most endearing traits was his amazing sense of humor. Even though it was at times self-deprecating, Mitch (Mitchell), Noel (Redding) and myself were often the butt of his jokes ... all in the desire to keep the sessions loose!" -- Eddie Kramer
Behind the scenes with Jimi Hendrix —
Hendrix records "Electric Ladyland" at the Record Plant in 1968:"I have always loved this photo as it seems to sum up my feelings about the images I was privileged to capture. I am lucky enough to be sitting on the other side of the glass listening to a genius playing guitar and laying down take after take of fabulous history-making music, recording it for posterity and able to grab a shot of the artist deep in the middle of a take!" -- Eddie Kramer
