Handwritten Lyrics Notebook, (Including Songs for Electric Ladyland), by Jimi Hendrix, 1968

Although a number of Jimi Hendrix’s handwritten song lyric pages survive—several within MoPOP’s permanent collection, this black notebook features 12 songs, many that would be recorded on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1968 album, Electric Ladyland. 

Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who gained mainstream prominence in the late 1960s with hits such as “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Fire,” and is now celebrated as one of the most influential electric guitarists of all time. 

Of the 12 songs in the notebook, six were recorded in the spring of 1968 and featured on Electric Ladyland: “Voodoo Chile,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” “Long Hot Summer Night,” “Gypsy Eyes,” “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” and “1983 ... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be).” A few appeared on the posthumous 1971 release Cry of Love, including “My Friend” and “Angel.” “Little Bears” appeared on the 1973 album War Heroes, and several were not recorded, including “Give Me Some Room To Breathe,” “Lovely Home,” and an untitled piece. 

Jimi Hendrix gave the notebook to his friend Anne Tansey, who worked at Mercury Records, and collaborated with Hendrix on contributions for the Buddy Miles album Electric Church.