Jimi Hendrix Performing with the King Kasuals at Club Del Morocco, Nashville, TN, December 23, 1962

In fall 1962, more than four years before he became a superstar in Swinging London, Jimi Hendrix (or “Jimmy” as he was known at the time) was a struggling musician recently discharged from the Army, searching for gigs with his fellow ex-Army buddy Bill Cox around Clarksville, Tennessee, about 50 miles from Nashville.  

Hendrix and Cox soon formed a band called the King Kasuals and found a steady gig twice a week at Nashville’s Club Del Morocco. This photo features the King Kasuals at Club Del Morocco on December 23, 1962. From left to right: Hendrix with an Epiphone Wilshire, an unidentified drummer, Alphonso “Baby Boo” Young (b. unknown) with a Gibson SG Standard, Billy Cox (b. 1939) with a Fender Precision Bass, Buford Majors (b. unknown) on saxophone, and Raymond Belts (b. unknown) as dancer and MC. 

It was during this time that Hendrix really honed his guitar playing skills, practicing any chance that he could. In addition to playing with the King Kasuals, Hendrix hopped on and off Chitlin’ Circuit tours as a guitar-for-hire and session man with R&B artists such as Slim Harpo, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Ike & Tina Turner, Little Richard, and the Isley Brothers. A year after this photograph was taken, Hendrix left Tennessee on a Greyhound bus, headed for New York City, and new possibilities.  

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.