LEGENDS: Chas Chandler, The Bassist For The Animals, Who Turned Jimmy James Into Jimi Hendrix!

This Legends episode spotlights Chas Chandler. He’s the guy who turned Jimmy James into Jimi Hendrix. Here’s the story.

Chas Chandler was the bass player for the Animals, the ‘60s British Invasion band fronted by Eric Burdon, which had a string of hits in that era including “The House Of The Rising Sun”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, “I’m Crying” and many others. They had a rougher, earthier sound than most of the other British Invasion bands. After tiring of touring nonstop with the Animals for very little money, Chandler left the band to became an artist manager. And then he got lucky. He discovered a young guitar player in a New York City club who played left-handed and who had something unique going on. He became his manager and took Jimmy James - as he was then known - to England, and introduced him to all the great English musicians. One night in particular all the greats came to see him live - McCartney, Clapton, Beck, Townshend - and they were blown away by his talent and ingenuity. Chandler put this guitarist together with two white English musicians, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. And this trio emerged as the Jimi Hendrix Experience. When they came back to the U.S. they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, and they became stars. Their first album, “Are You Experienced”, took the world by storm. Their sound was completely unique. And Hendrix’s guitar playing was simply out of this world. They set off a musical Revolution. Chandler's enthusiasm, guidance and support helped fuel Hendrix during the early days. It was Chandler's idea, for example, for Hendrix to set his guitar on fire which became a staple of his live performances. Hendrix continued to soar and dominate the rock scene until his untimely death at age 27 in 1970. But keep in mind that all of this might never have happened without Chas Chandler, an unsung hero of the rock era.