The Isley Brothers were one of the first bands to put Jimi Hendrix on the map. They also ended a career dry spell the guitarist had been experiencing in 1963/64. Here’s how Hendrix’s audition went.
Jimi Hendirx’s audition for the Isley Brothers
After he moved to New York, Hendrix’s reputation reached the Isley Brothers. They were in need of a new backing guitarist and Hendrix seemed like he could possibly be just what they were looking for. So the band found Hendrix, contacted him, and invited him to audition at their home in Teaneck, New Jersey.
The youngest of the brothers, Ernie Isley, then-eleven and not yet in the group, recalled Hendrix’s audition:
“When he arrived, he said he couldn’t audition because his guitar was in the pawnshop,” he said, according to Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix by Philip Norman. “We got it out for him, but he said he couldn’t play it because it had no strings, so we got him the strings.”
Once Hendrix was all set up with his guitar, he mentioned that he liked the Isley Brothers’ “Twist and Shout.”
“Even then, it seems, he knew how to pull off a dazzling cover version,” said Ron Isley. “Man, I never heard anything like it. We hired him after about thirty seconds.”
The Isley Brothers gave Jimi Hendrix a place to live and a new guitar
Hendrix passed the audition with flying colors. But he told the band he couldn’t make rehearsals in New Jersey because he had nowhere to stay.
“He had all his worldly goods with him, so we said, ‘OK, there’s a spare room at our mother’s house that you can have,’” said Ernie Isley.
Hendrix accepted.
After the matter of housing was settled, Ron decided Hendrix’s guitar needed an upgrade as well.
“We told him, ‘We gotta get you a new axe, man, what do you want?’ He said, ‘Can I have a white Stratocaster?’ We said, ‘Sure’ and he was like ‘Oh, my GOD!’” said Ron. “With that, he was the star of the band before the first rehearsal was over.”
Jimi Hendrix joined the Isley Brothers as the Beatles blew up in America
Hendrix had been with the Isley Brothers for a couple of days when the Beatles arrived in America to play The Ed Sullivan Show, changing the music scene forever. It wasn’t long before the Isley’s “Twist and Shout” was one of their signature songs.
Jimi watched the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show with his new bandmates. After the program, the oldest brother and leader of the band, Kelly, called a meeting. He told his brothers and bandmates that, with the introduction of the Beatles, he didn’t know what the future of music would look like—the Beatles were a wild card that brought forth a new frontier. “But at least we’ve got Jimi,” he said.
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