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| From | "Harris, Will" <wharris1@bcharrispub.com> |
| Subject | Hendrix Bassist Noel Redding Dies |
| Date | Tue, 13 May 2003 09:13:43 -0400 |
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Hendrix Bassist Noel Redding Dies
Mon May 12, 7:15 PM ET
By Marcus Errico
Noel Redding (news), the man who held down the bottom line for Jimi Hendrix,
has died.
The bassist passed away Sunday at his home in County Cork, Ireland,
according to his manager, Ian Grant. Grant made the announcement on a
message board for Track Records, Redding's label.
"I can't yet take it in that, once more, I am sitting at my desk bringing
sad news. Noel passed away," Grant wrote.
The cause of death was not immediately known. Redding was 57.
His death reportedly comes just a week after his mother's.
Originally a guitarist, Redding converted to bass when he joined with
Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell to form the Jimi Hendrix (news)
Experience in 1966. Redding played bass on all three of the group's landmark
albums, Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland. The
power trio split in 1969, a year before Hendrix died.
Redding was enshrined with Hendrix and Mitchell in the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1992.
Known for his only-in-the-'60s look (towering 'fro that rivaled Jimi's,
granny glasses, dashiki), Redding was later embittered by his Experience
days. He signed away his royalty rights in 1974, allegedly to pay an
outstanding legal bill, for a one-off payment of $100,000. Redding claimed
he agreed to the sum after being promised there would be no more reissues of
the Experience material. Of course, that was before CDs and DVDs and the
endless repackaging of the band's songs by Hendrix's estate.
"I should have been a plumber. That's a joke. But the thing is, plumbers get
paid," he told Billboard.com last year. "But there again, I'm still playing,
thank God. That's the main thing." Redding said he was even forced to sell
the bass he used to record with the Experience to get by.
In February, Grant vowed to file a lawsuit on Redding's behalf demanding
some $5 million from the Hendrix estate. It's not immediately clear whether
that legal action will go forward.
There was no immediate comment Monday on Redding's death from Experience
Hendrix, the company that controls the Hendrix empire.
After his Experience experience, Redding played guitar with Fat Mattress and
later with Road and the Noel Redding Band.
In 1996, he outlined his rock 'n' roll woes in his autobiography, Are You
Experienced?. A compilation CD of two Noel Redding Band albums, Clonakilty
Cowboys and Blowin', was reissued in 2000 on One Way Records. His most
recent release, a concert set titled Live from Bunkr--Prague, was released
by Grant's Track Records last year.
Redding is survived by his longtime companion, Deborah McNaughton. She
released a brief statement to Billboard.com calling Redding an "extremely
gentle and gracious soul. He had a kind of chivalry and nobility about him
and he was kind to everyone bar none, people and animals alike."
Regards,
WiLL
WiLLiAm E. HaRRiS
Call Scripting Analyst
Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company
Chesapeake, VA
Ph. 1-757-965-8055
<mailto:wharris1@bcharrispub.com>
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