Jimi Hendrix’s dad encouraged his talents in music

Hendrix was initially reared by his mother Lucille while his father fought in World War II. Lucille was only seventeen when he was born. Hendrix's father changed his son's name to James Marshall Hendrix after his arrival in 1945. Hendrix's father urged him to take guitar lessons when he was a youngster. Growing up in Seattle, he had a special affection for the blues and the early rock & roll.

At the age of fifteen, Jimi Hendrix picked up the guitar for the price of $5 that his father had purchased for him. After a year, Al gave Jimi his second guitar, an electric one. Albert King, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Howlin' Wolf were some of Hendrix's earliest musical inspirations. Up until the age of sixteen, Hendrix attended Seattle's Garfield High School. As a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1961. He was discharged in 1962 after suffering an ankle injury during his 26th airborne jump while serving at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Jimi's father was quite pleased when he joined the US military, but he continued to support him whenever he performed music.