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A 4-year-odyssey through the U.S. began, with tours and recordings as guitar sideman with several R&B acts like Curtis Knight, Isley Brothers, King Curtis and Little Richard. Because of his unreliability he never got engagements for a longer period and formed his first own band, The Rainflowers (later Jimmy James and the Blues Flames) in 1966. In the same year Animals bass player Chas Chandler convinces him to come with him to London, where they form The Jimi Hendrix Experience (JHE) with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass. Working with engineer Eddie Kramer in 1968 the first two albums 'Are You Experienced?' and 'Axis: Bold As Love' are recorded, being rock albums with minor funk or R&B influences (e.g. 'Little Miss Lover'). The records catapulted Jimi from his life as an underpaid sideman of black R&B acts in the sky of the white dominated London rock and roll scene as a guitar hero. Until his death he stays a traveller between these worlds, never feeling at home in either one of them. Jimi returned to the US to play the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
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