Mitch Mitchell, the last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, has died.
The
drummer in one of the world's most influential rock bands was found
dead in a hotel room in Portland, Oregon in the early hours of
Wednesday November 12. He was 61.
Alongside Hendrix and bass
player Noel Redding, the trio formed in 1966 and released their debut
album Are You Experienced? in 1967, going on to make Axis: Bold As Love
and Electric Ladyland before dissolving in 1970, shortly before
Hendrix's death. Redding died in 2003.
Credited with developing a
"fusion" drumming style that melded his jazz background with
rock'n'roll, Mitchell's work can be heard on famous tracks including
Manic Depression, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and Crosstown Traffic
He also drummed in the supergroup Dirty
Mac with John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.
Paying
tribute to the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame,
who inducted the band in 1992, said they gave "theatrical, incendiary
performances at the Monterey Pop and Woodstock festivals, including the
ceremonial torching of (Hendrix's) guitar at Monterey, which have
become part of rock'n'roll legend".
Mitchell appears to have died
from natural causes, according to reports from Associated Press,
although there has yet to be an autopsy. He had been performing in a
Jimi Hendrix tribute band in Portland, Oregon