The afro, flamboyant clothes and flower power were gone, as were the two other men that made up the original Jimi Hendrix Experience, but just days ago Mitch Mitchell was behind a drum kit as a tribute tour to the enduring guitar hero ended on America's west coast.
On Wednesday however, the drummer behind Hendrix was found dead in a hotel room in Portland, Oregon, apparently from natural causes. He was 61.
Hendrix's stepsister Janie, who now manages the guitarist's legacy, said of Mitchell: "He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend. His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience canot be underestimated."
Mitchell, from Ealing, west London, with bassist Noel Redding provided the launchpad for the pyrotechnic displays of Hendrix. Last month he told the Boston Herald how he first met Hendrix in a "sleazy little club ... we did some Chuck Berry and took it from there. I suppose it worked." After three sessions the Experience opened for French rocker Johnny Hallyday. The albums Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland followed, as did some of rock's most legendary live performances.
Mitchell, once a child actor, played with a number of bands, including the Pretty Things and Georgie Fame, and was beaten by Keith Moon to The Who's drum seat. Over the last few weeks Mitchell was still playing alongside blues titan Buddy Guy, The Doors' Robby Krieger and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready.
He stayed in Portland for a holiday and was planning to go home on Wednesday. "It was a devastating surprise," said the tour's spokesman, Bob Merlis. "No one drummed like he did."
