CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Famously known for playing electric guitar left-handed and performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix has a tie to the Clarksville area at the historic L&N Train Station.
“A lot of people find it hard to believe but railroads are how people moved back then,” William Parker, Historical Interpreter for the city of Clarksville said.
This historical site was renovated back to its former glory. For decades, soldiers came and left Fort Campbell by train.
“It was a hopping, busy place, this whole area was,” Parker said.
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The last train to Clarksville was in 1968. However, just seven years earlier, Jimi Hendrix most likely traveled to town by train.
“I grew up here in Clarksville, and I heard all the lore of Jimi Hendrix, I love rock music, and I was like I want to learn more,” Parker said.
Parker has called Clarksville home his entire life. He’s now the historical Interpreter for the city. His interest in Jimi Hendrix’s past motivated him to look through his military records.
Jimi Hendrix poses with a fellow passenger on the runway as he arrives at Hamburg airport on Sept. 5, 1970. (AP Photo/Helmuth Lohmann)
(Photo: WKRN)
Jimi Hendrix arrives at Hamburg airport on Sept. 5, 1970. (AP Photo/Helmuth Lohmann)
Noel Redding, left, Jimi Hendrix, centre, and Mitch Mitchell, of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, arrive at Heathrow airport, London, Aug. 21, 1967, after completing a nine week tour of the United States. (AP Photo/Peter Kemp)
Jimi Hendrix playing his guitar on tour in Germany at the Rheinhalle in Dusseldorf on Jan. 14, 1969. (AP Photo/Hinninger)
“It dispelled a lot of rumors, but then it confirmed a lot of rumors about his stay here at Fort Campbell,” Parker said.
Hendrix was enlisted into the Army after Parker said he got in trouble with law enforcement for allegedly riding in stolen cars and stealing items from a clothing store.
‘What got him caught, this is so Jimi Hendrix, there was a Christmas drive, and he donated most of the clothing to the Christmas drive and someone said ‘that was stolen out of my store,’” Parker said.
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His choice of punishment: jail or the U.S. Army. His choice eventually brought him to Fort Campbell, a long way from his home in Seattle. But he found comfort in his guitar.
“He went AWOL three times because he was late for bed check, but he had a great excuse, he was off post in an R&B band,” Parker said.
While stationed in fort Campbell, he formed The King Casuals.
But Hendrix’s time at Fort Campbell lasted less than a year after he was honorably discharged because of a parachuting injury.
His passion for music turned into a career, playing in Clarksville then moving to Nashville before he left for England.
“He never had a guitar lesson, not one. He was a genius with the guitar. The pinnacle of his career was his performance at Woodstock where he played the star-spangled banner on the guitar,” Parker said.
(Photo: WKRN)
(Photo: WKRN)
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Hendrix was the highest-paid performer at Woodstock. He recorded three albums before he died at the age of 27 from an overdose.
“It’s really hard to speculate what he could have done. The sky would have been the limit of his genius creativity that he had,” Parker said.
A creative genius and a rock and roll legend.
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“He was a celebrity right here in Clarksville, Tennessee,” Parker said.
His time in Clarksville is now marked at the downtown commons where the city celebrates and preserves one of the most influential and greatest musicians of all time.
“I’m a historian first. As a historian we preserve, and I love music too, but through preservation that’s what I want to do. His legacy here make sure it endures and that we preserve it,” Parker said.
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