Customer Reviews

Jimi Hendrix: The Man, the Magic, the Truth

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While I applaud Ms. Lawrence for educating fans on the gross injustices within the Hendrix family and for having a commendable understanding of Janie Hendrix's psychological make up that is lost even on many who are within her orbit, there are some very serious credibility problems here.

While even the idle Hendrix fan knows Jimi was born in King County Hospital, (Now Harbor View) Lawrence states he was born at the home of a family friend.(Ouch) Jimi is quoted allegedly verbatum throughout the book but from some alledged tapes of interviews that no one has seen or heard and that Lawrence conveniently plans on destroying so 'no one can profit from them'.Meanwhile cigarette packs (yes, cigarette packs) and necklaces are being sold via ebay or to private collectors allegedly having belonged to Hendrix ,siting Ms. Lawrence as the previous owner and source of authenticity.

At one point she aledgedly quotes Hendrix as saying:

"The LSD passed around San Francisco was a fabulous discovery for me, I'd taken acid in London but...."

Aside from Jimi's use of the word 'fabulous' being at best incredulous, the fact that Hendrix had already tried LSD in New York in 1996 before going to England and subsequently Monterey is common knowledge among afficianados and again makes all of these alledged direct quotes questionable. Those of you who have listened to and read the hundreds of hours of interviews available through collectors, official releases and press clippings will also find some of the wording of these alledged quotes that the book, and the credibility of it's author are based on, extremely suspect. At one point Ms. Lawrence even offers an aledged quote from Hendrix's mother who passed away in 1958:

"Jimi baby" she told her son "I have to escape this"

While quotes like this can illicit an emotional response
from the average reader,they are clearly fictional. Throughout the book people close to Jimi are referenced but very sparsely quoted, if at all. I shared the recount of Jimi's trip to Berkeley as a small child (Pg.5) with Jimi's aunt Delores and she laughed openly and wondered aloud where people come up with these stories. This from a woman who was actually there and involved in planning said trip. While making a reference to Ernestine Benson and misstakenly referring to her husband Cornel as "Bill" , Lawrence again allegedly quotes Hendrix in lieu of an actual interview with the Benson's who are both still living and have incredible first hand insights having lived with the Hendrix's.

Lawrence's assertion that Hendrix committed suicide simply because his journal was left out is no less ridiculous than Jimi's adopted stepsister Janie's claim that Jimi didn't OD. Lawrence then stops just short of gleefully giving herself credit for Monika's suicide, but the jist is clear. This book is more than a bit narcissistic with Lawrence lauding herself as much as she does her subject. While proclaiming herself to be a close confident of Hendrix' the general consensus is that she wasn't around that much, if people even know who she is at all.

For a much more well researched and credible look into Jimi's life read Electric Gypsy or even more so , the new book Room Full Of Mirrors by Charles Cross. The Man, The Magic, The Truth, while very dramatic, is rife with glaring inaccuracies and is for the most part a novel about the author and her subject, not a biography or a reliable historical record. Unless these alledged tapes that are widely quoted throughout the entire book are made available, their legitimacy and the legitimacy of the book will forever be questioned.

Ray Rae Goldman
Archivist/Historian
James Marshall Hendrix Foundation

At last !...a book about Jimi by someone who knew him, cared about him and understood his music. I have been a Hendrix fan for many years and have read just about everything there is to read about Jimi and I still learned a few new things...but more importantly this isn't a book obsessed with nerdish facts and figures (and in fact sometimes the facts are slightly out)...but it is a book about Jimi and what he was all about-and shockingly about the horrific exploitation of the man during his life and particularly after he died.

I note that some other reviewers have criticised Sharon's view on Jimi's death, but from everything I have read, heard about and spoke to people (who know) about, I think she may be pretty close to the truth. It isn't true that Jimi was in 'good spirits' in the final weeks before his death (as one reviewer wrote)...you only have to read the late Tony Brown's detailed and well researched book on Jimi's final weeks to understand that Jimi was in poor health and his mental state was not good. This of course doesn't necessarily mean that he committed suicide, but I don't think Sharon actually says that he committed suicide...although I am pretty sure he took a large number of sleeping pills to 'escape' from all the hassles and pressures and the upcoming legal hassles with PPX (Chalpin) and a potential wrangling with Michael Jeffery over his future and management.

Sharon is also 100% correct about Monika Danneman who lied for many years about the fateful morning of 18.09.70. It does really appear that she failed to properly help/assist Jimi when he was dying (the large number of sleeping pills probably effectively disabled his coughing reflex and as he was probably lying on his back in bed he choked). If Danneman was awake, she could have laid Jimi on his side in a recovery position (she had lied over the years that she had accompanied Jimi in an ambulance and the ambulance men had failed to lie Jimi in a recovery position)...and there is the mystery of the large quantities of red wine which were all over Jimi and the bed (but there was very little alcohol in his bloodstream)..the inference being that the wine had been pured down his throat/over him as he was dying or after he had died. Given that it is assumed that only Danneman was in the flat with him that morning-she must have poured the wine down Jimi's throat. Why she did this we may never know, but as suggested in Sharon's book, maybe Danneman in some weird misguided way thought this might help clear Jimi's airways. It is unlikely that Danneman murdered Jimi, but she clearly didn't help him adequately and this may explain the nonsense that she spoke and published over the years. Tony Brown's book also confirmed (via interviews with ambulance men and police men) that Danneman was not at the flat when they arrived and Jimi's body was lying in a ghastly state on the bed alone. Danneman killed herself a few years ago when she was 'rumbled' by Cathy Etchingham and Tony Brown and apparently Sharon Lawrence....and I think the final straw was the law suit she lost to Etchingham. Danneman had I think been dating Uli Jon Roth (ex Scorpions guitarist and Hendrix devotee) for a number of years and Uli described her as one of the sweetest people he had ever met, so there is always another side of the story.....and whatever happened that morning it is still sad to see someone take their own life. Monika was of course not the only ex-girlfriend to apparently commit suicide...Devon Wilson jumped off the Chelsea Hotel in the early 70's...although the conspiracy theorists think she was pushed....most likely she was just stoned and depressed.

Anyway, the circumstances of Jimi's death is only a small part of Ms Lawrence's book, and although I enjoyed her accounts of the 60's and meetings with Jimi and the band, the best part of the book is her clear and perceptive account of what Jimi mean't to music and what music mean't to Jimi and his real legacy of influence and inspiration....rather than the tacky legacy of the various subsequent controllers of his legal musical legacy. I've always disliked the 'snakes' and cockroaches' who exploited Jimi in life and death and Sharon has managed in this book to name and shame most of them; starting with Chalpin and Curtis Knight and routing through Mike Jeffery, Branton, Douglas and most recently Janie 'Hendrix' and Bob Hendrix. She rightly identifies Jimi's allies in life and death and unfortunately this is not a story about the good guys triumphing-with Noel Redding dying relatively young and quite impoverished, Chas Chandler dying relatively young, and Leon Hendrix and a lot of the true blood family and relatives not recieving a penny after Al Hendrix died. The only bad guy to get his come uppance was Jeffery who died in a plane crash in 1973. Let's just hope that the horrific 'Janie' Hendrix and 'cousin' Bob eventually lose control of Experience Hendrix and the blood family get some benefits from Jimi's legacy. It is also time that Jimi's children are finally recognised - and although 'Little Swedish Jimi' has received a settlement, Tamara born to Diane Carpenter has not.

In summary a beautiful book that really gets to the heart of the truth about the Hendrix legend - buy it !

I just finished Ms. Lawrence's compelling, honest, heartbreaking and touching biography of Jimi. I could not put it down. I have been a fan since I was 13 years old and while not a maniac had a curiosity about this musician who came and left all to quickly, but left an endelible mark on the music of his generation and many more to come.

This book tells the story of Hendrix through the eyes of someone who cared about him, who had an honest relationship with him and this has allowed her to descibe this man in a way no other really could. She describes him in such a way that I was almost in tears by the time Sept 18th rolled around. Such a loss for all of us, one that I had not really comprehended before or for that matter mourned at the time.

2 months prior to his death he played at New Yorks Randalls stadium. I begged my mother to allow me to go and after hours
of pleading she relented. I went early that morning in July because the radio station was looking for volunteers. For whatever reason I was selected to sit on stage and make sure people did not climb up during the shows.

There were many acts that night, Tull, Grand Funk, John Sebastian and of course Jimi.

I could not have been more than 6 feet away from him during that 60 minute set, virtually at his feat, watching in awe, the man whose records I listened to over and over again. I think back to that time every so often and after reading Ms. Lawarence's book much of the dynamics of that night started to come back to me.
Now if I could only find a copy of the video, I could die a happy man!

Any way read this book, even if your not a Hendrix fan. He was a good man who treated people fairly and who really got a raw deal in life. I never would have known many of the things that I learned in this book and I'm a better person for having been a fan and been able to sit at the masters feet all those years ago!

JOHN HOVING
NYC

Sharon Lawrence had the unique perspective of knowing Jimi Hendrix through her occupation as a reporter. Her knowledge of Jimi through both a personal friendship and professional relationship allowed her to possess a unique insider view few authors had. 'Betrayed' was written at a time when decisive court actions were taking place in the Hendrix world and in the post-Monika Dannemann landscape where issues over Hendrix's death were still at play. In the midst of this, friends of Sharon Lawrence convinced her to finally share her Hendrix history with the public.

As Sharon Lawrence disclaimed at the beginning of the book, 'Betrayed' was never meant to be an end-all, top-them-all Hendrix biography, but was instead intended as warm insight into a particular view of Hendrix known by Ms Lawrence. I hope those considering reading 'Betrayed' aren't swayed by some of the negative reviews. I hesitate to give them credit by even mentioning them, and you can pretty much tell the degree of a Hendrix fan by judging how they react to 'Betrayed'. True Hendrix fans will appreciate the rare new information about Hendrix from the unique Los Angeles-based reporter's viewpoint, insider friendship with Jimi, and personal sympathy for Hendrix as a person. The book was very helpful to me and showed me new information I had not known in my decades of Hendrix fanhood.

Sharon Lawrence intended to offer a book that would counter other books that saw Jimi as a figure or legend. Ms Lawrence felt Jimi was never given just consideration as a person and that side needed to be shown - something Jimi lacked in all phases of his life and career. So Sharon wrote with a kind of maternalistic sympathy to nurture the image of a person who had suffered from the lack of exactly that. And because of that we are introduced to a less than formal underside to Jimi and his career that exposes some of the guiding influences controlling Jimi's destiny. Certainly worth knowing by those who want to know everything about Jimi Hendrix and are keen for any new stories like myself.

It helps to know that Sharon Lawrence wrote 'Betrayed' at the culmination of this sad history involving Monika Dannemann and the handling of the estate. So when you combine these factors, as well as Ms Lawrence wanting to speak of her unique and as of yet unknown association with Hendrix, you can understand 'Betrayed' and its purpose, and how it was meant to be taken. Sharon is offering the warm hand and defense against his enemies Jimi was always denied in his life. There are some of us who see it and want Sharon to know it isn't missed or unappreciated.

Though Ms Lawrence gives a good background to Jimi's early life and formative years, her book really starts with her meeting Hendrix as a reporter at a February 1968 concert in LA. From there she gives an excellent insider's perspective with names and positions of industry professionals and other key witnesses and their association to Jimi and his career. Hendrix befriended Sharon Lawrence as a grounding, stable figure he could trust - something very rare in Jimi's life - and because of it Sharon was able to relate the goings on of the Hendrix circus from things Jimi told her and sought advice on. Her position right in the middle of Hendrix's arrest for heroin possession at Toronto Airport is very interesting and helps the public understand things the newspapers might not have adequately described.

The end part of the book gives a very dispelling look into the contentious in-fighting amongst vested interests and family members over Hendrix's estate. So when you look at Sharon Lawrence's position of finally offering Jimi Hendrix the defense no one ever did, it's highly inappropriate to criticize the book for doing it as some do. I can't understand how some in the Hendrix Community would speak of how Jimi had no one looking-out for his interests during his life and then turn around and criticize someone for doing exactly that. In any case, I soaked up every word and am glad Sharon Lawrence did. 'Betrayed' has proven itself simply because 5 years later it exists side by side with the most known Hendrix books.

And here's where we get to the most important part of 'Betrayed'. Sharon Lawrence wrote the book prior to Tappy Wright's admission that he heard Michael Jeffery confess to murdering Jimi, so her book came out before Jimi's death had been further exposed. Never the less, 'Betrayed' is vitally important because it contains key witnessings from those involved with Hendrix's death that no one else recorded. Sharon Lawrence was the only person who had the keen instincts to know there was something wrong with Jimi's death. Her personal connection to Jimi and female intuition caused her to further investigate how Jimi died. She was literally the only friend of Hendrix who did this. The day after Jimi died Sharon interrogated Monika on Jimi's death. In this interview Sharon caught Monika giving evasive answers to all the key questions that would have exposed her knowledge of Jimi's murder. But, unfortunately, due to cryptic clues only known to Hendrix's closest friends Sharon saw signs that suggested Jimi may have taken his own life and came to the conclusion Jimi committed suicide.

What makes Sharon Lawrence's experience so valuable to understanding Jimi's death is that she interviewed Monika without any preconceptions of murder. So even though Sharon got it wrong, her information is still priceless because she managed to get information from Monika that no one else did. And because she did it objectively and without any bias towards murder, the fact she recorded Monika evading and hesitating in all the right places, and over all the things that exposed it, she unknowingly captured vital evidence of Jimi's murder. Sharon knew that Doctor Bannister had come forward to say Jimi didn't die by choking on his own vomit but instead died from being drowned in red wine. Tragically Sharon attributed this to Monika pouring wine into Jimi while he choked. She thought she had captured Monika admitting this in a phone call shortly before Monika's death from car fumes. What Sharon didn't realize is that she had captured Monika being unable to speak of her knowledge of Jimi's waterboarding murder. However she's the only person who got so much right up to that point and came very close to exposing Jimi's murder at the time. This book and Sharon's information are part of the key critical evidence that has yet to be admitted by all those involved.

Sharon Lawrence's efforts aren't lost on some of us. And she succeeds in isolating the essential Hendrix Jimi would have hoped to impress upon people. Through all the tragedy and betrayal in his career and life Ms Lawrence manages to separate-out the real Jimi as he saw himself. And through a particularly California sunset pair of tainted glasses she shows us a warm image of the man she knew apart from all those other things. The Jimi as he was trying to be and as he existed in the 60's world he strived for and paid for with his life.

This book was published at a point where so much had already been written about Hendrix, and it establishes a familiar pattern of the often told Hendrix Tale: born into poverty, Hendrix nurtured an interest with the guitar at an early age into a tremendous facility for writing, playing and performing music. He became famous, was surrounded by the usual trappings of stardom (drugs, hangers-on, shady business partners, groupies), and died at an early age when it seemed he still had a lot left to give in terms of creativity. It is clear and established that the author did, in fact, know Hendrix. Some of her recollections may have been somewhat embellished with the passage of time (memory and history can play tricks on us all), but the impressions she gives of her encounters with Hendrix are both very human and generally credible in terms of the overall jist. I, for one, didn't see an agenda in terms of her having made up the story out of whole cloth, as it were. Some of her assertions as to the particulars of how Hendrix died (regurgitating rumors that he was possibly murdered or asserting that he did himself in via suicide) do repeat the more sensational past tales of his demise. I suppose a persons reaction to the book depends on if one finds Lawrence credible or not. I did. What knocks the rating down a few stars for me is the disproportionate amount of page space given over to the posthumous years and the detailed descriptions of the legal battles over the Hendrix estate. As someone who values Hendrix on the basis of what he did when he was alive (not how old he was when he died, or how he died, or what happened to the money after he was gone), about the last third of the book wasn't particularly relevant.

With all of the misinformation about Jimi Hendrix, Sharon Lawrence attempts to set the record straight. As a young reporter Sharon befriends Jimi after a 1968 concert, through many phone calls and visits, Jimi shares his most personal thoughts and feelings. Sharon becomes a trusted friend and insider to Jimi's world. From Jimi's tragic poverty stricken childhood, at times left alone with little food for him and baby brother Leon, kind neighbors often left food on the door step. The loss of Jimi's mother at age 15 shapes the tone of his sad world. Sharon exsposes all the vultures and leaves no stone unturned. The real Jimi was no drugged out space cadet but a shy, sensitive, poliet, intelligent, Spiritual, kind, person. Who prefered to be treated like a regular guy not a rock idol. It was great to see a very human side to Jimi like the fact that he was a clean freak who often tidded up his own hotel room and ironed his own clothes while on the road. Jimi singing along with Elvis songs and talking about his mother, made me get a sense of who he was and what he was thinking.It seems the best times were in London jamming with friends "London has always been good to me" he once said. In the end Jimi was stressed out from constant touring and court battles, he knew he was being ripped off and had few real friends, his life was a constant roller coaster. At one point It was heartbreaking, Jimi says "Everyone thinks they own me".. While throwing furniture across the room.. Jimi's death leaves alot to speculate, accident/murder/suicide?? Sharon believes Jimi died of suicide. Jimi left a sad poem the night he died with the words " The story of Jesus is easy to explain..The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, they story of love is hello and goodbye, untill we meet again". Sharon believes this is a suicide note. But the facts are made clear Jimi did not die of a overdose, the nine sleeping pills were not a fatal dose and there were no needle tracts on his arms, only a small amount of wine was found in his stomach, contrary to popular belief, Jimi was not a heavy drug user toward the end of his life. Jimi died simply of "inhalation of vomit". It seems it could have been easily prevented had help got to him sooner. Jimis last words to Sharon were "I just need some peace of mind" and in death he had finally found it.

In death as in life the battles over money went on for over 30 plus years, cutting jimi's own brother Leon and family completly out of the estate, as well as Jimi's little known son and daughter. I also agree with one reviewer here, Jimi may have had some problems with his father, but I believe they loved each other. This is one of the best Hendrix books Ive ever read. Thank you Sharon for sharing your story, it is a huge piece of the Jimi puzzle. I would love to see a pic of you and Jimi together, that would be awesome! I also enjoyed "Electric Gypsy", Noel Redding's "Are you Experienced" and "My Son Jimi" by Al Hendrix. Jimi's life is too complex for one book but don't miss this one!!

For years, I've been a Jim Morrison fanatic, in fact, having corresponded with Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player of the fabled band The Doors, in reference to an adaptation of Manzarek's book on his experiences in the band. While I searched for sources at my local library for my proposed screenplay on the last days of Jim Morrison, I happened upon Sharon Lawrence's new book on Hendrix. Suffice it to say, my curiosity prohibited me from passing up the opportunity to read up on a musician whose imagination, both lyrically and musically, have captivated me for over twenty years.

Having read David Henderson's "'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky" Jimi bio in 1985, I thought I possessed some discriminating knowledge, although not some connoisseur's discernment, of Hendrix. I do have to admit that only in the last six years have I begun to replace my Hendrix tapes with remastered CDs, with that all-too-familiar sticker, "Authorized by Experience Hendrix." Well, after reading Lawrence's book and her all-too candid impressions of Jimi's father, Al, and step-sister Janie--who has attempted to pass herself as Jimi's full-blooded sister--I wanted to burn each new CD.

My only other response: If Instant Karma hits both Al and Janie, they'll either admit their greed and perform contrition or burn in some eternal afterworld for urinating on the legacy of a great musician. Too bad Jimi had to be so naive when it came to business dealings.

Buy or check out the book. You owe it to Jimi.

I too have read many biographies of Jimi Hendrix. But when I saw this one was being published I felt that I had to read it because many of the other biographies about Jimi were penned by individuals who were too involved in Jimi's business (either while he was alive and after his death). For instance John McDermott's (with Eddie Kramer) biography is very interesting but may be somewhat suspect as Mr. McDermott is now an employee of Experience Hendrix.

But I have to say thank you to Ms. Lawrence both for her touching and poignant biography but also for being Jimi's friend when he did indeed desperately need a friend who was not interested in his business and who wanted nothing from him but his friendship. And from Ms. Lawrence's book, it is apparent she cherished Jimi and their friendship. So I have to thank her for sharing this part of her life with Jimi's fans. She portrays Jimi as a very polite, very giving, and very unassuming person...someone who did not think of himself as a genius, even though now it is apparent that he was. All Jimi wanted was to make music, the way he wanted to make it, no matter the cost and apparently it cost him his life. It is very tragic that Jimi did not have better management who actually cared about him and his talent, as it is apparent that Michael Jeffrey only cared about Michael Jeffrey and only cared about Jimi as long as he was making money for him. Unfortunately, as Ms. Lawrence points out, Jimi has not fared much better after his death. His image and his music are still being exploited so that persons who claim to be his family can make money and live off of his great legacy.

All I can say is that we miss you Jimi, and wish you were still around making "truth and emotion" as you called it. Unfortunately you are not, and that is a tragedy for the entire world and for those of us loved your music 35 years ago and still love it to this day.

If you are a Jimi Hendrix fan, you will definitely enjoy Ms. Lawrence's book. I recommend it.

I could easily write all day about what I felt reading this book. But, in an effort to save time, I'll just say that I believe this book to be truthful. There is no agenda here. This is a glimpse into the childhood that created Jimi, a testimony exposing the degenerates who manipulated, exploited, cheated and lied to Jimi Hendrix and the various musicians he called bandmates and friends. And an accurate chronicle of the subsequent legal battles that ensued over who "owns" the rights to Jimi's music following his tragic death. There are moments that make you feel joy, moments that make it hard to hold back the tears, and some that are almost too infuriating for words. A must read for anyone who cares about Jimi Hendrix.

Mixed feelings about this book. I think the author believed it to be factual, and some of it was. But Jimi Hendrix lived a pretty complicated life, and to represent events as facts... well, there are things you couldn't have known unless you were there. And I'd have to say I disagree with her interpretation of a couple of "facts". Overall though, this is a person who, unlike many of the people surrounding Hendrix, sincerely seems to have cared about him, and was both honest and fair with him, even when it was not the easiest way to go. I thought her reporting of the convoluted business arrangements surrounding him was clear and accurate. And I thought she accurately portrayed Mike Jeffries, Chas Chandler, Mitch and Noel, and.... geez, Janie and Al Hendrix! A lot of this rings disturbingly true. I also think her reporting of the circumstances around his death is probably the most accurate version that's come to light. So, she did get a lot of it right. And I agree with her opinion of the power and beauty of Jimi Hendrix' music - he was the greatest that ever lived.