Jimi Hendrix played gay to leave US Army - book

NEW YORK - Jimi Hendrix, regarded as one of the greatest electric guitar players and known as a prodigious womaniser, lied about being gay to get out of the US Army and pursue his true love - music, according to a new biography of the rock legend.

"Room Full of Mirrors," written by Charles Cross and published by Hyperion, recounts the life of Hendrix, from a troubled childhood in a black Seattle neighbourhood, to brushes with the law and a fast climb to the top of the rock world with hits such as "Purple Haze," and "Hey Joe," and "The Wind Cries Mary."

"It's almost hard to believe what a big, colourful life he led," said Cross, who interviewed more than 300 people for the book, which goes on sale on Wednesday.

Hendrix did not begin playing guitar until he was 15. Three years later, Hendrix enlisted in the 101st Airborne Division in 1961 as a court-offered alternative to jail for riding in stolen cars.

He claimed he was discharged after 13 months after breaking his ankle in a parachuting drill, but military records showed he was discharged for "homosexual tendencies."

According to the records, he told the base psychiatrist he had sexual fantasies about his bunkmates, grew addicted to masturbating and was in love with a member of his squad, Cross writes.

"He wanted to get out," Cross said in an interview. "Music just had become his calling."

Hendrix's career picked up speed after he left Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He began touring the South with a band and played back-up for headliners like Otis Redding, the Isley Brothers and Little Richard on the so-called 'Chitlin' Circuit.'

Being in the background proved stifling for Hendrix, who moved to New York to develop his style. In 1966, he headed to London where he led a trio known as the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Four months after arriving in London came the group's first single, "Hey Joe." Nine months later, their smash album "Are You Experienced?" was released.

An eye-popping performance by Hendrix at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival launched his star in the United States and he closed the 1969 Woodstock Festival with his famed solo version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

An outlandish showman with lightning-fast fingers, Hendrix enthralled audiences with his blend of blues, R&B and rock styles and a stage show in which he would pick strings with his teeth, play behind his back or light his guitar on fire.

The fascination with Hendrix lives on, with more than 50 million albums and compact discs sold since his death, caused by choking on his own vomit after taking too many sleeping pills, according to a London coroner.

"He was so on the cutting edge," said Cross. "He embraced the Chitlin' Circuit where everyone dressed alike and then he managed to cross over into white culture and the outrageous dress and wild culture of the '60s. His life is a very unique window into white and black America of the '50s and '60s."

- REUTERS