Hey Joe, Colts owner acquires Jimi Hendrix guitar
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has expanded his collection of some of the most famous guitars in music history, this time purchasing a Jimi Hendrix guitar.
Irsay recently acquired a 1964 Fender Jazzmaster, once owned by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jimi Hendrix.
Hendrix personally owned the electric guitar and gifted it to his friend, fellow rock hall member Billy Davis of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters.
Hendrix first sought out Davis after seeing him perform in Seattle, Wash., Hendrix’s hometown. They hit if off over their shared love of music, and Davis gave Hendrix early guitar lessons and was reportedly the first person to give him the opportunity to play an electric guitar.
Prior to Hendrix’s untimely passing in 1970, Davis stopped by Hendrix’s Greenwich Village apartment where he graciously told Davis to take the guitar. The two remained friends until Hendrix’s death.
After acquiring the guitar, Davis converted its strings to a right-handed setup, though the guitar still shows some signs of wear from being played left-handed. Davis later used the guitar in recording sessions with Lithofayne Pridgon, the original inspiration for Hendrix’s mega-hit, “Foxy Lady.”
In addition to the Jimi Hendrix guitar, Irsay also acquired a 1992 Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar once played by another Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Bob Dylan.
Dylan played the Hummingbird during the U.S. Presidential Inaugural Concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 17, 1993.
The Hummingbird has been exhibited at Gibson’s New York Showroom, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and Kogart House Museum in Hungary as part of the 2011 exhibition From San Francisco to Woodstock.
The new additions join an already world-class collection, which include instruments from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Prince, Johnny Cash, Prince and Kurt Cobain, just to name a few.
