Jimi and Me

September 11, 2023
TV producer Stathakis’s claim that his debut memoir will help “complete all that’s ever been written about Jimi Hendrix” is as unrealistic as the movie plan that brought the two men together. Hendrix and Stathakis met in 1969, when the guitarist sought out the “wannabe filmmaker/writer” to help him write a movie script. Though the project (a Western with instrumental music instead of dialogue) eventually fizzled, it led the author to spend nearly two years in Hendrix’s orbit before his 1970 death. Through accounts of their freewheeling brainstorming sessions and sidelong peeks into the star’s private life, Stathakis portrays Hendrix as shy and humorous, complicating the well-known image of the luminous rock god. His behind-the-scenes commentary on such key cultural events of the era as Hendrix’s performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock adds definite interest. However, the storytelling suffers from abrupt transitions and the author’s biases and odd takes, as when he absolves Hendrix of responsibility for his drug use and instead places blame on two women, Monika Dannemann and Devon Wilson, the latter of whom he dubs “the bitch from hell.” The result is an off-kilter portrait that, despite its colorful insider detail, lacks nuance. This overpromises and underdelivers.

December 2, 2023

This memoir explores the friendship between Jimi Hendrix and Stathakis, a former television producer and photographer whom Hendrix hired in the last 18 months of his life to create a documentary of his work. Stathakis delves into the start of his career and offers a window into Hendrix's work in a memoir filled with sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Stathakis coauthored it with Chris Epting, who's written many memoirs about musical artists, including Long Train Runnin'. Stathkis says the purpose of his book is to reveal a side of Hendrix that few knew. He also wanted to clear up misconceptions of his collaboration with Hendrix more than 50 years ago on a film that was ultimately never made. Sometimes his reflections of people, places, and events seem larger than life, and women, especially, are described in hypersexualized terms. But what does shine through are Stathakis's reminiscences of Hendrix, the person, and the particularly vivid events of Woodstock. VERDICT Best for true music enthusiasts or historians.--Amy Shaw

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2023
The unexpected story of how Jimi Hendrix collaborated with a little-known indie filmmaker burrows through numerous subcultures to reach a surprisingly universal relationship at its core. Writing with veteran journalist Epting, Stathakis recounts how he was called to meet Hendrix in Manhattan in 1969. At that time, he was still trying to establish himself as a writer, producer, and photographer, and Hendrix was a superstar. "Purple Haze" had become an anthem, Electric Ladyland was a top-selling album, and his Monterey Pop Festival performance was captured in an influential documentary. Hendrix was interested in developing a film of his own and thought Stathakis would be a good possibility based on his movie Awakening Urge. They immediately hit it off and began work on a Western-styled movie called Avril. The film would have no dialogue but would use Hendrix's score and guitar solos to punctuate the action on the screen. Unfortunately, they never finished it--an outcome that didn't surprise Hendrix's assistant. "She accused me of refusing to accept the fact that Jimi had more important things to concern himself with than some side project that he'd come into on a whim," writes the author. "The fact that I was still in his life on some level surprised her. She'd thought it would last a week or two and Jimi would tire of it--get bored or distracted and move on to something else." Regardless, their connection gave Stathakis an insider's view of Hendrix's life--creative process, relationships, management issues, and how he navigated the tumultuous 1960s as a Black artist--as well as historic events like Woodstock. The author's observations are probably more valuable than anything Hendrix revealed in their conversations, especially given the guitar legend's reticence to discuss his personal life. A firsthand account of Hendrix's momentous final year provides an entertaining glimpse into rock history.

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November 1, 2023
In 1969, Jonathan Stathakis, a hungry young screenwriter, was leaving his fifth-floor walk-up in the West Village when the phone rang. After a dozen rings, he finally turned back and picked it up. It was the office of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix had been impressed by an experimental film of Stathakis' that he'd seen in London. Soon after that phone call, the stunned screenwriter was smoking a potent joint with the legendary guitarist, planning to make a movie together, a western with no dialogue, they decided, only music. The movie never materialized, but Stathakis entered the rock star's innermost circle and stayed there for 18 months--the remainder of Hendrix's life. Stathakis ended up documenting Hendrix's now legendary performance at Woodstock and the creation of his recording studio, Electric Ladyland, while becoming enmeshed in Hendrix's legal, creative, and personal drama. Stathakis' storytelling is loose and meandering, but the book shines when it lingers on intimate and vulnerable moments with one of rock's most revered icons.

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