James Brown vs Jimi Hendrix
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| James Brown | Jimi Hendrix | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Composer | Pop |
| Born | 1933 | 1942 |
| Died | 2006 | 1970 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Taurus | Sagittarius |
Who they are
James Brown
James Joseph Brown Jr. was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, and raised in Augusta, Georgia, in conditions of severe poverty during the Great Depression. He shined shoes, picked cotton, and by his own account wore clothes made from flour sacks. He was arrested for petty theft at sixteen and sentenced to hard labor. What emerged from that crucible was not bitterness, though there was plenty of reason for it — what emerged was the most kinetic, most commanding live performer in the history of American popular music, a man who turned…
Full biography of James Brown →
Jimi Hendrix
The first instrument Jimi Hendrix ever played was a ukulele with a single string. He found it while helping his father clean out a house in Seattle in 1957, and he spent weeks working out the melody to "Honky Tonk Women" on that single string before his father relented and bought him a five-dollar acoustic guitar. He was fifteen years old, completely self-taught, and he could already hear in his head sounds that no existing guitarist had yet produced. Within four years, by his own account, he had listened to every blues record he could…
Full biography of Jimi Hendrix →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Both born in United States.
- Near contemporaries - 9 years apart.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, James Brown or Jimi Hendrix?
- James Brown. James Brown was born in 1933, Jimi Hendrix in 1942.
- What field is each of them in?
- James Brown is filed under Music (Composer). Jimi Hendrix is filed under Music (Pop).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.