Jimi Hendrix vs Michael Jackson
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Jimi Hendrix | Michael Jackson | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Pop | Pop |
| Born | 1942 | 1958 |
| Died | 1970 | 2009 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Sagittarius | Virgo |
Who they are
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 →
Michael Jackson
On August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, a steel-mill town on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, Katherine and Joseph Jackson welcomed their seventh child into the world. None of them could have imagined that Michael Joseph Jackson would grow up to become the most famous entertainer the world had ever known — a figure whose name, four decades later, remains synonymous with pop music itself.
Full biography of Michael Jackson →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Same sub-field: Pop.
- Both born in United States.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 16 years separate their births (1942 and 1958).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Jimi Hendrix or Michael Jackson?
- Jimi Hendrix. Jimi Hendrix was born in 1942, Michael Jackson in 1958.
- What field is each of them in?
- Jimi Hendrix is filed under Music (Pop). Michael Jackson is filed under Music (Pop).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.