The Jimi Hendrix Experience & Band of Gypsys
In 1969, several months before bassist Noel Redding left the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hendrix called his old friend Cox who joined him in New York as his studio bassist. Following the break up of the Jimi Hendrix Experience Cox became a member of Hendrix' experimental group, tentatively titled, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows. This group went on to play at Woodstock and two low key New York gigs before being disbanded. Hendrix then formed another short lived group with Cox and Buddy Miles as the Band of Gypsys. They recorded the eponymously titled live LP that he owed former manager Ed Chalpin as part of a legal settlement. Following their demise, Cox played a series of shows with Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell in the reformed Experience. In addition to the Band of Gypsys release, Cox's bass playing can be heard on such posthumously released Hendrix albums as South Saturn Delta, Live at Woodstock, Live at the Fillmore East, Nine to the Universe, and a reconstructed version of First Rays of the New Rising Sun, in addition to such home-videos as Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, Live at Woodstock, The Dick Cavett Show, Rainbow Bridge, and Jimi Hendrix.
On September 8, 2006, Cox mentioned in an interview on the KQRS-FM morning show that he can be heard playing bass on five of the first notes of Jimi Hendrix's famous Woodstock "Star Spangled Banner". The rendition was completely impromptu according to him. He said he thought to himself at the moment, "I realized we had not rehearsed this, I had better lay off." He toured with Hendrix (with Mitch Mitchell on drums), usually billed as 'the Jimi Hendrix Experience', from 25 April until 6 September 1970 on the Cry of Love tour. Cox lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where he remains active in music, and acts as an ambassador for Jimi Hendrix, his music and philosophy.
Read more about this topic: Billy Cox
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