Midnight Lightning

Exploring Jimi Hendrix from a black perspective Jimi Hendrix's social meaning, his sexual mystery, and his scientific explorations in the field of sound are here addressed from a black perspective. This unique introduction incorporates extensive interviews with black Americans who shed light on Hendrix's complicated racial relationships. Midnight Lightning explores how Hendrix exploded the complacently segregated world to emerge as an icon for white boys and explains why his songs were not heard on black radio. Also explored are his connection to the Black Power movement, how he electrified soul music, how he revolutionized the use of technology in popular music, and how black his music really was. His sex appeal is discussed, as are how he redefined rock fashion, why nobody was really mad at him for sleeping with white women, and how he was marketed as a white performer. Explained are the ways in which Hendrix subverted and destabilized black masculine stereotypes, changing the way black music and black identity are perceived.