Keeping The Beat with Mitch Mitchell



Mitch Mitchell, born John Ronald Mitchell, was born in 1947.  Before focusing on his music, Mitchell acted, starring in the BBC television series Jennings as a child.  Mitchell soon quit his acting career to center his vocation on music.  He was part of many bands before joining the Jimi Hendrix experience (in 1966) including Frankie Reid and the Casuals, The Pretty Things, Johnny Harris and the Shades, The Pretty Things, The Riot Squad, Georgie Fame and the Bleu Flames, and even played in concert for The Who while they were looking for a replacement drummer.  The day after Mitchell was fired from Georgie Fame and the Blue Flame in 1965, Chas Chandler, Hendrix’s manager, called him to audition for the new band “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”.   Mitchell was selected to join the band, an action that defined most of his carreer.

Mitchell was much more than just a beat-keeper for Hendrix.  He was very influential during the creative songwriting process before the recordings.  In fact, at times, Hendrix and Mitchell would record songs without bassist Noel Redding.  Mitchell was a talented musician and had his own style, and would not be tamed (he was supposedly fired from the band The Tornados because he refused to tone down his improvisation while playing).  Mitchell was one of the first drummers to play in the style known now as fusion drumming, which incorporates a more jazzy feel and allows the drummer to be more free with his or her playing.  This can especially be heard on the song Third Stone From the Sun, where Mitchell incorporates bursts of riffs into his ever changing drum beat. 

Mitchell briefly stopped working with Jimi when The Experience disbanded in 1969, but collaborated with him again in 1970 to create a new band with bassist Billy Cox (original bassist Noel Redding did not rejoin).  When Hendrix died in 1970, Mitchell continued to work on his albums, helping to edit the many recordings that Jimi had created before his death.  Two posthumous albums were released with Mitchell’s help, “The Cry of Love” and “Rainbow Bridge”.  Mitchell did not record any new music at this time. 

In 2008, Mitchell died at age 61 while on tour celebrating the legacy of Jimi Hendrix.  He was the last living member of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience. 

Interesting Fact: Mitchell was chosen as drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience by luck; he was selected using a coin flip.

Here is a clip where Mitchells musical talent and innovative abilities can clearly be seen.