Mitch Mitchell and the Jimi Hendrix Curse

I got a call yesterday from long time Get Out Of Life Alive reader, and my good friend, Hank aka Big Country. He told me that he had just heard Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, had died.

I was sad.

Mitch was the last member of a super group who had inspired countless musical acts and non-musical acts over the last 4 decades. After the initial shock, I started to think about the group in general...

Jimi died in 1970, at the age of 27.
Noel Redding, the Experience bassist, died in 2003, aged 57.
Mitch died in 2008, aged 61.
Chas Chandler, the group's manager, died in 1996, aged 57.

All of these ages seem young to me. (Younger than the 71 normal life expectancy for males.)

Jimi's post Experience band, the Band of Gypsys, also had three members...

Buddy Miles died this year, aged 60.
Billy Cox is the sole living member of the two groups...he's 67.

Maybe Jimi was cursed! Here are some other acts Jimi played with in the early days:

Slim Harpo: died aged 46, heart attack
Tommy Tucker: died aged 48, food poisoning/inhaling carbon tetrachloride refinishing hardwood floors
Sam Cooke: died aged 33, shot
Jackie Wilson: died aged 49, coma after suffering a heart attack
Curtis Knight: died aged 54, ??

Of course Jimi played with Little Richard, too, and he's alive along with Billy Cox, and I'm sure countless others. But, dang, that's numerous premature deaths!

(Editor's Note: Don't give me the whole, "they all probably were druggies and that caused their early deaths because you know that's crap. Look at Keith Richards...he's 64 and alive, did lots of drugs, too. None of the above died from drugs, either.)

So, what's the moral of this? I don't know. Just interesting. Maybe Jimi was cursed...I say watch out Billy Cox!! (Little Richard is safe...he's 75.)

RIP, Mitch.