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John Graham " Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946. (1990). 9780312100988, St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312100988Mitchell's obituaries in Billboard [1], The New York Times [2] and Rolling Stone [3] indicate that he was 62 years old at the time of his death (making his birth year 1946). Other obituaries and writers have indicated he was 61 or was born on 9 July 1947: BBC [4], Drummerworld [5], Encyclopædia Britannica [6], The Guardian [7], Los Angeles Times [8], NME [9], NPR [10], The Oregonian [11], The Telegraph [12], Variety [13], Colin Larkin in The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise 4th Edition) [14] and Harry Shapiro in Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy [15] was an English Rock music and jazz drummer, best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2016, Mitchell was ranked number 8 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".
Mitchell became a musician through working at Jim Marshall's drum shop on Saturdays while still at school. Among drummers, his chief influences were Elvin Jones and Tony Williams.Herman, Gary (December 1981/January 1982). "The Continuing Experience of Mitch Mitchell". Modern Drummer. Retrieved 15 March 2020. One of his first bands was the Soul Messengers, formed at the Ealing Club with saxophonist Terry Marshall, son of Jim Marshall.Saunders, William (2010) Jimi Hendrix London Roaring Forties Press
Early in his career, he gained considerable musical experience as a touring and session musician, working with Pete Nelson and the Travellers, Frankie Reid and the Casuals (1962), Johnny Harris and the Shades, the Pretty Things, Bill Knight & the Sceptres, the Riot Squad, and the Who as a session drummer while the band was in the process of replacing Doug Sandom with Keith Moon. In 1965, he also temporarily replaced Viv Prince as drummer in the Pretty Things.
Mitchell remained with Hendrix after the Experience broke up when Noel Redding quit in June 1969. He performed with Hendrix's expanded lineup at Woodstock (August 1969). Mitchell was replaced briefly with Buddy Miles for the Band of Gypsys album (1970), but rejoined Hendrix (with Billy Cox on bass) for the April–September 1970 the Cry of Love Tour. He played drums for most of the songs included on the posthumously-released Hendrix studio albums The Cry of Love (1971) (also listed as a co-producer), Rainbow Bridge (1971), and War Heroes (1972).
On April 11, 1969, Mitchell played with Jimi in Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, NC, using George Hayman Drums.
For the rest of the 1970s through to the 1990s, Mitchell, semi-retired and living in Europe, continued to perform and occasionally record. In 1986, Mitchell teamed up with jazz musician Greg Parker and made a music video session of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog". He did session work on Junior Brown's Long Walk Back and participated in various Hendrix-related recordings, videos, and interviews. In 1999, Mitchell was part of the Gypsy Sun Experience, along with former Hendrix bassist Billy Cox and guitarist Gary Serkin. He also appeared on Bruce Cameron's album Midnight Daydream that included Billy Cox, Buddy Miles and Jack Bruce.
Five days after the tour ended, Mitchell died in his sleep on 12 November, in his room at the Benson Hotel in Portland of natural causes. Mitchell had been in ill health for many years due to an immune system disorder and cancer. Mitchell had suffered bouts of extreme fatigue in 2007 and 2008, but he had recovered from them after a few days' rest. By the end of the 2008 show, however, Mitchell was playing only two or three songs and always with a backup drummer alongside. At his last concert in Portland, Oregon, Mitchell looked so weak that his drum technician and tour manager asked him to sit out the entire show. The drum tech filled in for him on the drums on this, the last show of the tour, and the last show of his life. Afterwards, he asked to rest up for a few days due to exhaustion. From Seattle, he had planned to return to his home in England. The tour manager respected Mitchell's request but had outspoken reservations about its wisdom.
Janie Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix's stepsister and CEO of the Experience Hendrix Tour with which Mitchell had been playing said of the drummer: "He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend. His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated.
The Police drummer Stewart Copeland named the Jimi Hendrix Experience's debut album Are You Experienced as one of the 12 records that changed his life, saying, "Mitch Mitchell blew me away, of course ... the shit he did was remarkable. All of this stuff I did that I was rather proud of, I thought I came up with it. But no, I got it from Mitch."
In 2013, Miami-based drummer and Mitch Mitchell historian, Kevin John Simon, founded the Mitch Mitchell Fan Club on Facebook. The fan club has more than 6,000 members world-wide. Simon built three perfect replicas of Mitchell's 1967, 1968 and 1969 drum kits that have appeared at drum shows in the United States since 2022. . In 2021, Bart van der Zee of Drum History Podcast posted an extensive interview on Mitch Mitchell with Kevin Simon. The interview included detailed information on Mitchell's background, pre-Hendrix experience and work with the Jimi Hendrix Experience including his tours with the group and how his drum kits changed over his years with Hendrix Experience.
In 2016, Mitchell was named the eighth-greatest drummer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
Drum sets
Mitchell debuted with the Hendrix Experience playing a Premier drum kit in England and Europe in 1967. When the Experience came to the US for the Monterey Pop Music Festival in June 1967 Mitchell was playing that same set. Later in the summer, Mitchell switched to a Ludwig Drums drum set and stayed with Ludwig through the rest of the year, 1967, and continued with Ludwig in 1968 and 1969. In 1970, Mitchell switched to a double-bass Gretsch set, his last year with the Hendrix Experience. With the exception of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, during which he played a Rodgers Powertone snare drum, during his time with the JHE, Mitch played a Ludwig Supraphonic 400, a 5- by 14-inch metal snare drum. Much later, and until his untimely passing, he played Drum Workshop drums.
Other projects
In December 1968, Mitchell played with the Dirty Mac, an impromptu band assembled for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Others included John Lennon as vocalist and rhythm guitarist "Winston Leg-Thigh"; Yoko Ono providing improvised primal screams; Eric Clapton as guitarist, and Keith Richards as bassist. The group recorded a cover of "Yer Blues" as well as a jam called "Whole Lotta Yoko". While working with Hendrix from late 1969 until early 1970, Mitchell also collaborated with the Jack Bruce and Friends band fronted by ex-Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, with keyboardist Mike Mandel and jazz-fusion guitarist and future the Eleventh House frontman Larry Coryell.
Post-Hendrix
After Hendrix' death, Mitchell finished production work with engineer Eddie Kramer on incomplete Hendrix recordings, resulting in the releases The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge. In 1972, he teamed up with guitarists Mike Pinera and April Lawton to form Ramatam. They recorded the first of Ramatam's two albums and were an opening act for Emerson, Lake & Palmer at a number of concerts. Mitchell and Hendrix had been offered spots in the band Keith Emerson and Greg Lake were forming, but Carl Palmer got the drum position instead. Ramatam never achieved commercial success, and Mitchell left the act before their second album was released. He also performed in concerts with Terry Reid, Jack Bruce, and Jeff Beck as a substitute for drummer Cozy Powell. Mitchell drummed alongside John Halsey in the 1970s jam band Hinkley's Heroes, the only time he played alongside another drummer. In 1974, he auditioned for Paul McCartney's band Wings but lost the part to Geoff Britton in another coin toss.
Death
Mitchell played as a guest musician at the first Experience Hendrix tour that premiered in Seattle, Washington and ran from February 22, 2004 to February 26, 2004. Off and on, Mitchell returned as a guest artist. He was part of the 2008 Experience Hendrix Tour which for nearly four weeks in October and November 2008 travelled on an 18-city tour of the US, finishing in Portland, Oregon. The tour also featured Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Robby Krieger, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Cesar Rosas, David Hidalgo, Brad Whitford, Hubert Sumlin, Chris Layton, Eric Gales, and Mato Nanji.
Legacy
Queen drummer Roger Taylor has described Mitchell as his early role model. He said: "I still think listening to Mitch Mitchell, especially the early stuff with Hendrix, is just fantastic". Matt Sorum, drummer with the Cult, Guns N' Roses, and Velvet Revolver, has praised his "pure musicianship" and called him "one of the greatest drummers of all time".
Discography
For a more complete listing of Mitchell's recordings with Hendrix, see Jimi Hendrix discography and Jimi Hendrix posthumous discography.
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1946 Births, 2008 Deaths, English Male Television Actors, English Male Child Actors, English Rock Drummers, Musicians From The London Borough Of Ealing, People From Ealing, Actors From The London Borough Of Ealing, The Jimi Hendrix Experience Members, Gypsy Sun And Rainbows Members, The Dirty Mac Members, British Rhythm And Blues Boom Musicians, Screaming Lord Sutch And The Savages Members
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