Four Unreleased Jimi Hendrix Demo Recordings Billed as ‘Better Than the Originals’ Are Going Up for Sale

Four unreleased demo tracks recorded by Jimi Hendrix are heading to the auction block—along with some of the American rockstar’s dry-cleaning receipts, paperwork and tour itineraries.

The London auction is organized by Propstore, a vendor dedicated to selling pop culture memorabilia. Whoever buys the demos will have “the kudos of having your own Jimi Hendrix songs which only you can listen to,” as Mark Hochman, Propstore’s music consultant, tells the Observer’s Dalya Alberge.

The four songs up for grabs—“Up From the Skies,” “Ain’t No Telling,” “Little Miss Lover” and “Stone Free”—were recorded in 1968 and are expected to sell for about $261,000, reports Artnet’s Richard Whiddington. The first three are demos of tracks that appeared on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 album, Axis: Bold as Love. Just a few years after the guitarist recorded these demos, he died of an overdose at the age of 27.

The unreleased recordings are “very different in sound and are generally shorter” than common versions of the same songs, per the lot listing. Together, the four recordings run just seven minutes, and their compositions stand apart.

“They’re a lot tighter and smoother,” Hochman tells the Observer. “You can hear more guitar, which is obviously what Hendrix was famous for. The experts who have visited and heard the recordings all agree that these are far superior to all the other versions of these tracks.”

All the material in the auction was collected by Patricia Sullivan, who began working for Hendrix’s manager, Mike Jeffery, in 1966. As Jeffery’s personal assistant, Sullivan coordinated studio sessions, created itineraries, dealt with various musicians in Hendrix’s band and accompanied them on tour. When Jeffery died in 1973, Sullivan collected a trove of tapes and archival material from his London office, and she kept it all under wraps for the next 50 years.

“When we first had the opportunity to explore this archive, we were immediately captivated by the depth and significance of the material,” says Hochman in the statement, per CNN’s Amarachi Orie.

Along with the demos, the auction includes Hendrix’s handwritten form requesting a copy of his birth certificate, dry-cleaning slips for psychedelic stage costumes and an extensive collection of slide photographs featuring candid snaps of the musician. Other artifacts exemplify Hendrix’s raucous lifestyle, such as a letter from his record company that says he’s being evicted from Ringo Starr’s London apartment due to complaints from other tenants, as well as a collection of now-ominous bills from a London doctor, addressed to Hendrix and bandmates. As Hochman tells the Observer, “You can only imagine what that was for in the late 1960s … I think it was for their drugs.”

Propstore will auction off the entire collection in mid-November, alongside other music memorabilia associated with Oasis, Queen, John Lennon and others. As Hochman says in the statement, the Hendrix artifacts are “exceptional” pieces of rock history.

“It’s an incredible collection that not only reflects the personal life of Jimi Hendrix but also transports you back to a pivotal moment in music history,” he adds.

Sonja Anderson | READ MORE

Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in New York City.