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was now making ten dollars a night.
C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N
DYLAN BLACK
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
July 1966 September 1966
We all called him Dylan Black because of his hair. Once you
saw him, you didn t forget him. It was like he was hot-combing
it; it looked exactly like Dylan s.
ELLEN MCILWAINE
THE BLUE FLAMES played for several weeks at the Wha, and while it
would be an exaggeration to say they built a large following, they did
attract a few loyal fans and drew the attention of a number of the many
musicians in Greenwich Village. Richie Havens sent Mike Bloomfield,
considered the best guitarist in New York; Bloomfield emerged from
the show announcing he wasn t going to pick up the guitar again.
Hendrix knew who I was and that day, in front of my eyes, he burned
me to death, Bloomfield told one interviewer. H-bombs were going
off, guided missiles were flying I can t tell you the sounds he was get-
ting out of his instrument. He was getting every sound I was ever to
hear him get, right there in that room with a Stratocaster. . . . How he
R OOM F UL L OF MI R R OR S 143
did this, I wish I understood. Bloomfield, true to his word, failed to
appear for his next scheduled show, and Richie Havens had to fill in.
Bloomfield s reaction mirrored that of many guitarists upon first
viewing Jimi: It was as if Jimi s talent negated their own, as if his play-
ing was something he did to them. They took his rising star personally,
which led to admiration but also to jealousy. Even Jimi s rehearsals be-
gan to attract aficionados. Guitarist Buzzy Linhart caught a rehearsal
where Jimi essentially played an entire show to a handful of guitar play-
ers. He was performing even though the only audience was a few mu-
sicians, Linhart recalled. He could throw the guitar out of his hands
and play it as it came back by him. For the first time in Jimi s life, he
had others in awe of him and he reveled in the attention.
Linda Keith was still trying to find a producer as impressed with
Jimi as the local guitarists were. She took Andrew Loog Oldham, the
Rolling Stones manager, to a show at the Wha, hoping he d be inter-
ested in signing Jimi. Linda tried to soft-sell Jimi, but found Oldham
unimpressed. I was more concerned about her interactions with Jimi
than I was in signing him, Oldham remembered. It was obvious that
she knew him, and clear that she knew him well. And she was the girl-
friend of my lead guitarist, so that s what I was worried about. The part
of me that did like the music could see that he was trouble, and I had
enough trouble already with the Stones. Oldham recalled that Jimi
spoke to Linda from the stage several times, something the manager
found disconcerting, if only because of what might have occurred had
Keith Richards been in the club. Keith was the kind of guy who might
actually kill someone involved with his girlfriend, Oldham said.
Linda remembered the night differently and argued that Oldham
simply didn t appreciate Hendrix and couldn t see past his thrift-store
clothes. Andrew thought Jimi was crap, she said. Yes, Jimi had a ter-
rible image, and Andrew was all image. Andrew s whole thing was that
he was into strings, and the wall of sound. Andrew just didn t see it.
Jimi wasn t everyone s cup of tea. It probably did not help Jimi s case
that he had a bad outbreak of acne that week.
144 C H A R L E S R . C R O S S
Undaunted, Linda tried again, this time contacting Seymour Stein
of Sire Records. Stein was impressed with what he saw particularly by
the fact that Hendrix had a few original songs yet the evening deterio-
rated when Jimi began smashing his guitar in frustration. Linda pan-
icked, perhaps because she had pilfered this guitar from Keith Richards,
though it was easily repaired. Stein went with Linda on a second occa-
sion to see Jimi only to witness a row between Linda and the guitarist,
forestalling any discussion of business.
Linda Keith s relationship with Keith Richards was falling apart
that summer for a variety of reasons, including Richards s jealousy of
Jimi. For her part, Linda argued that she and Jimi never began a serious
romantic relationship, and that a love affair didn t develop because Jimi
refused to settle down. I told him that he wouldn t be able to carry on
with all the women he had if he were involved with me, she said. I
gave him something of an ultimatum, and he chose the other women. I
suppose I was one of the few women who wouldn t accept that. All his
girlfriends had to have a secondary role, they were providing him with
something: money, food, or more women.
Linda Keith was amazed at how Jimi managed to juggle his many
girlfriends, and how he conned every one into thinking she was his sole
focus. He had this depth with women, she observed. All the women
who say they were the great love of his life, they probably were in that
moment. Or at least that s what he told them. She recalled being in
Jimi s Lennox Hotel room once when there were seven women sleeping
in his bed they were in all likelihood prostitutes rather than Jimi s girl-
friends, yet the display still made an impression. Jimi argued that his
wandering ways were part of his nature. Linda felt hurt that Jimi
couldn t be monogamous, and oddly, Jimi was hurt that she had higher
standards. In fact, he felt snubbed. Jimi avoided direct conflict as much
as possible, preferring instead to wander away from a disagreement or
an uncomfortable situation, and that s how he dealt with their erstwhile
relationship he continued to pine for her, but was unable to forgo the
other women he met and bedded.
Despite Jimi s philandering, Linda worked tirelessly to bring him
R OOM F UL L OF MI R R OR S 145
to the attention of the world, and few musicians have had the luck of
winning such a determined champion. Linda even brought the Rolling
Stones to one of Jimi s shows at Ondine s, a midtown ballroom. The
Stones could create gossip-column items simply by appearing at some-
one else s show, yet their appearance at Jimi s went unreported and the
band was unimpressed. They spent most of the night dancing or fend-
ing off admirers; the only Stone who paid attention to Jimi was Keith
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