Noel Redding
The steady-handed bassist who anchored Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic whirlwind, providing the crucial groove for rock's most explosive trio.
1945–2003 (age 58)·English musician·Birthday: December 25·The Silent Generation
Biography
Noel Redding's journey began in Folkestone, England, a young guitarist who found himself in the right place at the right time. In 1966, an audition for a new band led by an unknown American guitarist named Jimi Hendrix took an unexpected turn; they needed a bassist, not a guitarist. Redding, eager for the gig, picked up the four-string and helped form the Jimi Hendrix Experience. For three incendiary years, his melodic, propulsive bass lines were the essential counterweight to Hendrix's guitar pyrotechnics, defining the sound of classics like 'Purple Haze' and 'Fire.' Feeling creatively stifled, he formed the band Fat Mattress, but the shadow of the Experience was long. The later years of his life were marked by financial disputes over royalties and a gradual retreat from the spotlight, but his contribution to one of music's most revolutionary acts remains indelible.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Noel was born in 1945, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Noel Was Born
The biggest hits of 1945
#1 Movie
The Bells of St. Mary's
Best Picture
The Lost Weekend
Noel's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1945Born
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1950Started school
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1958Became a teenager
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1961Could drive
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1963Could vote
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Turned 21
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1975Turned 30
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1985Turned 40
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 50
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2003Died at 58
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Key Achievements
- Played bass on all three seminal studio albums by the Jimi Hendrix Experience: 'Are You Experienced', 'Axis: Bold as Love', and 'Electric Ladyland'.
- Co-founded and fronted the psychedelic rock band Fat Mattress, releasing two albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Did You Know?
He was primarily a guitarist before joining the Experience and had to learn the bass parts quickly for their first rehearsals.
Redding wrote and sang the song "She's So Fine" on the Experience's album 'Axis: Bold as Love'.
He owned and operated a pub called the 'Noel Redding Bar' in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, for many years.
“I was a guitarist, but I picked up the bass and it changed my life.”
