Jimi Hendrix’s 1960s Fender Stratocaster (Carol)

This is likely one of the first, if not the first, Stratocasters that Hendrix ever owned. However, the history surrounding this guitar is far from established.

The Origin Story

According to the book Jimi Hendrix Gear [p.62], Jimi acquired this guitar at Manny’s Music shop in New York, with his girlfriend at the time, Carol Shiroky, reportedly purchasing it for him. In Steven Roby’s book Becoming Jimi Hendrix [p.170], it’s mentioned that Jimi broke the guitar after breaking up with Carol.

Both accounts are second-hand and remain unproven. It’s believed that this guitar was used only briefly in New York and was not the one Jimi carried with him to the UK in late 1966.

Linda Keith supplies another white Stratocaster to Hendrix

Interestingly, Linda Keith provided Hendrix with another white Stratocaster. According to her, she borrowed one of Keith Richards’ guitars and lent it to Jimi in 1966, as his own guitar was at a pawn shop. She also recalled attending a gig at Café Au Go-Go in New York, where Hendrix smashed a white guitar on stage:

It was the night he smashed up a white guitar, I was beside myself. I’d lent him a guitar belonging to my boyfriend and there he was smashing one up on stage! I was absolutely livid with Jimi because to me that’s the most un-cool thing to do.

How I helped to make Jimi Hendrix a rock’n’roll star – The Observer, September 2014

Based on Linda’s account, it’s plausible that Jimi destroyed his first white Stratocaster during the Café Au Go-Go performance she attended. Speculatively, having a backup guitar from Linda may have allowed Hendrix to part with Carol’s guitar in dramatic fashion, creating a memorable scene in the process.

However, it’s worth considering that smashing a valuable guitar so early in his career, especially given his financial situation at the time, seems unlikely. Regardless, it appears this incident marked the end of Hendrix’s first white Fender Stratocaster and the beginning of the second.