Mitch Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 Mitchell in 1967 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Graham Mitchell |
| Born | (1946-07-09)9 July 1946 Ealing,Middlesex, England |
| Died | 12 November 2008(2008-11-12) (aged 62) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums • percussion • Vocals |
| Years active | 1960–2008 |
| Formerly of | |
John Graham "Mitch"Mitchell (9 July 1946 – 12 November 2008)[1][2] was an English drummer and child actor, best known for his work inthe Jimi Hendrix Experience, for which he was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.[3] He was inducted into theModern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009.[4] In 2016, Mitchell was ranked number 8 inRolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".[5]
Mitchell was born inEaling, Middlesex[2] to Phyliss C. (née Preston) and Thomas J. Mitchell[6][7] on 9 July 1946 (although several modern sources have incorrectly claimed that he was born in 1947).[1][2] As a 13 year old, he had aleading role in the British filmBottoms Up (1960) withJimmy Edwards.[8] As a teenager he starred in a children's television programme,Jennings at School and also had a bit part in the 1963 filmLive It Up! which starredHeinz Burt,David Hemmings andSteve Marriott.
Mitchell became a musician through working atJim Marshall's drum shop on Saturdays while still at school. Among drummers, his chief influences wereElvin Jones andTony Williams.[9] One of his first bands was the Soul Messengers, formed at theEaling Club with saxophonist Terry Marshall, son of Jim Marshall.[10]
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, andthe Who as a session drummer while the band was in the process of replacingDoug Sandom withKeith Moon.[11] In 1965, he also temporarily replacedViv Prince as drummer inthe Pretty Things.
From December 1965 until October 1966, Mitchell was the drummer ofGeorgie Fame and the Blue Flames, appearing on their 1966 albumSweet Things. In a 2015 interview, Fame recalled: "His main hero was jazz drummerRonnie Stephenson and if you look at early film clips of Mitch, he had that Ronnie Stephenson look, the way he set his jaw. And he loved crashing around on the cymbals like Ronnie, but in my band I liked the arrangements pretty tight. When he started splashing around I'd say 'just play the hi-hat!'".[12]
Mitchell auditioned forthe Jimi Hendrix Experience on 6 October 1966[13] and was chosen overAynsley Dunbar in a coin toss.[5] Mitchell's fast, driving,jazz-influenced playing meshed well with Hendrix's open-ended, revolutionary approach to the electric guitar. He played on the three best-selling Experience studio albums,Are You Experienced (1967),Axis: Bold as Love (1968), andElectric Ladyland (1968).
Mitchell remained with Hendrix after the Experience broke up whenNoel Redding quit in June 1969. He performed with Hendrix's expanded lineup atWoodstock (August 1969). Mitchell was replaced briefly withBuddy Miles for theBand of Gypsys album (1970), but rejoined Hendrix (withBilly Cox on bass) for the April–September 1970the Cry of Love Tour.[13] He played drums for most of the songs included on the posthumously-released Hendrix studio albumsThe Cry of Love (1971) (also listed as a co-producer),Rainbow Bridge (1971), andWar Heroes (1972).
Mitchell debuted with the Hendrix Experience playing aPremier 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 aLudwig drum set and stayed with Ludwig through the rest of the year, 1967, and continued with Ludwig in 1968 and 1969.[14] In 1970, Mitchell switched to a double-bassGretsch Drums set, his last year with the Hendrix Experience. With the exception of the 1969Woodstock 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 playedDW drums.
On April 11, 1969, Mitchell played with Jimi in Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, NC, using George Hayman Drums.
In December 1968, Mitchell played withthe Dirty Mac, an impromptu band assembled forThe Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Others includedJohn Lennon as vocalist and rhythm guitarist "Winston Leg-Thigh";Yoko Ono providing improvisedprimal screams;Eric Clapton as guitarist, andKeith 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/vocalistJack Bruce, with keyboardist Mike Mandel and jazz-fusion guitarist and futurethe Eleventh House frontmanLarry Coryell.
After Hendrix' death, Mitchell finished production work with engineerEddie Kramer on incomplete Hendrix recordings, resulting in the releasesThe Cry of Love andRainbow Bridge.[15] In 1972, he teamed up with guitaristsMike Pinera andApril Lawton to formRamatam. They recorded the first of Ramatam's two albums and were an opening act forEmerson, Lake & Palmer at a number of concerts.[16] Mitchell and Hendrix had been offered spots in the bandKeith Emerson andGreg Lake were forming, butCarl 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 withTerry Reid,Jack Bruce, andJeff Beck as a substitute for drummerCozy Powell.[17] Mitchell drummed alongsideJohn Halsey in the 1970s jam band Hinkley's Heroes, the only time he played alongside another drummer.[18] In 1974, he auditioned forPaul McCartney's bandWings but lost the part toGeoff Britton in another coin toss.[19]
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 ofLed Zeppelin's "Black Dog". He did session work onJunior Brown'sLong Walk Back[20] 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.[21] He also appeared onBruce Cameron's albumMidnight Daydream that included Billy Cox,Buddy Miles and Jack Bruce.[22]
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Mitchell 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 inPortland, Oregon.[23][24] The tour also featuredBilly Cox,Buddy Guy,Jonny Lang,Robby Krieger,Kenny Wayne Shepherd,Eric Johnson,Cesar Rosas,David Hidalgo,Brad Whitford,Hubert Sumlin,Chris Layton,Eric Gales, andMato Nanji.
Five days after the tour ended, Mitchell died in his sleep on 12 November, in his room at theBenson Hotel in Portland ofnatural causes.[25] 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.
Queen drummerRoger 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".[26]Matt Sorum, drummer withthe Cult,Guns N' Roses, andVelvet Revolver, has praised his "pure musicianship" and called him "one of the greatest drummers of all time".[25]
In an interview withthe Police drummerStewart Copeland in the late 2000s, Copeland listed the Jimi Hendrix Experience debut albumAre You Experienced as his favourite drum album of all time, and relates that as a child in school, he would walk around with drum beats in his head and wonder how Mitch Mitchell would carve out a rhythm were he to play that song.[27]
In 2016, Mitchell was named the eighth-greatest drummer of all time byRolling Stone magazine.[28]
For a more complete listing of Mitchell's recordings with Hendrix, seeJimi Hendrix discography andJimi Hendrix posthumous discography.
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