Showbiz411

Jimi Hendrix has been dead 42 years. And he’s number 1 on amazon.com today. He’s number 2 on iTunes. He’s got the best selling physical CD over all, and he’s number 1 in rock, pop, and classic rock. “People, Hell, and Angels” also has the distinction of being an album of entirely unreleased material. It’s not a greatest hits package. His publicist, Bob Merlis, is over the moon and rightly so: the album is amazing.

Of course, amazon.com skews older, and they are not the total indication of an album’s sales. Plus, today is the official release date, so there are plenty of advance orders. But the number 2 on iTunes says a lot.  Eddie Kramer and co. deserve a lot of kudos. They put together a stunning tribute to Hendrix. Get that album and listen to “Mojo Man.” That’s a lot of mojo to travel four decades.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.