Best remembered for his creativity and being a hugely influential musician of the 20th century, tragically Jimi Hendrix passed away aged 27, which begs the question of where he would be today if he were still with us.
Regarding his height, for his generation, he was clearly taller than average, but his slender frame and large hair added to the illusion of height, which makes me wonder how tall he really was.
So, let's investigate his height through his finding out his height claims, height comparisons to other singers and some other interesting height-related info, to get to the bottom of how tall Jimi Hendrix really was!
What Was His Real Height
After investigating Jimi Hendrix's height I believe that he woke up at around 5'10.75" (179.7 cm) in the morning, dropping to 5'10.25" (178.4 cm) throughout the majority of the day, and going to bed slightly under this at night.
Height Listing
Jimi Hendrix is listed at 1.8m or roughly 5'11" on Google and 1.78 m or roughly 5'10" on IMDb.
Height Claim
1: The website jimmihendrixcollector (1) found a newspaper article from 1967 where Jimi is asked questions, and in response to "Personal Points :" he describes his height as "5ft. 11ins" and weight as "11st. 5lbs".
2: 'The book Room Full of Mirrors' (2) states that Jimi's military records from 1 month after entering the Army showed a height of "five feet ten" and weight of "155 pounds"
His Appearance Helped Him Look Taller
Similar to other slender famous people, Jimi could come across as taller than he really was.
Regarding Jimi's appearance, The book 'Room Full of Mirrors' (2) also mentions that:
"Hendrix did look heroic in the jacket. He was only five-foot-ten, but people frequently mistook him for being over six feet, at least in part because his gigantic Afro made him appear larger than life. His thin, angular frame, which was shaped like an inverted triangle, furthered this illusion"
This opinion is further referenced in the book Hendrix on Hendrix (3), where describing Jimi's physical appearance it states that:
"He was wearing an all-black outfit with Indian belts and bracelets and big rings. Standing, he looked about six feet tall and was thin—thin and very tired."
Finally, Similar to James Brown, Jimi would often wear heeled shoes, which would further emphasize his slim appearance.
Height Compared to Other Singers
Mick Jagger 5ft 10 (177.8 cm)
When the good friends appeared In a photo standing next to each other in London, UK in 1967 you can clearly see that Jimi is taller than Mick by around half an inch.
Therefore, next to Mick Jagger, Jimi appears to be 5'10.5" tall.
Mitch Mitchell 5'5" (165.1 cm)
Member of the band 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience' as drummer/backing vocalist, there is a plentiful amount of photos where they are side by side.
For example, on March 19th 1967 in some outside pics of them together, and also others including a photoshoot from Hawaii in 1968, there is a clear 5 inch height difference, but no more than this.
Therefore next to Mitch, Jimi appears to be 5'10" tall.
Noel Redding 5'8" (172.7 cm)
Also a member of the band 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience' as bassist/backing vocalist, there are many pics of them together for accurate height comparison.
For instance, January 3, 1968, pictured together there is a 2 inch difference in height. Again, in several photos from 1967 the difference remains the same.
Therefore next to Noel Redding, Jimi appears to be exactly 5'10" tall.
The Results - next to other celebs Jimi appears between 5'10"-5'10.5" tall.
Height Compared to The 10 Best Guitarists Of All Time
Let's see how the top-ranked guitarists of all time stack up against each other regarding height, voted by Louder users (4)
Ranked in chronological order of height!
- Brian May, ranked 7th best guitarist, height 6'1.5" (186.7 cm)
- David Gilmour, ranked 4th best guitarist, height 5'11.5" (181.6 cm)
- Jimmy Page, ranked 2nd best guitarist, height 5'11" (180.3 cm)
- Jimi Hendrix, ranked 1st best guitarist, height 5'10.25" (178.4 cm)
- Ritchie Blackmore ranked 10th best guitarist, height 5'10 "(177.8 cm)
- Slash, ranked 9th best guitarist, height 5'9.25" (175.9 cm)
- Alex Lifeson, ranked 8th best guitarist, height 5'10 "(177.8 cm)
- Eric Clapton, ranked 5th best guitarist, height 5'9.5" (176.5 cm)
- Eddie Van Halen, ranked 3rd best guitarist, height 5'8" or (172.7 cm)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan, ranked 6th best guitarist, height 5'5" (165.1 cm
The Results
- Jimi ranks 1st as best guitarist of all time, and 4th out of 10 on the list height wise
- The average height of the list is 177.3 cm or 5'9.8", and this is 0.7 inches shorter than Jimi
- The tallest man on the list is Brian May at 6'1.5" (186.7 cm) and the shortest is Stevie Ray Vaughan, at 5'5" (165.1 cm). The difference in height between the men is 8.5 inches
Summary
After investigating how tall Jimi Hendrix was, I believe that he stood at 5'10.25" (178.4 cm) for the majority, never dipping below 5'10" (177.8 cm) tall.
Associated Heights
- Kathleen Mary Etchingham, Ex-Girlfriend, 5'5.5" (166.4 cm)
- Dusty Springfield, English singer and TV Duet 'Mocking Bird' (1968), 5'3" (160 cm)
- Jim Morrison, American singer 'The Doors' member, 5'10" (177.8 cm)
- Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter, 5'5" (165.1 cm)
- Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter 'Nirvana' member, 5'9" (175.3 cm)
References
(1) JIMI HENDRIX COLLECTOR: REFERENCING NEWSPAPERS 1967 NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS 11/3/1967 Article
(2) Room Full of Mirrors by Charles R. Cross 2006 page 84, page 4
(3) Hendrix on Hendrix: interviews and encounters with Jimi Hendrix Publication date 2012, Page 189
(4) loudersound: The 50 Best Guitarists Of All Time By Louder published
