As the bassist for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience, musician/songwriter Noel Redding permanently signed his name in the history books by association alone. A talented musician in his own right, Redding's formidable skills may have been overshadowed by Hendrix's electrifying guitar skills, though his legacy with the band proves that he was an invaluable component in its success. Born in Folkstone, Kent, England, in December of 1945, Redding jammed with the Modern Jazz Group and the Loving Kind before joining the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Following the band's stateside debut at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, the band released three full-length LPs before disbanding two years later (and one year before Hendrix's death). Noting the Monterey Pop performance and the band's 1992 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame among his career highlights, Redding later recorded under the names
Fat Mattress and the Noel Redding Band. Penning the autobiography Are You Experienced in 1990, Redding shocked many with claims that the Hendrix estate owed him money. In 2002 Redding published The Noel Redding Bass Guitar Method. Redding regularly performed at a local pub named De Barra over the course of his final 20 years. On May 12, 2003 Noel Redding was found dead in his Clonakiltu, South Ireland, home. He was 57.