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Photo: Rudy Gutierrez
Jimi Hendrix, the Seattle rock god who turned the National Anthem inside out with his blistering performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock will become the latest musician to be honored by the U.S. Postal Service. One of the Jimi Hendrix Forever stamps will be introduced and unveiled March 13 as part of the post office’s Music Icon series.
The unveiling of the stamp will take place at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, with a free outdoor performance by such rock musicians as Slash, the MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Dave and Phil Alvin of the Blasters, Rusty Anderson of Paul McCartney’s touring band and others.
The 2014 Music Icons series also is slated to include a Janis Joplin stamp later this year; next year, James Brown is on tap to get his own stamp.
The Postal Service launched the Music Icons series in 2013 with stamps recognizing Ray Charles, Johnny Cash and Tejano singer Lydia Mendoza.
In 1993, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter and Otis Redding were saluted with postage stamps. Presley’s stamp became the biggest seller in Postal Service history, and it’s due to be brought back in 2015. In the future, stamps are planned to salute John Lennon, Sam Cooke, Tammy Wynette, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Jim Morrison, Freddy Fender, Fats Waller, Willie Dixon and Sarah Vaughan.
Here is Hendrix performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock in 1969:
