Why Jimi Hendrix’s Father Punished Him Whenever He Used His Left Hand

Rock legend Jimi Hendrix had an all-too-short career in the 1960s before his death in 1970 at age 27. He was known for his guitar-playing abilities, including his use of his left hand to play. But using his left hand often led to punishment at the hands of his father growing up.

Jimi Hendrix’s father had extra fingers

Philip Norman’s 2020 book Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix detailed Hendrix’s life prior to fame as well as his career after his breakout. Hendrix’s father was born with extra fingers on his hands, which was considered a mark of the devil back then. As a result, his extra fingers were starved of blood until they fell off.

“The youngest of their four children, James Allen — always to be known as Al — arrived in 1919, strong and healthy but with an extra finger on each hand,” Norman wrote. “Back then, such infant deformities were widely believed to be marks of the Devil for which, not long previously, the luckless infant would have been quietly suffocated. However, infanticide had given way to do-it-yourself amputation: Zenora [James’ mother, Jimi’s grandmother] was advised to bind the superfluous digits with silk cords, starving them of blood until they simply dropped. This they did, only to grow back in an undersized, shriveled form, complete with miniature nails.” 

Jimi Hendrix’s father didn’t allow him to use his left hand

Jimi Hendrix was born in 1942. His family soon discovered that he was born left-handed, which was also considered demonic back then. As a result, his father was adamant about changing his son’s use of his left hand by force.

“Far more serious was the discovery that he was left-handed, which many people still considered not far down the scale of Satan-signatures from surplus fingers,” Norman said. “That such a further stigma should be added to the midget digit on each of his own hands horrified Al, and he set about correcting it in the only way he knew how. If ever [Jimi] were caught using the ‘wrong’ hand, he could expect an angry swipe around the head.” 

Hendrix isn’t the only famed left-handed guitarist in history: Paul McCartney and Kurt Cobain also played with their left hand.

Jimi Hendrix’s thoughts on his father

The 2010 film Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child was a documentary where famed bassist Bootsy Collins provided a voice to Hendrix’s words from his life. Despite the harsh treatment Hendrix faced from his father, he didn’t bad-mouth him for his parenting style.

“Dad was very strict and level-headed, but my mother liked dressing having a good time. She used to drink up and a lot and didn’t take care of herself but she was a groovy mother,” he said.

“Mostly my dad took care of me,” he continued. “He taught me that I must respect my elders always. I couldn’t speak unless I was spoken to first by grown-ups. So I’ve always been quiet. But I saw a lot of things. A fish wouldn’t get in trouble if he kept his mouth shut. I remember when I was only four and I wet my pants stayed out in the rain for hours so I would get wet all over and my mom wouldn’t know.”