One of the best photos we've ever posted to Unfair Park was this February 16, 1968, snapshot of Angus Wynne and Jimi Hendrix taken at Love Field, shortly before Dallas experienced the man and his band at the Fair Park Music Hall. That picture, of course, accompanied an audience recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience made that night. To which I'll add this bonus round: Hendrix's April 20, 1969, return to Dallas -- this time, to Memorial Auditorium in downtown. It's rough, ragged, another popular audience keepsake. Ex-Crawdaddy Rick Vittenson spent time with Jimi before that '69 show and recalls, among other things:
There were three of us who drove to Dallas. We found out where Jimi was staying, went to the front desk and just asked where Jimi was. In those days you could do things like that! With Jimi's room number from the front desk we went up and knocked on the door. Noel Redding answered and we told him we were looking for Jimi. He told us that Jimi's room was down the hall. We went to the room that Noel directed us to and the door was slightly ajar. We knocked and Jimi opened the door with a smile on his face and said, "Come in, Come in." I'll never forget that. He didn't know who we were or why we were there but he asked us to come in. It was wonderful.Hendrix returned to Memorial one last time on June 5, 1970, just three months before his death. There are no recordings of that show, only a few photos and rare copies of the handbill, one available on Wolfgang's Vault for $525 and another from Record Mecca at a slightly higher price. The world was a better place when Neimans sold concert tickets.
Jimi was alone in the room and told us that he had been watching roller derby on television. He had just ordered his lunch, which was a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken and some Heineken Beer.