'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky - by David Henderson (Paperback)

About the Book

The newly revised, expanded, and updated edition of the most beloved biography of music legend Jimi Hendrix includes 40 percent new text and rare and unpublished photos.

Book Synopsis

The expanded edition of the definitive, critically praised, and most beloved biography of music legend Jimi Hendrix--including previously unpublished photos.

Originally published to great acclaim in 1978, 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky was written by poet, scholar, and Hendrix friend David Henderson as a personal favor to Jimi. Since then, it has garnered rave reviews and sold over 500,000 copies, reaching the legions of Hendrix fans worldwide.

This most thorough update on the book in ten years is filled with brand-new photographs and fresh revelations. It includes more of Jimi's personal writing, more details about his romantic relationships and sexual encounters, and more in-depth research by the author into Jimi's music and creative life. At once a grand adventure and a vivid record of 1960s culture and politics, 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky shows Hendrix as a member of the Flower Power and the Black Power movements.

With new access to old documents--once covered up by legal barriers--Henderson is now free to tell about Jimi's opposition to the Vietnam War and his controversial support of the New York Panther 21. With his music selling off the shelves, Hendrix is a rock immortal and this is the only book to tell his whole story.

Review Quotes

"The New Journalism began on the Lower East Side in the mid-sixties when poets and fiction writers became reporters for The East Village Other, mother of the Underground Press. David Henderson was one of the pioneers of the style. He combines his gifts as a poet and a reporter in 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky, and the result is a rewarding and unique reading experience. It is part thriller and part lament for some tragic lives who enlivened an exciting decade."
-- Ishmael Reed

"A harrowing and exhilarating story...Making sense of Hendrix's life, career, and art with such moment-to-moment intensity, one comes away convinced that we caught no more than a glimpse of Hendrix while he was here to see in the flesh..."
-- Rolling Stone

"Henderson hasn't just given us Hendrix complete. He has also written a fascinating study of the development of rock."
-- The Phoenix (Boston)

"No one who wants to assemble a coherent version of Jimi's story can afford to be without this book -- it is not only the best version, it is the only complete one."
-- Dave Marsh, author of Born to Run

"The most thorough and consistently excellent biography of any rock music figure."
-- San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle

About the Author

The poet and writer David Henderson was a founding member of the Umbra Poets, an influential collective of poets and writers who were central to the Black Arts Movement. His books include De Mayor of Harlem and Neo-California. He has been widely published in anthologies and magazines, including The Def Jam Poetry Reader, The Paris Review, and Essence. He has read from his poetry for the permanent archives of the Library of Congress. Born in Harlem and raised in Harlem and the Bronx, Henderson now lives in downtown New York City