R.I.P. Mitch Mitchell.

[Swish]

The last of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, drummer Mitch Mitchell, passed away yesterday at the age of 61. He was found in a hotel room in Portland, OR, and, while an autopsy is being done, the coroner suggests he died of natural causes. The Englishman had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on the West Coast part of the tour.

Hendrix died in 1970, and bassist Noel Redding in 2003, so Mitch was the last to leave us. I grew up on their music and, before I learned to play guitar, wore myself out playing air guitar and drums to their rockin' tunes. Damn. I feel like crap right now.

Swish

[Worf101]

Behind Hendrix he was the best musician in the band. His drum work on "Fire" was not just propulsive but explosive. He also had touch and groove, two things not found in a lot of Rock or Metal drummers. Much as I love Buddy Miles, Mitchell was a superior drumer. He will be missed.

Da Worfster

[Swish]

Behind Hendrix he was the best musician in the band. His drum work on "Fire" was not just propulsive but explosive. He also had touch and groove, two things not found in a lot of Rock or Metal drummers. Much as I love Buddy Miles, Mitchell was a superior drumer. He will be missed.

Da Worfster

...because of the huge presence of Hendrix, but he was quite a talent. Here are some comments from Drummer World. I put a couple sections that were most important in bold font;

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday. He was 61.

Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band's 1967 debut album "Are You Experienced?" as well as the trio's albums "Electric Ladyland" and "Axis: Bold As Love." He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression."
Erin Patrick, a deputy medical examiner, said Mitchell apparently died of natural causes. An autopsy was planned."He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend," said Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the Experience Hendrix Tour and Jimi Hendrix' stepsister. "His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated."

Bob Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, said Mitchell had stayed in Portland for a four-day vacation and planned to leave Wednesday.
"It was a devastating surprise," Merlis said. "Nobody drummed like he did."

He said he saw Mitchell perform two weeks ago in Los Angeles, and the drummer appeared to be healthy and upbeat.

Mitchell was a one-of-a-kind drummer whose "jazz-tinged" style was influenced by Max Roach and Elvin Jones, Merlis said. The work was a vital part of both the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the 1960s and the Experience Hendrix Tour that ended last week, he said.
"If Jimi Hendrix were still alive," Merlis said, "he would have acknowledged that."

During his career Mitchell played with the best in the business — not just Hendrix, but also Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Keith Richards, Jack Bruce, Jeff Beck, Muddy Waters and others.

Mitchell performed with Hendrix and Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, the U.S. debut of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He also was member of a later version of the band that performed the closing set of the Woodstock Festival in August 1969 — where Hendrix played a psychedelic version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the band launched into "Purple Haze."
The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1992. According to the Hall of Fame, Mitchell was born July 9, 1947, in Ealing, England.

Terry Stewart, chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, said Mitchell transformed his instrument from a "strictly percussive element to a lead instrument."

"His interplay with Jimi Hendrix's guitar on songs like 'Fire' is truly amazing," Stewart said Wednesday. "Mitch Mitchell had a massive influence on rock 'n' roll drumming and took it to new heights."
By MARY HUDETZ – AP - November 12, 2

I must have listened to 'Fire' hundreds of times when I was a kid, and the drum tracks were, to me, the most important element in the song. Great rock and roll.

Swish

[Rich-n-Texas]

Many of my rock heros are leaving this green earth. Sad to think.

[BradH]

Behind Hendrix he was the best musician in the band..... Much as I love Buddy Miles, Mitchell was a superior drumer. He will be missed.

Agreed. I liked listening to him more than a lot of drummers including Ginger Baker.