Jimi Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell dead aged 62

Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience was found dead on Wednesday (November 12th) in Portland, Oregon at age 62. KGW.com reports that an autopsy was conducted on Wednesday, but that the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's office said he likely died of natural causes.

Mitchell was on the road as part of the Experience Hendrix Tour, a 19-stop trek paying homage to the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix. The tour, which wrapped on November 7th, also featured the core band of Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Aerosmith's Brad Whitford, and Kid Rock guitar player Kenny Olson.

Janie Hendrix, Jimi's adopted sister and the CEO of Experience Hendrix, LLC said in a statement, "We're all devastated to hear of Mitch's passing. He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend. His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated. Over the course of the recent tour, he seemed delighted with the interchange with the other musicians and the audiences. There is no question that he was doing what he loved."

Between 1966 and 1970, Mitchell was Hendrix's closest collaborator playing in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and his later "Cry Of Love"-era Experience with bassist Billy Cox, and backed Hendrix at both his legendary performances at 1967's Monterey International Pop Festival and 1969's Woodstock.

Mitchell was featured on such seminal Hendrix albums as Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland. His work can be heard on many Hendrix classics including "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", "Foxy Lady", "Fire", "Little Wing", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Crosstown Traffic," "All Along the Watchtower" "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and dozens of others.

On December 10th, 1968 Mitchell drummed as part of the makeshift supergroup the Plastic Mac, featuring John Lennon, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, which was formed for the taping of the Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus TV special.

Experience bassist Noel Redding died in 2003 at the age of 57, due to complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver.

Mitch Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He is survived by his mother, his wife, a daughter and two grandchildren.
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