The tragic and untimely death of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix on September 18, 1970, swept the rock world into a state of shock. While his tenure in the limelight was short-lived, his monumental impact on music is undeniable, and he continues to reign as one of music's most gifted and influential performers.
On the day after Hendrix's drug-related passing - the guitarist was found unresponsive in a London hotel room having aspirated his own vomit due to an overdose - fellow rock gods Led Zeppelin, touring their second album in America at the time, happened to be hosting a press conference at NBC Studio in New York. The plan had been to promote Zeppelin's evening's headline show at Madison Square Garden, but given the news from London, the media event was now packed full of story-hungry journalists who began hounding the band on what they thought of the connection between rock musicians and their reliance on illicit substances.
