Jimi Hendrix Stamp Issued
The U.S. Postal Service is paying tribute to one of rock and roll's most legendary figures with the latest in the line of the 'Forever' stamps. For a mere 49 cents, you can paste Jimi Hendrix on your next piece of mail.
With psychedelic artwork by artist Rudy Gutierrez, Hendrix is pictured with Stratocaster in hand, and donning his iconic military jacket. Beginning today (March 13), the Jimi Hendrix 'Forever' stamp is available at post offices, on the U.S. Postal Service website, and eBay.
"The technical challenge was making art that will still read at stamp size, so it was a matter of not being overly complicated," said Gutierrez. "It was important to make the art accessible, and to be true to the incredible combination of rawness and virtuosity that was Jimi Hendrix."
Hendrix joins an illustrious batch of musicians already featured on the Forever stamp, including Johnny Cash and Ray Charles. Janis Joplin and James Brown are on the list of forthcoming stamps in this series. The stamp will have its official public viewing today at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, during an all-star concert curated by the MC5's Wayne Kramer.
"To have them honor a contemporary and a great artist is like a small step in the right direction," Kramer told Billboard, "So I want to encourage that. I want put on a show that makes them feel good about embracing popular culture." The concert features the Doors' Robby Krieger, Slash, Rusty Anderson of Paul McCartney's band, Doug Pinnick of King's X, and former Blasters Dave and Phil Alvin, among others.
"The honor of the stamp really comes from the lost art of letter-writing," Hendrix Family rep Janie Hendrix told USA Today, "While Jimi was in the Army, he wrote these wonderful postcards and letters to my dad. There's something about handwriting a letter that gives a sense of intimacy."