King Kasuals
Fronted by a man named Jimmy Hendrix, who came to nashville in 1962, the King Kasuals maintained a residency at Club Del Morocco on Jefferson Street. The bandleader reportedly lived rent-free above a beauty salon, Joyce's House of Glamour, with the bassist, a man named Billy Cox. After Jimmy was recruited by Marion James, "Queen of the Blues," he later went on to perform for larger acts and changed the spelling of his first name.The band also briefly played billed as Billy Cox and the Sandpipers to play Printers Alley.
After the departure of Hendrix and Cox, soul and blues guitarist Johnny Jones became the frontman of the newly billed Johnny Jones and the King Casuals.
Mark Windle in his book "House of Broken Hearts" writes:
The history of the King Kasuals, or Casuals, is at times vague and characterised by fluid personnel and band name changes, but the origins lay with Hendrix and Cox in 1961-1962 when both were attached to the 101st Airborne at the Fort Campbell Army Base. Hendrix was from Seattle, and Cox from West Virginia. Along with fellow soldiers Gary Ferguson (drums) and Major Washington (sax) the band played as The Kasuals in servicemen clubs on the base and at the Pink Poodle Club in Clarksville, TN. Hendrix was not cut out for the military, often found himself on report for breaches of protocol, sleeping on duty and injuries. Within a year Hendrix and Cox were discharged from service and in an effort to look for work, they moved to Nashville. The pair took up an apartment above a beauty store on Jefferson Street.
References[edit | edit source]
https://thenashvillebridge.com/2010/11/21/jimi-hendrix-the-nashville-connection/