The Essential Hendrix: An A-Z Compendium provides students with a concise, focused guide on the people, places, and music associated with Jimi Hendrix, organized in an encyclopedic structure. The material offers fresh, contemporary insight on events related to Hendrix, covering developments with his catalog, film documentaries, and featuring information from over 200 sources.

This text features unique coverage of the people and places associated with Hendrix during his life, and also his legacies following his death in September 1970. Lawsuits, the shift of estate control to Experience Hendrix, LLC, and the sale of previously unreleased recordings are addressed. Individuals within Hendrix's sphere are examined through cohesive overviews that speak to their connections to the guitarist or their complete careers inclusive of circumstances that preceded or followed their time with Hendrix. Following the alphabetical entries, dedicated sections examine Hendrix on film, marketing and merchandising, his psychedelic fashion and design, and Hendrix tribute albums.

Offering readers scholarly analysis and historical context, The Essential Hendrix is an ideal supplementary text for courses in popular music studies, black music studies, and the history of the recording industry.