New York’s Famed West 8th Street to Be Co-Named Jimi Hendrix Way
New York City will officially co-name West 8th Street Jimi Hendrix Way during an event slated to take place Wednesday, June 10, at 11 a.m. The ceremony, rescheduled from Feb. 24 due to inclement weather, will be held at the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and West 8th Street in Greenwich Village, just a block from Hendrix’s historic Electric Lady Studios and four blocks from 12th Street, where the guitarist resided when he passed away in London.
The street co-naming was led by NYC District 2 Council Member Harvey Epstein and spearheaded by Experience Hendrix, L.L.C., the Hendrix family-owned company run by Janie Hendrix, alongside musician and writer Jeff Slate. The event will also serve as the public launch of a new national education partnership with Stevie Van Zandt’s TeachRock, expanding its library of more than 500 free, standards-aligned lessons that use music and popular culture to teach history, social studies, language arts and other core subjects. The collaboration includes a new multimedia Hendrix curriculum, Jimi Hendrix: Rock’s Trailblazing Innovator and Influential Guitarist, designed for middle and high school students.
Council Member Epstein, Van Zandt, Janie Hendrix, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, songwriter and performer Valerie Simpson, CBS Orchestra and the World’s Most Dangerous Band guitarist Felicia Collins and producer and engineer Eddie Kramer, who worked closely with Hendrix and helped conceptualize Electric Lady Studios, will all appear at the ceremony. Local TeachRock educators and students will also partake in the event.
According to TeachRock, “The new lesson, Jimi Hendrix: Rock’s Trailblazing Innovator and Influential Guitarist, invites students to explore Hendrix’s journey from his Blues and R&B roots to his revolutionary impact on rock music, sound design and live performance. Through video, interactive tools and hands-on projects, students examine how Hendrix reshaped creative identity and why his influence continues to resonate more than 50 years later.”
“We are proud to honor the legacy of Jimi Hendrix today,” Council Member Harvey Epstein said in a statement. “Our district has long been a hub of culture, arts and activism, and Jimi Hendrix embodied all of those ideals. He was not only a groundbreaking musician, but also a powerful voice for peace, racial equity and social justice. He revolutionized music in this neighborhood, and it is only fitting that these streets now carry his name.”
“Jimi Hendrix didn’t just play guitar—he reimagined what art could be,” Van Zandt added in a statement. “With TeachRock, we want students to experience that same sense of possibility and discovery that so many of us felt the first time we heard Jimi. His story, lyrics, and sound remind young people that creativity has no limits.”
“This collaboration speaks directly to the heart of our mission, carrying Jimi’s legacy forward through education,” Janie Hendrix said in another statement. “His music remains a powerful gateway for young people to connect with history, creativity and their own potential.”
The announcement goes on to explain that Jimi Hendrix: Rock’s Trailblazing Innovator and Influential Guitarist “was co-developed with educator and musician John Anthony and features exclusive archival footage and expert interviews provided by Experience Hendrix, L.L.C., including Hendrix’s iconic 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival performance. TeachRock also partnered with NYU’s MusEdLab to create interactive tools that allow students to experiment with the guitar effects and sonic innovations that defined Hendrix’s signature sound. In keeping with TeachRock’s commitment to accessible education, the free lesson, aligned with National Standards for Music Education, National Core Arts Standards, Social Studies standards and Common Core State Standards, is available now at teachrock.org/lesson/jimi-hendrix-rocks-trailblazing-innovator-and-influential-guitarist as part of TeachRock’s free curriculum library.”
Hendrix passed away in 1970. He only spent about 10 weeks recording at Electric Lady, which he conceived.
