Jimi Hendrix's first gig in Seattle: Did You Know?

Jimi Hendrix’s first gig as a musician was at a Jewish temple in Seattle that is still there today ... sort of.

Hendrix was known to frequent a club outside of Seattle called the Spanish Castle (which he wrote a song about). He picked up a thing or two there, musically, and was inspired to perform. That inspiration led to his first gig with an unnamed group in the Jaffe Room at Temple De Hirsch located at Union Street and 15th Avenue sometime in the late 1950s. Apparently, he was fired between sets because he was showing off too much. Obviously, he didn’t give up there.

The physical temple building where Jimi performed was torn down in 1993, but the congregation is still located on the block with an updated building. The Temple De Hirsch congregation goes back to 1899. The modern Temple De Hirsch Sinai is the largest Reform congregation in the Northwest.

This Did You Know segment originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 24, 2022.