Jimi Hendrix in 1968.

Do you remember the first time you heard Jimi Hendrix? I was a sophomore in high school and my secret boyfriend was a sophomore in college. He wanted me to hear something right away. So I lied to my parents as to where and with whom I was going on a Friday night. We ended up some 18 miles away in a funeral parlor in east Arkansas that belonged to my boyfriend's father. The funeral home had a good stereo, sort of like a playlist for the deceased. There wasn't time for me to get creeped out. First order of business was to listen to my boyfriend's latest discovery, Jimi Hendrix. From the first I realized, along with probably millions of people, this sound was something different, really different. You just couldn't forget it.

On March 9 a new CD, Valleys of Neptune, the first album of previously unreleased studio recordings by Hendrix in more than a decade, came out. Will you buy it? I hope I have to stand in line with a bunch of baby boomers.

Read more about The New York Times coverage of the guitarist and a link to songs from Valleys of Neptune. To read a review of Valleys of Neptune, click here.