Born Dec. 25, 1945, in Kent, England, Noel David Redding was best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Originally a guitarist, Chas Chandler recruited him specifically to play with the band from 1966 to 1969. In fact, Noel was the first person to join the Experience and that was by accident. He had gone to audition on guitar with Eric Burdon of The Animals and got the job as Jimi's bassist instead. After the Experience split, Noel and Jimi remained friends.
Later, Redding joined the heavy metal band Road and released one album. He then moved to Ireland and formed The Noel Redding Band with Eric Bell from Thin Lizzy. After three albums and numerous tours, the band broke up after a dispute with management.
In his book Are You Experienced? and publicly he spoke openly about his disappointment in his being cut off from the profits of the continued sale of the Hendrix recordings. He was forced to sign away his royalties in 1974, and later had to sell the bass guitar he used during that time. Redding recorded and toured sporadically through the years, occasionally doing session work on other artists' albums. He died at his home in Ireland at the age of 57.
Also:
Jason Matthew Thirsk (December 25, 1967 - July 29, 1996) was the former bass player of the California punk band Pennywise. Thirsk, who had been in rehabilitation for alcoholism and suffered from depression, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 28 years old. The band kept going, though, as bass player Randy Bradbury stepped in.
This Day In Bass History 
