A: When we talk about the greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all-time, there's Jimi Hendrix and then there's everyone else (no offense, Mr. Clapton). Hendrix did things with his guitar that people didn't know were possible. To see him play on stage was to see a musician so comfortable and proficient with his instrument it seemed like a fifth limb.

Of course, just like Jimi played music in excess, Jimi did drugs in excess. He was only 27 when he was pronounced dead in 1970, and although the details are muddy as to what exactly took place during his final hours, the facts are these: Jimi spent the night of September 17-18, 1970, in London, partying with a German girlfriend, Monika Danneman. At 3:00 a.m. she fixed Jimi a tuna fish sandwich, and they went to bed. She awoke around 10:20 the next morning to find Jimi with vomit around his mouth and nose, unable to wake up.

He was rushed to St. Mary Abbott's Hospital, but en route he choked on his own vomit (definitely not on someone else's). Sadly, he was pronounced DOA, the official cause listed as "inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication" - a strange, unfortunate, and untimely death for one of the true rock gods. So appreciate what he gave us and watch your own vomit - we'll probably never see another like him.