Mitch Mitchell Was Cool

John "Mitch" Mitchell, best known as the drummer for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, passed away on Wednesday in a Portland, Ore. hotel room of natural causes. The 61-year-old was the last surviving member of the group.

Rather than dwell on the passing of this man, we here at ChartAttack want to celebrate the highlights of his life. Without further ado, here are 11 reasons why Mitch Mitchell was cool:

1. Before Mitchell began his music career, he was a child actor on the BBC children's television series, Jennings At School. How many child actors can you name who've successfully crossed over into music?

2. Before his days in The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Mitchell worked as a touring and session musician as a teenager. He performed with bands like Georgie Fame's Blue Flames before he was recruited to play with Hendrix.

3. Mitchell also worked in Jim Marshall's London, England music shop as a teenager. Marshall is best known as the creator of Marshall amplifiers. How many people can say they once knew the creator of the Marshall stack?

4. After joining the Experience, Mitchell, bassist Noel Redding and Hendrix rehearsed for just three days before heading out on their first tour. You have to have some serious chops to hit the road with a new band that quickly.

5. Mitchell drummed on all three of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's most famous albums: 1967's Are You Experienced?, 1968's Axis: Bold As Love and 1968's Electric Ladyland. Those records are considered some of the most important landmarks of psychedelic rock. Mitchell also appears on 1971's The Cry Of Love and Rainbow Bridge, along with 1972's War Heroes. He may be most recognized for his work on "Fire," "Manic Depression" and "Third Stone From The Sun."

6. Mitchell played with Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival, where Hendrix lit his guitar on fire.

7. Mitchell also played drums for Hendrix's band at Woodstock. They were introduced as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but Hendrix said they were called Gypsy Sun And Rainbows. This would be one of the Experience's last sets as a band before Hendrix began playing with the Band Of Gypsys.

8. After his days with the Experience, Mitchell played in The Dirty Mac, who included John Lennon (billed as "Winston Leg-Thigh"), Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. He also performed with Terry Reid, Cream's Jack Bruce and Jeff Beck.

9. Mitchell was devoted to releasing and producing some incomplete Hendrix hits after the singer/guitarist passed away. If it wasn't for him, posthumous Hendrix albums like The Cry Of Love and Rainbow Bridge may not have been released.

10. He pioneered jazz fusion drumming when no one else was doing it. His style, which was influenced by Elvin Jones and Max Roach, involved mixing jazz and rock styles, and more interaction between the drums and other instruments. This style later become more popular thanks to Mitchell.

11. At the end of his life, Mitchell toured as part of the Experience Hendrix concert series, which honoured and celebrated Hendrix's legacy. Blues guitarist Buddy Guy and former Door Robby Krieger accompanied him at the gigs.