How did Jimi Hendrix die?

Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose. More precisely, the 1970 inquest concluded that he died from asphyxia after inhaling vomit while intoxicated with barbiturates, a type of sedative drug.

Hendrix was found unresponsive on September 18, 1970, at the Samarkand Hotel in London. He was taken to St Mary Abbots Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m. He was 27 years old. The post-mortem examination found barbiturates in his system, along with alcohol and other substances.

The phrase "drug overdose" is widely accepted in quizzes, but it can hide an important medical detail: the immediate physical cause was asphyxia caused by aspirating vomit, while barbiturate intoxication was the contributing cause. The coroner recorded an open verdict because there was insufficient evidence to determine the circumstances or intent.

Hendrix's death is sometimes inaccurately described as a heart attack or suicide. Neither was the official finding. His death ended a brief but extraordinary career that had made him one of the most influential electric guitarists of the 1960s.