First Rays of the New Rising Sun is a posthumous album containing previously released recordings by the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. Released in 1997, it is an attempt to recreate the album Hendrix was working on at the time of his death in 1970, as closely as is feasible to how he would have wanted it (based on recordings and notes he made during the last months of his life). After its release in 1997, the album reached #49 in the US and #37 in the UK. It was originally projected as a double LP with a presumed release date of late 1970 or early 1971. Hendrix went off to England in late August 1970 to play the Isle of Wight festival, followed by a brief European tour, but he died in London on September 18, 1970 at the age of 27.