Dean Treadway Dahlonega International Film Festival Director/ Programmer
“ Out of the 700 films submitted Jimmy’s Story is the one that moved me the most to tears of joy and frustration and laughter and the love of movie making.”
Soon he could play anything and everything. By age 12 he was considered a virtuoso. He never took a music lesson and started writing music at age 15. Today, he has written over 700 original songs. He can play any musical instrument. He spent 23 years trying to get a record deal. In 1992 after 16 years of struggling his demo tapes were heard by Grammy Award Winner Bruce Hornsby. Bruce believed in Billy’s original songs because they "were different" ( Bruce’s own words in a New Times Interview in 1993 about Billy’s music). And why wouldn’t they be, different? Billy had quit playing in bands and had taken a part time job as a janitor. He worked until 3:00 a.m. so he could spend his days writing music.
He became obsessed about being "original" and not sounding like everyone else. He threw out his television and removed his car radio and locked himself away in his apartment for 3 years just experimenting with sounds and melody’s to develop his own unique style. But for another 8 years all the music labels again rejected Billly. So what became of all of this?
The birth of a beautiful conspiracy
Billy spent 1 full year fabricating a hoax that the local media in south Florida was totally unprepared for. Billy dyed his skin black and convinced the press that he was the illegitimate son of the legendary musician "Jimi Hendrix". Billy produced a birth certificate. He forged documents and doctored photos so professionally it is a wonder that the CIA did not offer him work in espionage.
Billy created a full- blown media attention "hoax" that really had people convinced that he was, the Son of Hendrix. This created enormous controversy, angering many reporters. The press had to subsequently print retractions. The local press suffered considerable embarrassment for buying into the “buzz and Hype” of Jimmy Story.
This exposed the true ethics and morality of the press who were so willing to exploit the name of Jimi Hendrix for a buck. The media is a money machine and this time Billy exposed their true intentions. They were caught in the act of tabloid journalism. They presented the story as truth without doing a competent investigation. They were complicit in the Hendrix hoax. They interviewed Billy as the son of Jimmy Hendrix without compunction. Then they were forced to print apologies to their readers. One publication was so embarrassed they changed the name of the publication. Billy Yeager caused a considerable uproar in the local media. Many did not understand what this was all about? Was Billy Yeager just an angry musician taking out his frustration on the people who dismissed him?
No. Billy was one step ahead of the game. Billy documented the genesis, and each ensuing step of the Jimmy Hendrix hoax. He then edited the material into the film, Jimmy’s Story. The making of the film itself was featured on Bravo Television in 1998
The Marketing and "Buzz & Hype" of Jimmy’s Story
Yeager also played his own manager promoting himself on the phone as Jimmy Story. He had all of his documents certified by a " certified graphologist" which was actually Billy who had also created the seals and documents. He then created an elaborate mystery about a woman who bore the secret love child of the late Jimi Hendrix. Billy made up the story of this fictitious women’s murder, were she left behind secret tapes and recordings with cryptic notes alluding to her murder. He placed his own advertisement in the back of Rolling Stone Magazine for information about the discovery of "Jimmy Story" the lost son of Hendrix. Soon after letters and inquiries came from around the world corroborating the hoax.
Billy continued filming even though the project was completed. He continued filming his life, his friends, his landlord, his failed relationships, and even his 87-year-old grandmother. So he re-edited the film to include his own parallel world and what you see is the life of Billy Yeager juxtaposed with the character of Jimmy Story. It is a fascinating film with many profound messages. There are many ways one could interpret such a film. The struggle to be acknowledged as a musician may be one. But for this writer, it was a father and son movie, about the passing of precious time. What should we do with our time here on Earth?
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