"At age 15, around the time his mother died, Hendrix acquired his first acoustic guitar for $5 from an acquaintance of his father.... Learning "by ear" by spending "hours and hours" with the one-string instrument, "playing single notes, [Hendrix] still followed along to a couple of Elvis Presley songs on the radio." He learned to play guitar by continuing to apply himself. Daily, he practised for several hours, watched others, got tips from more experienced guitarists, and listened to Ernestine Benson's blues records by Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson and other artists."