The iconic guitarist released only three studio albums and a live LP before his death in 1970. But that's nothing compared to his posthumous collection. New live recordings, bootlegs, unpublished tracks and recorded sessions appear in stores almost every year, and 2018 is no exception. The compilation "Both Sides of the Sky" contains 13 songs, 10 of which were previously unreleased.

The legendary American musician's last studio album "Dance Me This" was considered lost before it was finally released in 2015, 22 years after Zappa's death. In 1993, Zappa described the record as "a Synclavier album" that was designed "to be used by modern dance groups." Was it locked away for so long due to its complexity? Only his hardcore fans will probably find it appealing.

The "King of Pop" left behind over 100 unpublished songs, which is a lot of material for those who control the estate. A year after Jackson's death in 2009, the first record "Michael" was released, containing songs pieced together from vocal and track recordings. In 2014, "Xscape" came out with additional unreleased tracks. Both albums received good reviews and placed well in the charts.

When it comes to the best cover version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," most would agree: that of Jeff Buckley. The American singer-songwriter was working on his second album when he drowned during a freak accident in the Mississippi River in 1997. His mother assembled the previously recorded material, releasing the album "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" in 1998.

Janis Joplin's fourth studio album "Pearl" was released after her death, but it went on to become her most successful. It was composed of some of her final studio sessions; however, she had still planned to record some vocal tracks. That's why the song "Buried Alive in the Blues" contains no vocals. Around 18 live albums and compilations have been released posthumously after that.

David Bowie recorded an album in 1974 that was atypical of his style. It was titled "The Gouster," which he never released. The songs landed in his archives or on various special editions. Following his death in 2016, a box set called "Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976)" was released. Among the 10 discs was "The Gouster" — flawless 1970s funk & soul sound, with a whole lot of "Dance Dance Dance."

Natalie Cole made an "Unforgettable" tribute to her famous father Nat King Cole in 1991. Herself already a notable soul and jazz singer, she took the recording he originally made in 1951 and reworked it, adding her voice to create a duet with her father, who died in 1965.

"Chuck" was the title of the last album by the musician, released just a few months after his death in 2017. The album before that dated back to 1979. In the nearly 40 years in-between, the musician said he preferred playing on stage rather than in the studio. He was 90 years old when he passed away.

Her family considers "Lioness: Hidden Treasures" Amy's best album. The 12 tracks on this album released in 2011 include jazz standards, such as "Girl from Ipanema" and "Body And Soul," which she sang together with crooner legend Tony Bennett, as well as till then unreleased original compositions. It reached top spots on the charts.

Three albums were released following Austrian singer Falco's fatal car accident in 1998. "Out Of The Dark (Into The Light)" came out just three weeks after his death. One year later came "Verdammt, wir leben noch," with material from 1987-1995. Then followed "The Spirit Never Dies" with songs from the 1987 "Wiener Blut" sessions.

"American VI: Ain't No Grave" from 2010 was the sixth and last of Cash's "American Recordings" series. The tracks were recorded between May 2003 and September, the month he died. He was, by that time, already severely ill, nearly blind, and relegated to a wheelchair. The songs — cover versions and previously unreleased original compositions — speak of pain, transience and deliverance.

The EP "Deliverance," with six recordings, was supposed to be released in 2017, to mark the first anniversary of the musician's death. However, Prince's estate was granted a temporary restraining order to halt its release. Prince had previously laid out that his songs would not be tampered with after his death. The title song "Deliverance" is all that remains.

Jimi Hendrix's career began in various bands where he played rock'n'roll or cover songs — which soon bored him. When he founded his first band, he experimented with electronics, playing techniques and amplifiers and invented the sound with which he hit the music scene in the late 1960s like a meteorite. There is good reason he later called himself "The Man from Mars."

England, 1966: Jimi Hendrix, drummer Mitch Mitchell (left) and bassist Noel Redding as the newly formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Their first album was released a year later, and "Are You Experienced" climbed to number two in the UK Charts, just behind the Beatles' – who were Hendrix fans — "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Off to the US, where Hendrix played alongside The Animals, Janis Joplin, The Who and various other top acts at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 to a crowd of 90,000 — many more than the expected 10,000 festival goers. Hendrix's wild show included smashing and burning a guitar. As the "Los Angeles Times" put it, Jimi left the stage having "graduated from rumor to legend."

A guitar was more than just an instrument to Jimi Hendrix – it was also a playground and a sex object. Left-handed, Hendrix had his right-handed guitars restrung with the bass string on top. It changed everything, becoming the basis of his signature sound. Playing with his teeth or tongue was just one of the many ways he expressed his unique style.

August 1969: Jimi Hendrix was the headliner, and scheduled to play the grand finale on Sunday evening at the Woodstock festival. For various reasons, it was Monday morning before he came on stage. Most of the 500,000 visitors had already left. Undeterred, Hendrix played a legendary two hour set — and the most famous solo of his life on "Star Spangled Banner."

September 1970: Wet and stormy weather delayed Jimi's performance at the "Love & Peace" festival on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn. 25,000 fans were miffed and many booed as he walked on stage a day late. Jimi's response: "Boo, boo....I don't give a fuck if you boo, as long as you boo in key....you mothers." The weather cleared, and Jimi played another epic 90-minute set.

Fehmarn was Jimi Hendrix's last big live concert. On September 17, he performed with Eric Burdon & War in a club in London. In his hotel room later that night, he couldn't sleep. He resorted to a fatal mix: a bottle of wine and a lot of sleeping pills. Jimi Hendrix choked on his own vomit and died of asphyxia. He was laid to rest in his home town of Seattle on October 1, 1970.

Nirvana idol Kurt Cobain mostly played with his left hand — here on an inverted right-handed guitar. Once in a while he would pound Dave Grohl's right-handed drum kit. Cobain was a right-hander — and why he played guitar with the left is a mystery. The customized 1959 Martin D-18E guitar he played throughout the MTV Unplugged performance is being auctioned.

Although his dad tried get him to switch, Jimi Hendrix strummed his guitar with his left hand. He was able to play the other way around, though — and ate and wrote with his right hand. He famously played a right-handed Fender Stratocaster flipped over and restrung. For Left-Handers' Day, DW presents other musicians who've made it big — despite being left-handed, or precisely because of it.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi (left) gave heavy metal its riffs. Iommi always played left-handed, which is almost a miracle: He lost his ring and middle finger tips at the age of 17 in an industrial accident. He could have switched hands, but "decided to make do with what I had, and I made some plastic fingertips for myself. I just persevered with it," he told "Guitar World" in 2008.

Sir Paul McCartney is a virtuoso on almost any instrument. He plays most of them with his left hand — including his legendary Höfner 500/1 bass. One exception: He plays a right-handed drum kit. After the Beatles dissolved in 1970, McCartney continued solo and with his band Wings.

Ringo Starr is a lefty too, but plays his drums like a righty. Any drum set can easily be rearranged for left-handed play, simply by mirroring the arrangement of all the pieces. Starr's left-handed activities limited themselves, however, to off-stage.

Phil Collins plays drums, and everything else, left-handed. That means he has the hi-hat cymbal on his right — and played with his left hand — and kicks the bass with his left foot. The musician from London became famous with progressive rock band Genesis. When he was younger, the Beatles were among his idols: He saw lefties play from early on.

Blink-182 have done a lot to boost punk rock's image. Move over Sex Pistols, here comes the pop punk of the 90s. Travis Barker is the tattooed, flamboyant drummer, and he's a southpaw. One could say he's a non-conformist through and through — except that he plays a right-handed drum set.

Elizabeth Cotten, an African-American blues singer, played in an unusual way: She simply took a right-handed guitar and turned it around — without reversing the strings. She is one of the few guitarists to have played the bass strings at the bottom with her fingers and stroke the melody with her thumb. Playing this way is therefore called "cotten picking."

Charlie Chaplin fled London's poverty early and emigrated to the States. There he reached fame with his short movies, including "The Vagabond" in 1916. In it, he plays the violin with his left hand. Privately he also played violin and cello quite well, always bowing with his left. "Every spare moment away from the studio is devoted to this instrument," read a press release from 1917.

Born in Buenos Aires, Daniel Barenboim learned piano from the masters of his day and is one of the world's most respected conductors. He is also founder of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the only joint Israeli-Palestinian orchestra. Since 1992 he has been the director of the Berlin State Opera, where the left-hander picks up the baton with his right hand.