I believe he died on a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol. And he choked on his vomit because his muscles and reflexes were too messed up to turn over.
As I understand it, the ambulance crew was in error after an inquest found they kept laying Jimi back when he would sit up to throw up, leading to the cause of death by choking. Gruesome yes, but the reports of overdose have become inflated beyond realism, Jimi likely would have survived had they been competent. Also, there was/is a rumor that Eric Burdon was the first to hear about Jimi, before the paramedics were called, and wasnt very helpful in getting involved, but thats conjecture and hearsay I cant promise is true.
