Jimi Hendrix's father wins control of late rocker's musical legacy

Jet, August 14, 1995

Jimi Hendrix's father recently regained the rights to his late son's musical legacy.

Under a court settlement announced recently in Seattle, Al Hendrix will pay an undisclosed amount to corporations that have controlled the rights to his son's psychedelic music for 20 years.

Twenty-five years after he was named the legal heir to all of Jimi Hendrix's creations and two years into a court battle, the legendary musician's father said, "I'm so elated that it's all over with."

The 76-year-old retired gardener, added, "The money's OK, too, but getting Jimi's music back, that's what was really important."

Born in Seattle, WA, on Nov. 27, 1942, James Marshall Hendrix redefined the sound of the electric guitar with his 1967 debut album Are You Experienced? Hendrix suffocated in London in 1970 after taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

During his brief career, which would only include five albums, Hendrix forever changed the course of American music and influenced countless other musicians who would follow.

When he died at 27, Hendrix was near financial ruin, owing thousands of dollars to his personal manager and to his record company for advanced royalty payments.

Following a series of bad business ventures and bitter litigation battles that nearly drove the estate into bankruptcy, Hendrix's father, his only heir, hired Leo Branton Jr. to manage his money matters in 1971.

A well known Los Angeles attorney whose list of clients had included Angela Davis and Nat King Cole, Branton went to work restructuring assets and settled all legal claims against the estate. He reestablished control of the Hendrix master tapes and hired producer Alan Douglas to edit and get previously unreleased Hendrix music ready to be sold on the pop market.

Hendrix filed suit on April 19, 1993 against Branton and several other parties after finding out that MCA Music Entertainment was about to buy his son's recording and publishing copyrights from a pair of international firms that claimed ownership of them. The MCA agreement--estimated to be worth $40 million--came to an abrupt halt when Hendrix voiced his objections in a letter to the Universal City-based firm.

Also named in Hendrix's suit were the producer Douglas and several companies that have benefitted from Hendrix's catalogue through contracts negotiated by Branton, including Bella Godiva Music in New York, Presentaciones Musicales SA (PMSA) in Panama, Bureau Voor Muzeikrechten Elber B.V., in the Netherlands and Interlit in the British Virgin Islands.

The agreement calls for Hendrix to drop his two-year-old fraud suit against Branton, who the senior Hendrix had charged sold the rights to his late son's music catalogue without his permission.

The music, merchandising and related rights are worth an estimated $80 million to $90 million, said O. Yale Lewis, a lawyer for Al Hendrix.

Now that he's calling the shots again, Hendrix said, "We're going to do something and do it the way Jimi wanted to."

While worldwide sales of Hendrix recordings net more than $3 million a year in royalties, the elder Hendrix has received less than $2 million over the past two decades. Posters, garments and paraphernalia with the Jimi Hendrix likeness alone generate more than $1 million annually.

Lewis called the settlement "a major victory" for Hendrix, who "got back 100 percent of the rights without incurring any of the enormous costs or stress of what would have been a three-month trial," he was quoted as saying.

Under the terms of the settlement, Branton and Douglas must relinquish all the rock star's possessions, including the music in his songbook and the original tapes. Douglas can complete an album and documentary already in progress under the agreement but he is prohibited from starting or taking part in any new Hendrix-related deals without getting the written consent of the musician's father ahead of time.

The settlement also stipulated the Jimi Hendrix Foundation, which was not approved by the father, will revert to the family's control.

Sources said that according to the settlement, Hendrix must pay Branton and the others between $5 million and $10 million over time to resolve the financial matter. Furthermore, the family was ordered to make good on a $6 million loan from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who helped finance Hendrix's legal battle.

Already firms are lining up to make a deal with Hendrix and family members to keep the music of Jimi Hendrix alive. MCA, which has a five-year deal to distribute Hendrix music in the U.S., is making attempts to negotiate a deal with the family to continue its distribution. Polygram, whose license to distribute Hendrix music internationally ends this year, is also trying to negotiate a contract with the family to maintain worldwide film and music rights.

Film companies have approached the family about producing a film on the life of the late rocker. Sources estimate film and music rights could be as much as $80 million.