Hendrix's Dad Gets The Songs

Jimi Hendrix's father will again have the undisputed rights to the guitar riffs and psychedelic songs that made his son a world-renowned rock star.

As part of an agreement negotiated in U.S. District Court, Al Hendrix will pay an undisclosed fee to the corporations that have controlled the Seattle rock star's legacy for roughly 20 years, according to defense attorneys' accounts of the settlement.

No one would comment on the amount of the payment or exactly what it's for. Precise terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.

"Practically speaking, any rights that Jimi Hendrix had are now restored to Mr. Hendrix," said Kirk Hallam, an attorney who represented several corporations during the settlement negotiations.

Hallam estimated that the rights to Jimi Hendrix's music alone are worth $50 million to $75 million.

The settlement is scheduled to be signed Friday. It will bring to a close litigation pending for two years, since Al Hendrix sued an attorney who had long advised the family.

It also avoids a costly federal-court trial that had been delayed several times and was most recently set to begin this week.

As of this morning, Al Hendrix had not yet met with his attorney to hear details of the settlement.

Hendrix has followed the negotiations of the past two years closely and said he will be glad when the ink is finally dry. It will be nice to "get it all settled and get on with our lives otherwise," he said.

"It's very much important getting back everything that you lost, thought you had."

Musician son died 25 years ago

Al Hendrix was sole heir to Jimi Hendrix's legacy when the 27-year-old - who rose to stardom atop searing guitar licks in songs such as "Foxy Lady" and "Purple Haze" - died in 1970.

In 1993, Al Hendrix sued Leo Branton Jr., legal counsel and family friend since Jimi Hendrix's death, after Al Hendrix became concerned his ownership rights had been mismanaged.

The suit also named several corporations that subsequently took ownership of the rights to Jimi Hendrix's work. Alan Douglas, a music producer who has engineered the release of several albums since Jimi Hendrix's death, also was a defendant in the litigation.

Attorneys from all sides of the dispute met for two hours yesterday with U.S. District Judge William Dwyer. The settlement is already legally binding and parties have been ordered to sign final papers Friday, the attorneys said. Some details have yet to be ironed out, and attorneys would only speak in general terms about the settlement. Dollar amounts and other details are to be kept confidential as part of the settlement, they attorneys said.

But "there should not be any issues that need to go back to Judge Dwyer," said Mel Simburg, an attorney who represented Branton.

Al Hendrix's initial complaint charged that Branton had mismanaged the copyrights, publicity rights and ownership rights of albums, jam-session recordings and other products "which resulted from the artistic genius of Jimi Hendrix."

The complaint, which described the elder Hendrix as a gardener with a seventh-grade education, charged that Branton had transferred ownership of Jimi Hendrix's legacy to overseas corporations without his client's consent.

Paul Allen took father's side

The lawsuit generated additional interest when Paul Allen, a Microsoft co-founder, donated his financial resources to Hendrix's case.

Allen, who was not a party to the lawsuit, has been pursuing plans to open a museum, now called the "The Experience Music Project" and designed to honor contributions of Northwest musicians. Jimi Hendrix memorabilia will be a key part of that museum, Allen's spokeswoman, Susan Pierson, said.

Pierson said negotiations with Seattle Center to acquire a site for the museum are ongoing.

"It (museum) never was impacted in any way by this lawsuit and it continues not to be, no matter which way they settle," Pierson said.

But Allen, an avid collector of Jimi memorabilia, has given more than $5 million to Al Hendrix. Pierson says the money was lent on a no-interest basis.

"If Mr. Hendrix prevails in the lawsuit, Mr. Allen will be repaid," she said. "If he doesn't prevail, Paul will not be repaid."

Under the terms of the settlement, Branton will acquire two pieces of real estate from Hendrix, but it is unclear whether Branton will make a payment to Al Hendrix for the property. Branton will no longer have a role in managing the legacy.

Alan Douglas will no longer maintain ownership rights over any of the musical releases he's overseen since Jimi Hendrix's death. He is currently involved in completing another album and a documentary of Jimi Hendrix's career titled "A Room Full of Mirrors."

"He and the family will work together in determining whether they'll be completed or not," said Richard Yarmuth, Douglas' attorney.

All rights return to father

The corporations that had maintained ownership of songs for roughly two decades will no longer have any role in dealing with Jimi Hendrix's material. Bella Godiva Music Inc., which owned the song copyrights, will no longer exist, Hallam said.

Another company, Are You Experienced?, which had promoted Jimi Hendrix merchandise, may remain in the music-promotion business but will not deal with any Jimi Hendrix property, Hallam said.