As we all know, Jimi Hendrix is dead, and while his death has surely not curtailed his due praise and legacy, it has slowed any lawsuits against the former guitarist. However, slowed is not the same as stopped, as former saxophone-wielding bandmate Lonnie Youngblood has filed a lawsuit against Jimi, his Hendrix family estate, MCA Records, and director Martin Scorsese.
Youngblood’s case centers around the song “Georgia Blues,” which Hendrix and Youngblood wrote and recorded in the 60s, and appears on the Hendrix-centric volume of the Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues album series released in conjunction with the TV series of the same name. What Youngblood claims is that no one sought his approval for use of the track and that, consequently, as the owner of the copyright on the song, he must defend the copyright that he owns.
According to the Associated Press, court documents state that the Hendrix Family Estate offered Youngblood $3,000 dollars for the rights, with Youngblood refusing and stating that, “It’s the principle, I want my song back. They had no right to take my song.” The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of lost-income damages and claims that Youngblood released the song himself through the internet and that it received a copyright in 2002.
• Jimi Hendrix: http://www.jimihendrix.com
