Jimi Hendrix has another new home.
88 tracks recorded from 1965 to 1967 by Curtis Knight and the Squires, featuring Jimi Hendrix on guitar, have been acquired by Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings.
The recordings, both studio and live, were acquired from Ed Chalpin and PPX Enterprises who have been holding on to them for decades.
Chalpin and his company had been a thorn in both Hendrix’ and his family’s side for many years. He signed Hendrix and Curtis Knight to his PPX Enterprises on October 15, 1965 for them to record backing tracks for movies, TV shows, trailers and commercials. The three year deal overlapped with Hendrix’ first breaking out on his own with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
As Jimi’s star assended, his manager, Chas Chandler, bought out almost every contract that Hendrix had signed with the exception of the one with Chalpin who refused their offer. That has led to over four decades of legal squabbles over Chalpin’s releasing of the Curtis Knight tracks while portraying them as Jimi Hendrix recordings. In 2001, a London court blocked any further issuing most of those recordings and, in 2007, Experience Hendrix finally won a lawsuit where they were awarded $900,000 from Chalpin.
The 88 newly acquired recordings include a live performance from December 26, 1965 at George’s Club 20 in Hackensack, NJ and studio tracks recorded with Curtis in July of 1967. Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings plan on releasing these recordings over the next three years, properly mixed, mastered and annotated with curation and remastering under the direction of Eddie Kramer.
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