JIMI HENDRIX SONG OWNERSHIP AT ISSUE

NEW YORK (AP) – An unidentified bidder has spent 15 million dollars for the Jimi Hendrix song catalog, but the bidder may not actually own it. Hendrix’s family claims they still own the songs. The rights to Hendrix’s catalog were auctioned off Thursday by the estate of former Hendrix manager Michael Frank Jeffrey, who died in 1973.
The auction was sponsored by Ocean Tomo Auctions, who refused to identify the winning bidder. Hendrix family spokesman Bob Merlis says the term “winner” actually means, “You may buy the right to become a defendant in a lawsuit.” Merlis says the Hendrix family had warned that the Jeffrey estate had no claim to the songs, as affirmed in several previous court cases. Merlis says the Hendrix family “sounded many, many cautionary notes.” An Ocean Tomo spokeswoman has no comment on the charges from the Hendrix estate.