Few performers become a legend overnight and the same goes for Jimi Hendrix. Despite being titled the greatest guitarist of all time by many sources (starting with Rolling Stone), the legend began playing as a sideman for folks such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard before launching his own act The Jimi Hendrix Experience. One such sideman act was Curtis Knight and The Squires, which Experience Hendrix LLC has just acquired the rights to, meaning 88 studio recordings may see a release soon.
Among the collection is a live recording of The Squires playing in Hackensack, NJ plus an album Hendrix recorded with the band after he released his own debut, Are You Experienced. All will be remastered by Eddie Kramer, who served as the guitarist's engineer of choice during his heyday.
We're presuming that Hendrix's family and executors have heard the recordings and find them to be worthy heirs to the icon's title, as there's a long history of the guitarist being frustrated with the original owners of The Squires' discography. When he set out on his own, manager Chas Chandler managed to buy out all of Hendrix's original contracts, except for that with PPX, Curtis Knight's label. They weren't exactly getting a great deal. Owner Ed Chalpin paid both Knight and Hendrix $1 and 1 percent royalty to create backing tracks for films. As Hendrix became more renowned and successful on his own, Chalpin took advantage of the session and framed him as the primary member of The Squires, giving albums new titles such as Jimi Hendrix Plays, Curtis Knight Sings. The guitarist didn't enjoy being associated with the records, which by all critical interpretations were poorly put together.
Experience Hendrix LLC finally got a $1 million court order against Chalpin in 2007.
