Jimi Hendrix (6)

Jimi Hendrix
1942-1970
Left-handed guitar genius
here
Cause of Death: Choked on own vomit after barbituate O.D.
Life After Death: Hendrix’s recording career lasted less than four years, but it’s still among the zeniths of electric-guitar playing. But self-appointed “musical curator” Alan Douglas diluted his legacy by releasing album after album of outtakes, unfinished tapes and live recordings for several decades.
The Vault: In the ’90s, Hendrix’s late father, Al, and stepsister Janie, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, successfully sued for control of the Hendrix archives. They formed the company Experience Hendrix and have kept a tight rein on the catalogue, raking in over $50 million from album sales, merchandise and ads from Pepsi and Audi. By 2001, Hendrix—worth only $500,000 when he died—was No. 5 on Forbes magazine’s list of the top-earning dead celebrities. He has since dropped out of the Top 10, and in 2004, Janie was unsuccessfully sued by Jimi’s younger brother Leon, who had been written out of their father’s will.
Lasting Legacy: His “Star Spangled Banner” has become audio shorthand for the ’60s, and there have been a pile of Hendrix biographies, but Andre 3000’s planned Hendrix biopic seems to have fallen through.