All Is By My Side, the Jimi Hendrix biopic starring Andre Benjamin, is currently shooting in Dublin, Ireland — but once the movie is ready for release, it’ll be missing some classic, iconic songs. Rolling Stone [via /Film] reports that the John Ridley-directed movie has been denied rights to any of the songs in Hendrix’s discography, both in their original and cover form. Experience Hendrix LLC, who own the rights to the legendary guitarist’s body of work, spoke out against the movie last month, stating that the company “has made it known many times in the past that no such film, were it to include original music or copyrights created by Jimi Hendrix, can be undertaken without its full participation.”
Luckily, not all hope is lost when it comes to the music, since All Is by My Side is based on Hendrix’s early career pre-fame, back when he was performing cover songs around London. Because of this, the producers behind the movie have found a clever way around not being able to use “Voodoo Chile” and other such hits; they have instead licensed classic songs like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles, or “Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters, and have re-recorded them with Benjamin doing the vocal work in Los Angeles. These two songs, as well as many others, were performed by Hendrix during his London club days. (“Sgt. Pepper” was especially important, as he performed it in a London club with members of The Beatles in attendance.) And since All Is By My Side takes place before Hendrix created all the tunes the producers have no access to, it creates a very clever workaround that ends up making the movie more authentic. Well-played.
Even though All Is by My Side won’t be hurt, quality-wise, by not having Hendrix songs on its soundtrack, many viewers will be confused when “Foxy Lady” is absent from the opening or closing credits. On one hand, it makes sense why Experience Hendrix LLC would not want to license its music to a movie it has no creative control over; they have a legacy (and a healthy revenue stream) to preserve, and their fears of a movie making Hendrix look anything less than perfect makes sense, speaking in terms of both business and legacy.
But, on the other hand, it comes off as a cowardly move, and an attempt to derail a movie that isn’t afraid to throw the bad in with the good when it comes to the music legend. I commend the producers of All Is By My Side for finding a brilliant way to work around this unfortunate situation; while potential movie-watchers will be disappointed, it’ll ultimately prove for a more authentic experience. In biopics, that’s a rarity.
Does the lack of Hendrix hits hinder your excitement for All Is By My Side, or does only licensing cover songs not matter to you at all?