Andre 3000 cuts songs for Hendrix film

THE BIG WORKAROUND: Andre “3000” Benjamin, who plays Jimi Hendrix in the biopic All Is By My Side, currently being shot in Ireland, has recorded "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (which Hendrix famously performed in a London club with members of the Beatles in the audience), "Wild Thing," "Hound Dog," Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" and Elmore James' "Bleeding Heart," plus two songs, "Future Trip" and "Driving South," that Hendrix played as a backup musician for Curtis Knight and the Squires. The remakes, Rolling Stone’s David Browne reports, were cut in L.A by a session-legend power trio including guitarist Waddy Wachtel, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Kenny Aronoff. Danny Bramson, a longtime music supe who won a Grammy for his work on the Almost Famous soundtrack, oversaw the music. The film won’t include any songs written by Hendrix, the rights to which are controlled by the late guitarist's estate. Last month, Experience Hendrix LLC issued a statement regarding the movie, saying that it "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." The producers hope to take the film to Sundance in early 2013 for possible release next year. A soundtrack album featuring the Benjamin-sung covers is also in discussion. "Andre has been Jimi for four months now," film producer Sean McKittrick told Browne. "He speaks and walks like Jimi. He dropped a ton of weight. The transformation has been amazing." (7/3a)