Deceased Music Legends Being Created in Hologram Form

Jimi Hendrix/Photo Credit: guitar-licks-n-tricks.com

Picture this; you are standing in front of a stage.

You start to feel the bass in your stomach, the smooth and sexy voice of the electric guitar starts to flow through your soul, sending chills up your spine as you watch Jimi Hendrix.

He begins to play your favorite song, “Voodoo Child,” a performance you've only heard on your parent’s dusty old vinyl that gathers dust in their basement or seen on the YouTube videos you watch all day at work.

Seem like a distant dream? Not quite.

Jimi Hendrix.

 Jim Morrison.

Janis Joplin.

They aren't strangers to people of music, they're legends.

These names define entire genres of music and continue to do so from the grave.

However, it seems as though these legends will be making their own appearances once again.

Billboard reports that full, live, hologram performances by the estates of Hendrix and Morrison may be in store for the future.

Back in April of 2012, the deceased, powerful rapper Tupac Shakur put on a memorable performance at the Coachella Music Festival in southern California.

However, what seemed to be the real Shakur coming back to rap his words from the heart, was nothing but a three-dimensional hologram.

The hologram contained all of the necessary details needed in order to make it look as realistic as humanly possible from the curves of his abs to his “Thug Life” tattoo and the gold chain hanging around his neck.

This wasn’t all.

The Shakur hologram interacted with his surroundings, taking the stage with his fellow rappers Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

Snoop & Tupac Hologram/Photo Credit: metro.co.uk

 The trio danced together, speaking to one another and Snoop and Shakur performed their song “Americaz Most Wanted” together.

Fans got a thrill out of being able to get lost in the performance of their favorite rapper once again even though he left this world 16 years ago.

 However, as quickly as he appeared, he vanished.

This performance left music fans wondering where exactly this type of advancement could go next, allowing them to dream of attending concerts of their favorite deceased artists. It allows for full concerts, reunions shows and more.

"We're trying to get to a point where 3-D characters will walk around," said Jeff Jampol, who manages both the Hendrix and Morrison estates to Billboard.

Jampol discussed how he plans to take the advancements farther. He explained how their efforts will hopefully result in Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, being able to walk directly up to you, sing to you and then turn around and walk away.

An option for a performance like this gives a fan chills.

Jampol also handles the estates of other well- known music legends such as Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Peter Tosh and Rick James.

Jampol expressed that this 3-D hologram would only be a part of the performances to come.

These performances would also include venue walls pixilated like that of a television screen, along with the use of lasers, lights and high quality audio as well as synchronized sound vibrations to bring the performance together and as realistic as possible.

Jim MorrisonPhoto Credit: im-morrison-fanclub.blogspot.com

Like Jampol, Janie Hendrix, sister to the guitar God Jimi Hendrix and President of Experience Hendrix, has also been working on a hologram of her deceased brother for the past year with London-based Musion Systems.

Hendrix explained to Billboard that at this point it was about keeping her brother ‘authentically correct.’

However, there have already been some new rock holograms already coming into motion.

What better way to start this hologram revolution than with the King of Rock himself, Elvis Presley?

According to Digital Domain chief creative officer, Ed Ulbrich, the creation of the holograms and their actions are not made up of repurposed old footage that fans have already seen.

However, Ulbrich explained that in these early stages of creating this hip swaying, heart breaking legend, is expected to cost millions. However will be made up of all original and exclusive performances so that they fans can experience a whole new performance from Presley.

Some people find the hologram performance to be morbid. In a way, it is.

 Bringing someone metaphorically back from their resting place to perform and then once again leave their fans and loved ones to have to cope with their passing all over again.

               

However, this gives music fans the opportunity to become closer to the musicians they love.

Janis Joplin, 1943-1970/Photo Credit:tekstovi-pesama.com

Fans play legend’s songs, musicians cover them and DJs mix their songs into mash-ups to keep their legacy going.

If we can continue to play the music of a deceased legend , why can’t we watch them perform it? Is that not the same as watching an old music video?

However, a hologram of a deceased celebrity cannot be done purely out of desire.

This type of computer-generated persona must be approved by the holder of the celebrity’s estate.

Only the holder of the “right of publicity” can authorize the use of a celebrity’s image.

According to US Legal, right of publicity means the rights of an individual to control any commercial use of a person’s character of image including name, voice, gestures and mannerisms.

I can't wait to see where this advancement in the music industry will go.

Fans and fellow music lovers will be able to experience a performance by their favorite artists that they never got to see in their prime.

This can open more doors for charity concerts resulting in more tickets being sold and more money being donated to causes.

Concert ticket sales will increase as fans pay to see their favorite artists, allowing this money to pay for more performances.

Kurt Cobain 1967-1994/ Photo Credit: http://newsfirst.lk

 Perhaps even tours or band reunions could be a result of this advancement such as a reunion tour of the punk-rock band Nirvana who broke-up shortly after the band’s front man Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994.

Album sales or music downloads will be effected as well as fans are reminded of their love for these deceased legends and begin to purchase digital copies of their favorite songs.

Younger music lovers will learn of a new music role model and a new admiration starts including the purchasing of songs, merchandise and more.

The possibilities in this industry are endless. I can hardly wait to see where this goes next.

This is truly taking music that we all love from beyond the headphones, back to reality.