A shot of Jimi Hendrix jamming on his guitar is popping up on all sorts of merchandise, but the guy who took the pic says Jimi's family ripped him off.
David Sygall says he did a photo shoot with Jimi back in the '60s during a rehearsal -- he captured the guitar god strumming his Fender axe, with eyes closed. Kinda the classic Hendrix pose, and it was even featured in Guitar World magazine in 2002.
Sygall says the mag licensed it from him, but Jimi's family did not. In a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, he says Purple Haze Properties has slapped his photo on its website, social media, marijuana products, credit cards, Christmas tree ornaments and more.
According to docs, Jimi's bro, Leon Hendrix, and his biz partner run and own Purple Haze Properties and negotiated with Sygall for use of the photo. Sygall says they never struck a deal, but they're still using his pic -- just with an overlay of colors and psychedelic swirls.
The photog is suing to get Purple Haze to stop using his image, and to get their profits ... as well as all the merch with the pic.