Jump to content

Jim Marshall (photographer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Marshall
Marshall at a book signing in 2009
Born
James Joseph Marshall

(1936-02-03)February 3, 1936
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 24, 2010(2010-03-24) (aged 74)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Photographer
  • photojournalist
Years active1959–2010

James Joseph Marshall (February 3, 1936 – March 24, 2010)[1] was an American photographer and photojournalist who photographed musicians of the 1960s and 1970s.[2][3][4] Earning the trust of his subjects, he had extended access to them both on and off-stage. Marshall was the official photographer for the Beatles' final concert in San Francisco's Candlestick Park, and he was head photographer at Woodstock.[5]

Early life

[edit]

Marshall was born on February 3, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois, to Assyrian parents from Iran.[6][7] His family moved to San Francisco, California, when he was two years old, but soon after that, his father left Marshall and his mother.[7] While still in high school, Marshall purchased his first camera and began documenting musicians and artists in San Francisco.

After serving several years in the United States Air Force, he returned and moved to New York for two years.

Career

[edit]

Marshall was hired by Atlantic Records and Columbia Records to photograph their musical artists. His photos appeared on the covers of over 500 albums and more were published in Rolling Stone.[8][9] He photographed Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival, and Johnny Cash at San Quentin.[1]

His candid photos of 1960s and 1970s musicians, taken both on stage and off, were possible because of the access they allowed him. His pictures of Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, the Allman Brothers, The Who, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane, Guns N' Roses, Santana and the Beatles "helped define their subjects as well as rock 'n' roll photography itself."[9][1] Marshall also photographed jazz musicians such as Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis.[8][1]

"When I'm photographing people, I don't like to give any direction. There are no hair people fussing around, no make-up artists. I'm like a reporter, only with a camera; I react to my subject in their environment, and if it's going well, I get so immersed in it that I become one with the camera."[1]

Annie Leibovitz said he was "the rock 'n' roll photographer."[1] His work was included in the Annie Leibovitz edited book, Shooting Stars: the Rolling Stones Book of Portraits (Straight Arrow Press, 1973), alongside photographers Herb Greene, Baron Wolman, Annie Leibovitz, Nevis Cameron, Ed Caraeff, David Gahr, Bob Seidemann, Barry Feinstein, Ethan Russell, and others.[10]

Other photographic assignments included shooting the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 for Autoweek and the 2007 introduction of the Nissan GT-R.[8]

An exhibition of Jim Marshall's photographs went on show at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London in January 2020, continuing at the Royal Albert Hall in February and March that year.[11][12]

Personal life

[edit]

Marshall's forceful personality became something of a celebrity of its own.[1] Not having any children, he used to say "I have no kids, My photographs are my children."[9]

In 1967 he dated Folgers coffee heiress, Abigail Folger, who accompanied him and fellow photographer Elaine Mayes to the Monterey Pop Festival.[13] Folger was murdered, in 1969, by followers of Charles Manson.

Marshall lived in San Francisco, but he died in New York City while on a trip during which he was scheduled to speak in SoHo. He was 74 at the time of his death.[14][15]

Publications

[edit]
  • Monterey Pop (1992)
  • Not Fade away: The Rock and Roll Photography of Jim Marshall (1997)
  • Proof (2004)
  • Jim Marshall: Jazz (2005)
  • Trust (2009)
  • Pocket Cash (2010)
  • The Rolling Stones 1972 (2012)
  • The Haight: Love, Rock, and Revolution (2014)
  • Jazz Festival (2016)
  • Peace (2017)
  • Cash at Folsom and San Quentin (2018)
  • Jim Marshall: Show Me the Picture (2018)[16][17]

Awards

[edit]

Films about Marshall

[edit]
  • Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall (2019) – documentary directed by Alfred George Bailey[20][21][22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Sisario, Ben (March 24, 2010). "Jim Marshall, Rock 'n' Roll Photographer, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Jim Marshall obituary". The Guardian. March 29, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Iconic shots from the 'godfather' of rock photography". CNN. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "The music photographer trusted by the stars". BBC News. January 30, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "The life of pioneering rock photographer Jim Marshall". Far Out Magazine. March 24, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  6. ^ Marshall, Jim (2004). Jim Marshall: Proof. San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811843188.
  7. ^ a b Rosen, Miss (August 27, 2019). "The Photographer Who Defined the look of rock and roll: Show Me the Picture". Huck (magazine). Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2022. Born in Chicago to immigrant parents who identified as Assyrian, Marshall's family moved to San Francisco when he was a baby. Soon after, his father left and Marshall began to fend for himself.
  8. ^ a b c d Ronk, Blake Z. (January 1, 2014). "Cars, guns and cameras: The life of Jim Marshall". Autoweek. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Jim Marshall, Legendary Rock Photographer, Passes Away at 74". Rolling Stone. March 24, 2010. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  10. ^ "Photography in The Heavens". The San Francisco Examiner. September 23, 1973. p. 263. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jim Marshall, Show Me The Picture". Mutual Art.
  12. ^ "The Incredible Untold Story of Rock & Roll Photographer Jim Marshall". anothermanmag.com.
  13. ^ Mayes, Elaine (November 1, 2002). It Happened in Monterey: Modern Rock's Defining Moment. Britannia Press. ISBN 0972559604.
  14. ^ "Jim Marshall Photographer for Woodstock, Cash, Dylan, and Others Dies at 74" latimes.com March 24, 2010
  15. ^ Mergner, Lee. "Photographer Jim Marshall Dies in New York City". JazzTimes. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  16. ^ Greene, Andy (September 6, 2019). "See 13 Rare Images From New Jim Marshall Book, 'Show Me the Picture'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  17. ^ AnotherMan. "The Incredible Untold Story of Rock and Roll Photographer Jim Marshall". AnotherMan. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  18. ^ "LUCIES - 2004 HONOREES". lucies.org. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  19. ^ "Special Merit Awards: Class Of 2014". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. December 12, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  20. ^ "Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall review – shooting stars". The Guardian. January 30, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  21. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (March 16, 2019). "SXSW Film Review: 'Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall'". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  22. ^ "'Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall': Film Review - SXSW 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. March 15, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2022.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jim_Marshall_(photographer)&oldid=1256180607"