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Famed Photographer Jim Marshall: 1936-2010

Famed photographer Jim Marshall passed away in New York City March 23rd. It's safe to say Marshall took more famous photos of 20th century musicians than anyone.

His iconic photos include Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire at The Monterey Pop Festival, The Beatles at Shea Stadium and arriving in San Francisco, Janis Joplin sitting on her psychedelic Porsche, Johnny Cash giving the finger, Miles Davis in the boxing ring, a pensive John Coltrane deep in thought and on and on. Thanks to Jim's friendship with The Tracking Angle co-founder and publisher Nick Despotopoulos, some of these photos graced the cover and insides of that magazine. We were lucky to get them but Jim was very generous with his friends. He could also be difficult and cantankerous, loud and pushy as I saw after The Rolling Stones press conference launching Martin Scorcese's "Shine a Light" concert movie. Marshall was brusque and pushy but was treated like royalty by Stones management and whisked upstairs with the VIPs leaving everyone who didn't know who he was asking. Whether they knew who he was or not, they surely knew the pictures he took. One didn't have to be an expert to see that somehow he managed to capture the musical and personal essences of the artists he shot and sometimes perhaps he even helped create them. He lived in the fast lane and while no cause of death has yet been announced it wouldn't be surprising to find out he died in the fast lane as well. The website from which his signed photos and books were sold is still up (www.marshallphoto.com) but no pictures signed or unsigned can be sold until the estate has been settled.