Jim Marshall, 1936-2010

You’ve seen a lot of photos that Jim Marshall took. Johnny Cash, flipping the bird on his way off stage at San Quentin Prison, Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Jazz and Pop Festival, The Allman Brothers sitting on their equipment outside the Fillmore East. He is generally regarded as rock n’ roll’s greatest photographer and his work graced the covers of more than 500 albums. “Jim’s pictures of the music makers are extraordinary for many reasons,” wrote his friend, the actor Michael Douglas, in the forward to Marshall’s 1997 book, Not Fade Away. “As a human being and as an artist, he has never shied away from honesty. His style is very ‘in your face,’ and yet he inspires trust and confidence in the people he photographs, and the shared intimacy is caught in a millisecond. And there it is. Forever.”

Marshall died in his sleep Tuesday night, of causes as yet unknown, in a hotel room in New York City.