Legendary rock photographer Jim Marshall has passed away at the age of 74. Marshall is widely acknowledged as the premier photographer of the rock-and-roll era, with numerous iconic shots to his credit.Marshall had been scheduled to appear at a reception Wednesday night to promote his new book with celebrity photographer Timothy White. He apparently died in his sleep sometime overnight while alone in his New York hotel room.
The photograph for which he is perhaps the most famous, is the Jimi Hendrix / Flaming Guitar picture taken at the Monterey Pop Festival. In his last book, Trust (released last year), Marshall revealed how he bonded with Hendrix initially.
"The first time I shot Jimi was at Monterey Pop," Marshall writes. "It was during his soundcheck and there was just me, Jimi's band, a few crew and Al Kooper in an empty arena. Jimi was on the stage and I went up to him and introduced myself, 'I'm Jim Marshall, photographer, I'm gonna be taking pictures, is everything cool?' He says, 'Man, maybe this shit is meant to be.' I'm like, 'What do you mean?' He goes, 'The dude who makes my amplifiers is called Jim Marshall.' Like a smart ass I say, 'Yeah I know that' and he says, 'But what you don't know is my name is Jim Marshall too.' His given name was James Marshall Hendrix. We were a little stoned as I recall."
Marshall was the only photographer allowed backstage at The Beatles’ final ever live show at the Candlestick Park in San Francisco on 29 August 1966, while he accompanied the Rolling Stones on their legendary 1972 tour. He was also the chief photographer at Woodstock in 1969.
Good timing and his rapport with musicians also helped him catch Johnny Cash memorably "flipping the bird" at a 1969 performance at San Quentin Prison.
You can access Marshall's work at this location.
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