Rock n' roll photo history exhibit features honor roll of the music's greatest images

Wilson Pickett is backed by a young Jimi Hendrix on guitar in this photo taken by William "PoPsie" Randolph in 1966.
It is one of the images to be featured in the exhibit "Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present"
scheduled for later this year at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. See the slideshow at the bottom for additional pictures.
(Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.)
 

 

"Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present," an exhibit acknowledging the work of photographers for their creative role in the history of rock and roll music, will be on view Oct. 30, 2009, through Jan. 31, 2010 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y.

The exhibition, curated by photographic historian and author Gail Buckland, features approximately 175 works by 105 photographers, including many rare and never-before-exhibited photographs organized in six sections of photos of young musicians, live performances, images of crowds and fans; portraits that go beyond the surface and celebrity of the musicians; and conceptual images and album covers.

Among the works on view will be William “Red” Robertson’s 1955 photo of Elvis Presley that appeared on his first album;  the contact sheets of Bob Gruen’s portrait of John Lennon in a sleeveless New York City T-shirt and another photo session of Lennon on a rooftop; a bedside shot of John Lennon and Yoko Ono by Allan Tannenbaum, Astrid Kirchherr's portrait of Beatles John, Paul, George, Stu and Pete in Hamburg, Don Hunstein’s photograph of Bob Dylan walking with girlfriend Suze Rotolo down a snowy Greenwich Village street that appeared on the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" and a Jim Marshall portait of the Beatles disembarking from an airplane as well as his portrait of Johnny Cash "flipping the bird" at the camera. 

Also included: Baron Wolman portraits of Pink Floyd, Little Richard and Pete Townshend, several Alfred Wertheimer portraits of Elvis Presley, Roberta Bayley's portrait of the Ramones, the Richard Avedon black-and-white Beatles portraits and a sequence of never-before-exhibited photos of Jimi Hendrix taken by Ed Caraeff at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. 

Other photographers represented: Linda McCartney (with ""My Love, London" (from "Roadworks"), Philip Townsend, Henry Diltz, Max Vadukul, Ernest Withers and Andrea Gursky.

The exhibit will also include music videos by artists in the exhibition, an 80-image slide show by Henry Diltz and a rock 'n' roll chronology compiled from album covers.

A book, "Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955-Present," will be published in October by Alfred A. Knopf in conjunction with the exhibit, which will travel to venues to be announced at a future date.

The exhibition will also include music videos by artists included in the exhibition, an slide show of 80 images by Henry Diltz and a rock n' roll chronology made from record album covers.

The Brooklyn Museum will also present a series of educational programs in conjunction with the event. See the Brooklyn Museum website for more information.