Ticket 2 Ride

Jim Marshall stands as one of the faces on the Mount Rushmore of music photographers. Respected by legions of musicians, writers, managers and participants over more than a 50 year career of covering music. He is the only photographer to be awarded the Trustee Award, an honorary Grammy to a non-performer.

Jim Marshall may not be a name you recognize, but you’ve seen his photos: over 500 album covers, many magazine covers and pictorial features, and his 12 books. From John Coltrane, to a Thelonius Monk Saturday Evening Post cover, to the Beatles last concert, to Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock, Rolling Stones early 1970s American tours, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, the Newport Folk Festival – he was everywhere that mattered.

In this new book, The Grateful Dead by Jim Marshall, the stories and photos are curated by Amelia Davis and David Gans from thousands of pictures Marshall shot of the Grateful Dead and those surrounding the band during the 1966-1977 period.

Why a book featuring The Grateful Dead? Marshall got to know them very well, and they trusted him, affording him the kind of access unheard of today. That period of 12 years was extraordinarily important in the explosion, and evolution, of rock in the San Francisco area. He took more than 10,000 photos of the Dead, many of which are seen for the first time in this book.

Here are a few quotes drawn from the book, from those who knew him and watched him work.

“The photograph of Janis Joplin I was holding reminded him of how he’d had unguarded and endless access to her. He knew that nowadays, it would be impossible to get a shot of a singer lying on a couch with a bottle of Southern Comfort in hand.” – John Mayer, Dead & Company

“With some photographers, you get the feeling they’re experimenting on you, and they’re annoying. With Jim, you never got that feeling. He was there to do his work, and he knew what his work was. Jim was there to capture the shot.” – Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane

“You nave to be a certain kind of person, and you have to really know how to pick your moments-and know when to maybe not pick a moment, cause you can ruin a good moment with the Grateful Dead by pulling a camera out. He always scored.” – Justin Kreutzmann, son of Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann

“Jim wasn’t just an observer. When he would show up to take pictures, he was almost like a band member in some way; Jim became part of the scene. I imagin that’s probably what happened when he went to photograph the civil rights movement too.” – Jorma Kaukonen

“Jim was so intent on his target that you really didn’t wanna get between him and whatever it was he was trying to get to, because Jim would just wiggle his way through the crowd or jump the fence to get the picture that he wanted. And now we have these amazing pictures. We used to be mad at him, and now we’re pleased.” – Mountain Girl, wife of Jerry Garcia

Jim Marshall died in 2010, but his work will last forever. I consider myself a knowledgeable rock fan, but I was unaware of the depth of Marshall’s artistic reach. He was more than just a music photographer, he photographed many famous people, but also recorded daily life of unknown people. During the 1960s, his photography of American cities brought him awards for capturing unique human moments.

One doesn’t need to be a Deadhead to enjoy this book. The photography is amazing, but that’s a given. Most of the photos are from mid to late 1960s at iconic events and performance venues no longer in existence. It’s the music, but more than that, it’s the cultural revolution happening in and around San Francisco. Feed your head.