Jim Marshall

Carefully curated with full access to the Jim Marshall Archive, this powerful oversize volume offers the definitive view of Johnny Cash's prison concerts at Folsom in 1968 and San Quentin in 1969. Jim Marshall was the only official photographer present, and was granted unlimited access.

Backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three, Cash performed two shows at Folsom. The resulting album was a hit in the United States, and reached number one on the country charts and the top 15 of the national album chart. Its popularity revitalized Cash's career and led to a follow-up album, At San Quentin, the following year. San Quentin became Cash's first album to hit number one on the pop charts and both it and its predecessor remain two of the biggest-selling live albums of all time.

From rehearsing with the band, to arriving off the bus outside the imposing prison walls, to shaking hands with prisoners and performing until sweat dripped down his forehead, Marshall captured the passion, authority and intimacy of Cash's legendary penitentiary performances. His "JC Flippin' the Bird at San Quentin Prison" has become one of the most iconic and most-copied photographs of the 20th century, a result of Marshall asking Cash to express what he thought about the prison authorities: "John, let's do a shot for the warden."

Johnny Cash was one of Jim Marshall's favorite subjects, something that is evident in his Folsom and San Quentin photographs. This body of work showcases some of the most arresting photographs of the country music star ever taken.

Jim Marshall: Peace collects the beloved photographer’s previously unseen “peace” photographs, taken mainly between 1961 and 1968. Photographing across America, Marshall charted the life of a symbol, documenting how the peace sign went from holding a specific anti-nuclear meaning to serving as a broad, internationally recognized symbol for peace. Marshall captured street graffiti in the New York subway, buttons pinned to hippies and students, and West Coast peace rallies held by a generation who believed, for a brief moment, they could make a difference.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol, also known as the peace sign, was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. When the design spread from the UK to the American anti-war campaign, it caught the eye of Marshall, who saw himself as an anthropologist and journalist documenting the changing times of the 1960s. In between official assignments, Marshall started photographing the symbol and peace rallies as a personal project. He tabled these images on an index card in his archives labeled “Peace,” where they remained, until now.

Born in Chicago, Jim Marshall (1936–2010) grew up in San Francisco, teaching himself photography by portraying musicians in the coffeehouses of North Beach. After a brief stint in New York, Marshall returned to San Francisco, where he continued to cement his reputation as a formidably talented music photographer. Marshall holds the distinction of being the only photographer ever honored by the Grammys with a Trustees Award for his life’s work.

Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston, SC and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI. As a student there he created the “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker that transformed into the OBEY GIANT art campaign, which has changed the way people see art and the urban landscape. His work which includes the 2008 "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama, now owned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. In addition to his guerrilla street-art presence, the artist has executed more than 75 large-scale painted public murals around the world. His works are in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and many others.

Jim Marshall is known as the defining father of music photography and his intimate photographs of the greats of rock & roll, country, folk, blues and jazz are legendary. Renowned for his extraordinary access and ability to capture the perfect moment, his influence is second to none. In 2014, Marshall became the only photographer ever to be honored by the Grammys with a Trustees Award for his life’s work.

Published here for the first time ever are Marshall’s jazz festival photographs from the 1960s, which capture the crowd, the performances and unguarded moments with jazz icons such as Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Ray Charles and many more.

Over 95% of the material in this breathtaking volume has never been seen before. Marshall’s remarkable photographs of the festivals at Newport and Monterey immortalize the unique energy and soul of these celebrations of jazz. Complete access to Marshall’s vast archive has been granted for this book. It includes a foreword by President Bill Clinton and an introduction by renowned jazz writer Nat Hentoff, and is designed by art director Graham Marsh (The Cover Art of Blue Note Records, Hollywood and the Ivy Look). This is the first in a series of books to be published by Reel Art Press in collaboration with the Jim Marshall Archive.

Jim Marshall (1936–2010) was born in Chicago. While still in high school, he purchased his first camera and began documenting musicians and artists in San Francisco. Over a 50-year career he created hundreds of legendary images that came into public consciousness through magazine features, more than 500 album covers and six books: Monterey Pop, Not Fade Away, Proof, Jazz, Trust and Pocket Cash.