Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Photograph of All-Time

[tezzasmall]

I've always thought, from reading it a few times over the years, that the 'best' of anything i.e. music, photography etc. is 'still to come...' and the 'best' at the moment is just a stepping stone to it?

Terry S

 

[Larry Cloetta]

The thread had progressed to people presenting opinions as facts.

That’s more like a change and less like actual progress. Progress would be people showing photos which in their opinion are as good or better as photos which visually defined “Rock and Roll” than the one on the London Calling LP. The one submitted of the Stones was one I’d not ever seen and was helpful to those of us who were curious to actually seeing what others could dig up and submit that were “better” or at least as good. So far, I have only just seen the one. And obviously, yes, that’s just an opinion. Jim Marshall was great, but more for a consistent body of work, and a somewhat different kind of work, and less renowned for capturing the raw energy of Rock.
And while I love Johnny Cash, he’s Country.
Let’s see some pictures which are “better” at visually defining Rock and Roll than the one on the Clash LP. Of course that would be just one person’s opinion, but so what. Pix, please.

 

[John Koehrer]

What's the Clash? Maybe more folks are in tune with album covers than I but some photos are more memorable to me when I see 'em
than I could ever remember without seeing the shot.

In other word to quote Ko.Fe. "meh."

 

[CMoore]

Okay, I give up. And, yes, I didn’t even have to look at the article to know what the anointed photo was. For capturing something of the raw explosive energy of rock and roll in one shot, what’s a better one? Honest question.

Like others have said...no need to get hung up on words like Best/Better.
As in the best ice cream, best car, best truck, best guitar, etc etc etc.
Here are some Great Photos of Rock & Roll. There are Thousands and Thousands of them - -

 

[Berkeley Mike]

The best? Puleez. Doth saying it make it so?

 

[wyofilm]

The best? Puleez. Doth saying it make it so?

If your response is to CMoore's post just prior to yours, then it should be noted that he specifically said he wasn't designating them the 'best'.

 

[blockend]

The real question is why anyone would trust their professional career to the electronics of a Pentax ES.

 

[ic-racer]

As a photographer, with respect to album covers, one of my favorites is this one.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

It's a good photo, but not the best.

 

[George Mann]

My pick for best rock photo is the one that was used for the cover of Grand Funks red album.

 

[Rick A]

 

[miha]

As a photographer, with respect to album covers, one of my favorites is this one.
View attachment 232532

By one of may favorite photographers!

 

[macfred]

Now, this is great cover art - ''Horse with no name'' I guess ...

 

[DF]

The GREATEST rock & roll photo of ALL time is from 1964. It's a recording studio shot of George Martin mentoring horn-rimmned studious John Lennon. "Now John, this is the propa way to strum your guitar...."
This brilliant, perfectly timed photo is a window into the Fab Four, in that their brilliance/talent came not just from them, but much from that man standing in control.
Photographer: Astrid Kircher ?

 

[CMoore]

Beatles.....

Jimi.....

 

[MattKing]

Not the greatest Rock and Roll Photo of all time - but it is my photo..

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Well let's just call it iconic and leave it as that? It's been printed millions of times on LPs etc. so it's hardly an obscure shot by now.

It's still a pretty cool picture. The geometry of the body of the guitarist is to me the most interesting bit.

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Image quality aside, and from an iconic subject point of view, which rock and roll images will still be popular 100+ years from now? I'd put my money on images of Woodstock. Images of most bands will be long forgotten.

 

[blockend]

It's notable how tolerant we were of grain, blown highlights, absent shadow detail, lack of sharp focus, subject movement and other technical shortcomings back then. Nowadays people freak out because noise is evident at 12800 ISO, and auto tracking missed the singer's eyeball in favour of his nose.
The take away point is creative photography has always been a means to elicit emotion. Anything that contributes to a visceral response is desirable, even if technical niceties are going to hell in a handcart. The fact most shots ended up on inky newsprint, only added to their effect.

 

[CMoore]

Not the greatest Rock and Roll Photo of all time - but it is my photo..
View attachment 257489

......... so what are we looking at there.?

 

[MattKing]

......... so what are we looking at there.?

My photo of Lou Reed in concert.
Displayed on the front page of Page Friday, which was the "entertainment" section of the Ubyssey - the thrice weekly student newspaper at the University of British Columbia that I was chief photographer for during the a good part of the latter half of the 1970s.
Essentially where I spent most of my misspent youth, while also obtaining my BSc degree.
I still have all my negatives from that experience. I should print a few of them again.
I also took photographs of Lou Reed and his bass player during an interview the day before - a truly surreal experience in the Garden Lounge of the Four Seasons hotel.

 

[CMoore]

My photo of Lou Reed in concert.
Displayed on the front page of Page Friday, which was the "entertainment" section of the Ubyssey - the thrice weekly student newspaper at the University of British Columbia that I was chief photographer for during the a good part of the latter half of the 1970s.
Essentially where I spent most of my misspent youth, while also obtaining my BSc degree.
I still have all my negatives from that experience. I should print a few of them again.
I also took photographs of Lou Reed and his bass player during an interview the day before - a truly surreal experience in the Garden Lounge of the Four Seasons hotel.

Aahhh.....OK.
I THOUGHT the photo looked like Lou, but the "Page Friday" did not ring any bells.
I suppose you are about the best Canada could hope to do....to scrape up a "College Radical"

 

[MattKing]

Aahhh.....OK.
I THOUGHT the photo looked like Lou, but the "Page Friday" did not ring any bells.
I suppose you are about the best Canada could hope to do....to scrape up a "College Radical"

Oh no, we had college radicals.
And have some to this day.
Some were imported - think of those who left the US during the Vietnam war.
Some were home grown, but in the land where the creator of our universal healthcare system is considered by a majority as a Canadian hero, our version of "radical" may differ from yours.
Just as in your country though, the impetus toward college radicalism was starting to fade a bit by the end of the 1970s.
Most of the exported Canadian Rock and Roll tends to be the songwriter type - eg Neil Young, The Band, etc.

 

[CMoore]

Oh no, we had college radicals.
And have some to this day.
Some were imported - think of those who left the US during the Vietnam war.
Some were home grown, but in the land where the creator of our universal healthcare system is considered by a majority as a Canadian hero, our version of "radical" may differ from yours.
Just as in your country though, the impetus toward college radicalism was starting to fade a bit by the end of the 1970s.
Most of the exported Canadian Rock and Roll tends to be the songwriter type - eg Neil Young, The Band, etc.

10-4....... just a bit of South Of The Border humor on my part.