Say what you want about fancy equipment or an expensive studio setting — a lot of what makes a photograph memorable is all about having an interesting subject to work with and being at the right place at the right time. Case in point, Baron Wolman, who was Rolling Stone‘s first chief photographer back in the late ’60s, during the magazine’s first three years. Now, over 200 of the iconic images that he captured during this incredibly important period of music history are being released in a new coffee-table book.
“I enjoyed shooting every musician I ever photographed, each in a different way but each with respect for him or her, with great joy in the moment,” he explains. “When I was shooting a concert I didn’t ‘hear’ the music, I ‘saw’ the music. Through the lens I was looking for single visual moments which would reflect the essence of the performance in the pages of Rolling Stone.” Click through to preview some of our favorite photos in the iconic collection, from a pic of Ike and Tina sharing a San Francisco stage back in 1967 to Pete Townshend grinning at the piano in 1968 London.
George Harrison, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Ike and Tina Turner, San Francisco, 1967. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Janis Joplin, Haight Ashbury, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Jeff Beck, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Jimi Hendrix at the Fillmore West, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Johnny and June Cash, 1967. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Mick Jagger on the set of Performance, London, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Pete Townshend, London, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Pink Floyd, 1967. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Frank Zappa, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Grateful Dead, San Francisco, 1967. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)
Joni Mitchell, Laurel Canyon, 1968. Photo credit: Baron Wolman from The Rolling Stone Years (Omnibus Press)