Jim Marshall

Starred review from October 28, 2019
In this magnificent photo collection, Davis, who runs the Jim Marshall Photography estate, celebrates the work of photographer Jim Marshall (1936–2010). Marshall was best known for his shots of music legends such as John Coltrane and Otis Redding, and his photos of Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival, but here Davis opens with Marshall’s noncelebrity images: a woman’s reflection in a bar, a circus clown on a cigarette break, and a blind man asking for donations to purchase a security dog. From there, Davis jumps into his famous photos from the Monterey Jazz Festival and Woodstock, as well as photos of Johnny Cash’s legendary performance at San Quentin, which yielded the well-known image of Cash viciously giving the finger to Marshall when he asked for “one for the warden.” Marshall’s reputation and conviviality, Davis posits, enabled him to snap candid shots of musicians at home, in the studio, and backstage. All this is interlaced with stories about Marshall himself; his relationships with Janis Joplin and Grace Slick; his longtime girlfriend Michelle Margetts; Davis herself, who worked as Marshall’s assistant in his final years; and his descent into drugs. Davis’s gorgeous volume serves as a vivid time capsule from a pivotal period in American pop culture.