Sunday, September 07, 2014

September 07 - Can I Get A Witness

A new book by John Gibbs Rockwood, entitled "Can I Get A Witness" is due from the University of Toledo Press. It contains some unreleased images of Elvis Presley performing at the Centennial Hall, Toledo, OH. on April 23, 1977. 

From the press-release:
All John Gibbs Rockwood really wanted was a concert ticket and a backstage pass. He came of age in rock and roll’s prime, drawn to the music’s seductive pull by watching Elvis and The Beatles and the Rolling Stones make the girls scream on The Ed Sullivan Show. Now, more than 26,000 pictures later, the 65-year-old retired worker is basking in the publication of Can I Get A Witness (162 pages, University of Toledo Press, $22.95), which collects more than 150 of his photos in a handsome presentation that captures the grit, passion, and grind of an era of music that will never happen again.

Artists featured in the book include Elvis Presley, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Bonnie Raitt, Frank Zappa, the J. Geils Band, Humble Pie, Bad Company, the Stones, Jimmy Reed, Ritchie Havens (the cover shot), and Toledoans such as Art and Roman Griswold. The unseen Elvis pictures all date from April 23rd, 1977 when the King performed at the Centennial Hall, Toledo, OH.

Rock 'n' Roll Album


Another "witness", Terry O´Neill, re-issued his 300 page book "Rock ´n´ Roll Album" containing his life shots of Elvis.

From the publisher:
"Terry O'Neill is one of the world's most celebrated and collected photographers. No one has captured the frontline of fame so broadly - and for so long.

Terry O'Neill's Rock 'n' Roll Album contains some of the most famous and powerful music photographs of all time. At the same time the book includes many intimate personal photos taken 'behind the scenes' and at private functions. Terry O'Neill photographed the giants of the music world - both on and off stage.

For more than fifty years he captured those on the frontline of fame in public and in private. David Bowie, Elton John, Led Zepplin, Amy Winehouse, Dean Martin, The Who, Janis Joplin, AC/DC, Eric Clapton, Sammy Davis Jnr., The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry and The Beatles - to name only a few. O' Neill spent more than 30 years photographing Frank Sinatra as his personal photographer with unprecedented access to the star.

(Source: Toledo Blade / ElvisMatters / Photo: John Gibbs Rockwood / Elvis Club Berlin)