Smithsonian to Publish Book of Rock Photos

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In December 2015, the Smithsonian called on rock fans around the world to collect photos and stories of their favorite moments in music.

Fans dug through attics, basements, closets, shoeboxes, digital cameras and photo albums to upload great rock shots to rockandroll.si.edu. From Woodstock to the Whisky a Go Go, from Lollapalooza to the 9:30 Club, and all the rockin’ places in between, fans responded with their favorite rock and roll moments.

The result is Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen, a coffee-table book of mostly crowd-sourced rock and roll photography, showcasing unseen photographs from fans and music industry insiders. Out Oct. 24 via Smithsonian Books, the book features photos of some of rock’s most iconic artists, including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, The Who, Rolling Stones, and Metallica, along with accompanying write-ups from music industry veteran Bill Bentley.

Check out a gallery of exclusive images at Billboard, alongside an interview with Bentley.

In total, the book features 142 artists spanning more than six decades of music history. Presented together, according to a press release, “These photographs create a kaleidoscopic history of the music, the concerts, and the fans. Smithsonian Rock and Roll is the perfect book for music lovers who want to see their favorite artists in new ways, both onstage and behind the scenes.” Pre-order here.

Listen to a Spotify playlist based on the book

Bentley has spent over four decades in the industry, most recently as A&R Director at Concord Music Group and Vice President of Warner Bros. Records. He has been a drummer, record store clerk, DJ, concert promoter, music producer and record label publicist. Through it all he’s also been a writer, and in 2007 he was given the ASCAP Deems Taylor award.

Watch an interview with author Bill Bentley