VELVET REVOLVER Drummer Matt Sorum

VELVET REVOLVER Drummer Matt Sorum On Late Photographer Jim Marshall - "I Will Miss Him Dearly, But Am Grateful That I Met Him And Was Able To Call Him My Friend"









As previously reported, Jim Marshall - the photographer who captured some of rock n' roll’s most unforgettable images including photos of JIMI HENDRIX setting his guitar aflame at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, JOHNNY CASH 'flipping the bird' toward the camera at San Quentin Prison in 1969 and THE BEATLES taking the stage at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park for their last-ever tour date in 1966, died in his sleep in New York on March 23rd. He was 74.

Drummer Matt Sorum (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES, THE CULT) remembers the late photographer in a posting on his website:

"I was proud to call him my friend for the last 22 years. I met him on tour when I was playing with The Cult. Our singer Ian Astbury asked Jim to join us on tour. He travelled with us on many adventures across America, as we open for METALLICA on ... And Justice For All Tour. Being a huge fan of rock n' roll and the people Jim photographed I picked Jim's brain for stories of his glory days behind the scenes
of the greats he shot like THE DOORS, HENDRIX, BOB DYLAN, THE WHO, STONES, THE BEATLES, JANIS JOPLIN and many more. His jazz photography was unparalleled. He shot jazz greats JOHN COLTRANE, MILES DAVIS, MONK among others. He captured the essence of the personality behind the musician, By capturing them in their natural state. He wasn’t a fan of posed sessions and always carried three German film cameras around his neck to capture the perfect moment.

The stories that went with the photographs were mesmerizing. The famous photo of Johnny Cash flipping the bird was actually at Jim himself. Jim was the only photographer allowed at The Beatles last concert. The Stones invited Jim into the Exile on Main ST sessions as he captured classic moments. I have many of his pieces and have always told those stories he told me with pride as I share them with visitors at my house. He once sent me his entire collection of drummers he had shot, Ringo to Max Roach. I was overwhelmed with his kindness and felt honored that I knew him. He lived in the same house in San Francisco that was a museum for the music lover. I spent time there drinking scotch, which he loved, scouring through his file cabinets of stuff he forgot he had shot. He just sent me a photo of Miles Davis that was unreleased because he learned I named my French Bull Dog after the jazz legend. He was a sweet gentle man who had a rough exterior from years of hard living. I will miss him dearly, but am grateful that I met him and was able to call him my friend,

Say hello to all your old friends for me, Jimi, Janis, Coltrane, Lennon and Miles."