As the number of Jim Marshall blogs grows ever higher, I realize some of the most pleasing for me to research and write involve what I call “origin stories,” the story behind how someone first met Jim and the impact he made on them, usually lifelong. These origin stories are often poignant, usually scary or hilarious or both, and they almost always capture a perfect microcosm of mercurial, nutty, indominatable, inspiring Jim, warts and all. And so here is another from Richard Peters, a friend of Jim’s from back in the day, and a talented artist in his own right, who ended up with a Jimi Hendrix album cover to his own credit:
“In 1968, I had a poster of Jimi Hendrix at Monterey Pop 1967. It had a photo credit with Jim Marshall’s name, and I wrote a letter to the company who published it hoping it would get forwarded to Jim. I just said how much I admired his work and asked him a few questions about shooting rock ‘n roll. I figured it was way too obtuse and I would never hear from the guy. But a little while later I got a postcard from Jim answering all my questions really nicely and giving me his mailing address.
“I then met Jim in person in the fall of 1970 at the Big Sur Folk Festival. I was just walking around outside the arena with my cameras when I see this guy behind a burgundy Alfa Romeo unloading his gear out of the trunk, and packing up his camera bag. He looked very intent, like somebody who knew what they were doing, a real pro with all those Leicas, not lower level stuff. I only knew Jim via the mail at that point, we had never met, so I walked up and introduced myself, ‘Are you Jim Marshall? I’m the guy with the postcard.’ And he smiles, ‘Oh … yeah, yeah.”
Richard had written to famed SF Chronicle music critic Ralph J. Gleason, saying he was going to shoot at Big Sur for one of the rock mags and was there any way he could get a pass to sit up close. A few days later Ralph sent his press pass, telling Richard to enjoy the show because he couldn’t make it. “So I’m in the fourth row and I can sit up in this No Access area, sitting next to Mimi Farinha, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstandt was taking pictures. So I tell all this to Jim and he says, ‘Hey, that’s great, I hope you get some good shots.” And Richard does, as it turns out, including the one of Jim that we're running with this blog.
And there the story could have pretty much ended, except there is a coda ... Richard, who has done a masterful job of overcoming a wicked stutter, realized around 1980 that it was time he bought some Jim Marshall prints. “I hadn’t seen Jim since 1970, I had been living in Maine, but I always thought if I ever moved back to California, the first item on my agenda is I’m going to go buy some original Jim photos. So I moved back to Salinas in 1980, and I sent Jim a letter, he was living on Union St. mentioning that I was interested in coming up and maybe buying some prints. I told him I’d call him, and warned him that sometimes I have difficulty with words on the phone but I’ll do my best.
“A week later I call him. I’m really nervous, so I’m having a heck of a time with my stuttering and the phone is the worst enemy of the stutterer … I was really on a down cycle with my speech. But I think, ‘Oh well, it’s Jim and if I can just say it’s me, it’ll be fine.’ So I call and he picks up and says really loud and short, ‘Yeah?’ and he sounds mad. I really tense up. So I just try to say his name and all that comes out is this breathy, low, ‘Juh- Juh- Juh- Juh- Juh’ Then, I’m REALLY starting to sweat and so I think, just say ‘Hello.’ So I start ‘Huh- huh- huh- huh- huh- HUH-’
“And, Jim, after all these juh-juh-juh-juhs and huh-huh-huhs just YELLS into the phone: ‘Man, I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you are SICK!” and he slams down the phone so hard that it hurts my ear.
“So by this time I’m REALLY sweating but I’m so mad at myself. I still think I can DO this. I can get ONE word out, so I call back and Jim answers: ‘Yeah?!’ And I think I’m just going to say, ‘Hey, Jim,’ and then it will be fine ... but he sounds so pissed off that all I can say is ‘Huh, huh, huh, Juh, Juh, Juh, Juh …’ and then Jim just screams into the phone “FUCK YOU!!!” and then SLAM goes the phone even louder than before.
“I’ve had incidents like this all my life. Nothing special except that it was such an important phone call and I idolized him and I wanted to do some business with him. So I give up, wipe the sweat off my face and figure it is just not meant to be for that day. Five minutes later my phone rings and it’s Jim and he says, “Hey, Richard, was that you?” And, for the record, Richard did end up choosing some long-sought images and came up to see Jim, leaving with seven signed prints ... but that, as they say, is another story for another day.
For more on Jimi Hendrix at Monterey Pop 1967, check out these blogs and Jim Marshall’s wonderful book,
“Monterey Pop.”
More Monterey Pop: Shake, Rattle and BURN!!
Down in Monterey
- Jim Marshall Photography LLC Newsroom blog
- Log in to post comments