The legacy of Rolling Stone magazine photographer Baron Wolman

Wolman documented music's legends as the magazine's first photographer.

November 6, 2020, 5:57 PM

From Woodstock to Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, Baron Wolman will forever be remembered for photographing music's greatest era.

Wolman, then 30, was fated for the role after meeting 21-year-old journalist Jann Wenner in San Francisco in April 1967. Wenner had plans to form a new kind of publication entirely focused on music.

Wolman agreed to join the new editorial project, which would become Rolling Stone magazine. He became the magazine's first chief photographer and helped launch the magazine to its iconic status.

PHOTO: Jimi Hendrix performs at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Calif. in February 1968.
Jimi Hendrix performs at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Calif. in February 1968.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images

Wolman was born on June 25, 1937, in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Northwestern University, where he studied philosophy. Wolman's professional photographic career began while he was stationed with U.S. Army military intelligence in Berlin.

PHOTO: Janis Joplin sings during a studio shoot in San Francisco, Calif., January 1968.
Janis Joplin sings during a studio shoot in San Francisco, Calif., January 1968.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images

While in Berlin he sold his first photographic essay, images of life behind the then-new Berlin Wall. It was after this that he decided to become a photojournalist.

After his discharge from the military, he moved to California.

PHOTO: John Fogerty, lead singer and guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival, performs at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, Calif., 1970.
John Fogerty, lead singer and guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival, performs at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, Calif., 1970.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images

Wolman began working for Rolling Stone from its first issue, and continued for another three years. Because of Wolman's access to his subjects, his photographs of musicians like Joplin, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Hendrix would become the backbone of Rolling Stone's layout.

PHOTO: Bob Dylan during his Slow Train Coming tour at Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, Calif., in November 1979.
Bob Dylan during his Slow Train Coming tour at Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, Calif., in November 1979.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images

After his time at Rolling Stone, Baron worked on several other long-term projects. He learned to fly and began a series of aerial photo projects. He published two books of the images after opening his own publishing company, Squarebooks, in 1974.

PHOTO: Johnny Cash smokes a cigarette backstage at the Circle Star Theatre in San Carlos, Calif., December 1967. His wife, June Carter Cash, is in the background.
Johnny Cash smokes a cigarette backstage at the Circle Star Theatre in San Carlos, Calif., December 1967. His wife, June Carter Cash, is in the background.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images

"Baron Wolman: Every Picture Tells A Story, The Rolling Stone Years," published in 2011, tells the stories behind his iconic images and details his career, including the early days of the magzaine.

PHOTO: Members of the audience climb the sound tower to secure a better view at the Woodstock music festival, in Bethel, N.Y., Aug. 15, 1969.
Members of the audience climb the sound tower to secure a better view at the Woodstock music festival, in Bethel, N.Y., Aug. 15, 1969.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images
PHOTO: Pete Townshend of British rock group the Who performs at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco, Calif., November 1967.
Pete Townshend of British rock group the Who performs at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco, Calif., November 1967.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images

Wolman died on Nov. 2 of complications from Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 83.

His unique photographic style helped establish Rolling Stone magazine's early aesthetic and forever established the image of the classic rock star of the 1960s and '70s.

PHOTO: Photographer Baron Wolman is photographed by Bill Graham during the Woodstock Festival, Bethel, N.Y., in August 1969.
Baron Wolman is photographed by Bill Graham during the Woodstock Festival, Bethel, N.Y., in August 1969.
Baron Wolman/Iconic Images