Seven Rock and Roll Photos you didn't take

Rock and Roll is colorful and dramatic and dangerous and fun and sexy and dirty — all the things that make for a good photo. 

It’s hard to believe now, but it used to be the only way for a normal fan to take photos at a concert was to shove a shitty 35 mm camera into your pants and hope it didn’t fall out or soak up too much crotch sweat to render it useless before you got inside. Even then, the photos you took from the 29^th row made it look like you were a football field away. It was a pointless endeavor.

Now, literally every single person at every single concert has a shitty photo machine in their pocket and feels it’s their duty to take 600 crappy photos and 45 videos over the course of a two-hour show. Despite this, very few photos qualify as good, much less as classic or timeless.

So, I decided to make a list of my favorite Rock and Roll photos of all time – as pondered for 3-4 minutes this morning. The classics. The photos you think you’re going to get every time you pull out your phone but never will. Here they are. 

Paul Simonon of The Clash smashing his bass at a show in New York in 1979, by Penny Smith. This photo exemplifies the rage and frustration The Clash was bringing to light in their music and live performances. The photo eventually became the cover image for "Londing Calling."

Johnny Cash at San Quentin, 1969, by Jim Marshall. Jim reportedly asked Johnny to "take one for the Warden" which led to this pose. Jim also said this was perhaps the most stolen photo in history. We're proud to carry on that tradition.

Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar and the music world on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival, 1967.

The Grateful Dead at their home at 710 Ashbury, by Baron Wolman, 1967. The photo was taken for Rolling Stone following the infamous marijuana bust at the house, which served as Grateful Dead HQ and the epicenter of the Summer of Love.

Jimmy Page chugging Jack Daniels straight from the bottle backstage in Indiana by Neal Preston, 1975. Robert Plant enjoying a pre-show smoke in the background. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd Street Survivors original album cover. Released on Oct. 17, 1977 just three days before the plane crash that killed Steve Gaines and Ronnie Van Zant. Gaines (center) appears to be engulfed in flames. The cover was withdrawn and replaced with a similar photo of the band, sans flames, out of respect for the dead and at the request of Gaines' widow.

Cliff Burton of Metallica, 1986, by my high school buddy Sean. We went to an Armored Saint show at a small club in St. Louis and the guys told us to come down and see them when they played with Metallica a week or so later in Southern Missouri. For some fucking reason I chose not to go, and I still kick myself for it (I did meet Cliff briefly in 1985 on the Ride the Lightning tour). Sean went and got some great shots before the show including this one that captures Cliff Burton in all his glory. He was dead just a couple months later. 

Show us your favorites — and prove me wrong about your own shitty concert pics and share a good one or two.