Rock Gods: Forty Years of Rock Photography

It took premier rock photographer Knight 40 years to get his own coffee-table book, but for classic rock fans it's worth the wait. Among the first to photograph Led Zeppelin in America (at L.A.'s Whisky a Go Go) and the last to capture the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan on stage (at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wis.), Knight built a career out of shooting guitar players, rather than singers. This gorgeous collection includes images of Jimi Hendrix (Knight's first live shoot), Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana and Eddie Van Halen, as well as photos of newer artists like Zakk Wylde, Tyler Dow Bryant and Green Day. What most distinguishes Knight's work is his dismissal of the iconic in favor of revealing details: former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, posing without his signature face-obscuring hair-do; Elton John, glaring at Knight's lens; Alice Cooper on the ocean with his face in a breeze. The photographer also writes with respect and honesty about many of his subjects, sharing stories about his final hours with Vaughan, attending a Halloween party with Cooper and finding himself the victim of a practical joke by Aerosmith's practical joke.