Died On This Date (April 29, 2012) Jim McCrary / Rock Photographer

Jim McCrary
August 31, 1939 – April 29, 2012

Jim McCrary was an award-winning photographer whose portfolio includes some of the most iconic rock album covers in history.  Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, McCrary was mostly self-taught by the time he enrolled in a college photography program.  In 1967, McCrary was hired by A&M Records where he was their chief photographer.  Over the next seven years, he took photographs that ended up on the covers of over 300 albums, many of which are some of the famous in rock history.  They include Carole King’s Tapestry, the Carpenters’ Now and Then, and Joe Cocker‘s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, to name just a few.  The list of other artists he captured lasting images of  includes Gram Parsons, Cat Stevens, Lee Michaels, Styx, and Billy Preston.  In 1974, McCrary opened his own studio in Hollywood where he worked for the better part of the next 20 years.  That was followed by a photography supply store.  Jim McCrary was 72 when he died of complications from a chronic nervous system disorder on April 29, 2012.

Thanks to Henk de Bruin at 2+ Printing for the assist.