Long before social media turned every celebrity moment into content, rock stars were captured in photographs that often felt surprisingly personal. These vintage shots show some of music’s biggest names backstage, at home, hanging around with friends, and performing during the years that made them legends.
Jimi Hendrix — London, 1967
A relaxed Jimi Hendrix shows off the colorful style that became part of his image just as London was discovering one of rock’s most exciting new guitarists.
Jim Morrison — Los Angeles, 1969
Jim Morrison looks surprisingly casual during the period surrounding Morrison Hotel, far removed from the brooding leather-clad image usually associated with him.
Janis Joplin — Chelsea Hotel, 1970
Photographed only months before her death, Janis Joplin looks relaxed at the Chelsea Hotel while working on what would become her final album, Pearl.
David Bowie — 1976
David Bowie somehow looks decades ahead of his time in this wonderfully strange portrait from his chilly, stylish Station to Station era.
Elvis Presley — 1956
A young Elvis poses beside his famous pink car during the incredible year when television appearances and hit records turned him into a national obsession.
John Lennon — 1964
John Lennon takes it easy during the whirlwind year when Beatlemania spread from Britain across the world.
Paul McCartney — 1965
Paul McCartney still has the clean-cut Beatlemania look here, even as the Beatles were beginning to grow into a far more adventurous band.
George Harrison — Hamburg, 1961
An 18-year-old George Harrison looks worlds away from global superstardom during the Beatles’ formative years playing marathon shows in Hamburg.
Ringo Starr — Before the Beatles
Long before becoming the world’s most famous drummer, a young Richard Starkey already looks unmistakably like the Ringo fans would come to know.
Bob Dylan — Mississippi, 1963
A 22-year-old Bob Dylan performs during the civil-rights era, when his protest songs were rapidly turning him into the voice of a generation.
Tina Turner — 1974
Tina Turner poses beside her Jaguar in a glamorous portrait taken years before the spectacular solo comeback that would redefine her career.
Mick Jagger and Cass Elliot — 1972
Two enormous rock stars somehow look hilariously unimpressed while sitting together at John Phillips’ wedding reception in 1972.
Keith Richards — 1972
Keith Richards was only 29 here, but the messy hair, worn-in cool and Rolling Stones shirt already make him look like the Keith we know today.
Freddie Mercury — Detroit, 1977
Freddie Mercury commands the stage during Queen’s rise to arena-rock royalty in the same year the band released “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”
Robert Plant — 1973
With the curls, tiny shirt and full rock-god confidence, Robert Plant looks like the perfect embodiment of Led Zeppelin at their early-’70s peak.
Jimmy Page — Oakland, 1977
Jimmy Page performs during Led Zeppelin’s 1977 American tour, with this Oakland concert becoming the second-to-last show the band ever played in the United States.
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham — Before Fleetwood Mac
A young Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham look like ordinary California musicians here, years before Fleetwood Mac made them two of rock’s most recognizable faces.
Debbie Harry — Coney Island, c. 1977
Debbie Harry strolls around Coney Island looking effortlessly cool just before Blondie broke out of New York’s downtown scene and became international stars.
Joan Jett — Los Angeles, 1977
A teenage Joan Jett practices her baseball swing during a casual afternoon in Los Angeles while already building her reputation with the Runaways.
Patti Smith — 1977
Patti Smith’s stripped-down style perfectly matches the uncompromising music that had already made her one of the central figures of New York’s emerging punk scene.
Iggy Pop — 1972
A shirtless Iggy Pop bends himself almost in half onstage, showing exactly why his wild physical performances became a blueprint for generations of punk frontmen.
Johnny Rotten — 1976
Johnny Rotten looks every bit the sneering, confrontational Sex Pistols frontman who helped make British punk feel genuinely dangerous in the late 1970s.
Pete Townshend — 1975
Pete Townshend attacks his guitar with the same physical energy that made windmills, jumps and smashed instruments such a huge part of the Who’s live shows.
Bruce Springsteen — c. 1975
A young, skinny Bruce Springsteen looks almost anonymous right around the time Born to Run was about to turn him into a major rock star.
Carlos Santana — c. 1972
A young Carlos Santana appears quiet and introspective here during the period when his music was moving beyond his Woodstock-era sound and deeper into jazz fusion.
Bob Marley — San Diego, 1979
Bob Marley relaxes backstage during his 1979 Survival tour, offering a casual glimpse of the man behind one of music’s most recognizable images.
Prince — Detroit, 1984
Prince performs in a cloud of stage smoke during the Purple Rain era, when he was suddenly one of the biggest and most magnetic stars in the world.
Ozzy Osbourne — 1977
This wonderfully grainy fan-taken photo captures Ozzy Osbourne near the end of his original run with Black Sabbath, years before his equally famous solo career.
Angus Young — Powerage Sessions, 1977
Angus Young hangs out in the studio with Malcolm Young and Phil Rudd while AC/DC works on the sessions that would become the fan-favorite Powerage.
Bon Scott — 1978
Bon Scott poses casually with a fan during AC/DC’s rise to international fame, even appearing to stand slightly on his toes to close their height difference.
