Press Kit: Can I Get A Witness: Information

Can I Get a Witness: Information

Can I Get a Witness by John Gibbs Rockwood is, first and foremost, a book of art. Not only in the form of the photographs, skillfully shot by Rockwood, but also in the form of the artists and performers depicted in the photographs themselves.

Featuring a variety of rock and roll, blues, folk, and pop performers from the early 1970s through the 2000s, Rockwood has accumulated a plethora of images that illustrate venues in the southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio regions. Performers such as Bob Dylan at the University of Toledo, Ritchie Blakemore in Detroit, and Buddy Guy in Clarkston, Michigan, and John Rockwood capturing all parties involved doing what they do best; crafting and engaging in their preferred art forms.

About John Gibbs Rockwood

John Gibbs Rockwood was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. Until his recent retirement, he maintained a secret identity as project manager for Hines Corporation at the Owens Corning World Headquarters. By the light of the moon, he emerges as a blues harmonica player, writer, radio DJ, producer, discographer, rock and blues aficionado, and world-renowned photographer. He has a wife of 30 years, Jennifer, and two sons, Ian and Julian.

Rockwood’s journey as a photographer began in the 1960s and continues to this day. His camera has captured his favorite artists in their homes, backstage, in smoky barrooms, backyard barbeques, juke joints, major concert halls, and wherever the blues and rock and roll are played. His subjects have included the likes of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. Rockwood’s photographs have appeared in many books, notably: Rolling with the Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman’s Blues Odyssey: A Journey to Music’s Heart and Soul, Can’t Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters, Big Boss Man: The Life and Times of Bluesman Jimmy Reed, For You, and A Light in the Darkness. More photographs appear in the PBS documentary, I’ll Take You There, a retrospective of the Hines Farm Blues Club in Swanton, Ohio. His photos have also graced the covers and liners of countless LPs, CDs, and magazines, and his work has been showcased in museums and art shows both locally and nationally. Most recently, “Rollin’ and Tumblin’: John Rockwood Photographs,” was displayed at the Madhouse Gallery in Toledo, Ohio.

For the past dozen years he's also functioned as a blues producer and record label tycoon with Blue Suit Records, issuing original works by Eddie Burns, Honeyboy Edwards, Sir Mack Rice, Eddie Kirkland, Detroit Junior, and many more. He produced the song “Ride Andrei Ride,” by Sir Mac Rice for the PBS documentary Road Scholar. A recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Award, Rockwood has additional photographs housed at the University of Mississippi’s Blues Archives. You can catch him some nights, harp in hand and camera at the ready, playing local venues and festivals with his band Voodoo Libido.

John Gibbs Rockwood biography courtesy of Jennifer Rockwood

-Interview with John Gibbs Rockwood from BackstageGallery.com

Can I Get a Witness: Preview and Testimonials

There in the parking lot lay the decomposing body. It was a '53 DeSoto leaning on broken springs and in the last shudders of its death throes. In the back seat was a huge black man playing a guitar.

"Man, I think that's Big Joe Williams." Rockwood's circling the beat-up car and its occupants like downed prey. He's snapping pics fast, being very careful, shadowy, cautious, alert.

Turns out it was Big Joe. He and Bukka White drove up from Cottonsack, Mississippi, to deliver Son House to the Ann Arbor Blues Fest. The year was '68 or '69, a mythical moment, and someone had given Rockwood a Nikon camera.

Testimonial

John Rockwood was there with his fast shutter: a line-up of guitars on the long-gone urinals of the Toledo Sports Arena. Jimmy Reed in a wig hat, 17-year-old Tanya Tucker on her first tour, Jon Hendricks backstage bending notes, Muddy Waters holding court, Toledo icons Art and Roman Griswold with Big Jack Reynolds at a long-shuttered joint near the Maumee River. Rockwood got that clean shot of Son House calm and elegant, Jethro Tull eyeballing his sexy backup singers, BB King chillin in the dressing room, sweat-drenched Lil' Ed fronting the Blues Imperials at Toledo's Party in the Park. Rockwood caught John Lee Hooker jamming and Bo Diddley prancing, Dave Brubeck like a sphinx arched over the keys, Springsteen in a black muscle shirt by half-light, James Brown performing in a cheerleader skirt, Victoria Spivey glancing at Johnny Ace in Ann Arbor, and Jerry Lee Lewis, "The Killer," absolutely destroying 88 keys. Then and there and here and now - this is John Rockwood's astounding, vast contribution to our American Archive.

Joel Lipman, editor, Witness to the Blues

Related News Stories

Check out these new articles written about John Rockwood's book!

Article:
"New photography book captures rock, blues stars"
by Barbara Floyd at the Toledo Free Press.

Article:
"Stars, Guitars and Bars: Toledo photographer’s book captures the spirit of rock and blues"
by David Yonke at the Toledo City Paper.

Article:
"Bearing Witness: Fan’s photos capture an era in Toledo music history"
by Rod Lockwood at the Toledo Blade.

 

FAQ

Q: Why is this book relevant?
A: Can I Get a Witness is a visual history of the local and nearby music scenes of the past forty years. The materials presented are all moments captured by a single photographer, John Gibbs Rockwood, and each photo is a flavorful slice of the music industry and artists from their given point in time. The fact that this much variety can be offered by a single photographer in a small section of the United States is a great testament to

Q: Who is featured in this book? Who takes it from just a book of photographs to a valuable visual chronicle?
A: While these photographs may have been taken by a single man, the contents of the pictures are by no means one dimensional. The photographs offer a window into not only performances, but the performers as people.

Q: How does this book relate to my readers’ or viewers’ interests? How will my presentation of this book in my media improve my demographics’ lives, and thereby life for myself?
A: The book's contents illustrate some of the importance that music had in the region through the past couple of decades. It offers a reminiscence to the reader that may have been there, or for those who would never know otherwise, a view of what the music scene used to be.

Q: What else should I know about the book other than what can be found on this page?
A: It is a locally written, locally edited, locally printed book. This means the entire production is Toledo based. If you would care to learn any more information about the books contents, feel free to contact the University of Toledo Press using the information provided below.

The University of Toledo Press

If you’re looking to learn more information about Rockwood or the publication, feel free to contact us here at the University of Toledo Press. The University of Toledo Press

The University of Toledo Press
2801 W. Bancroft MS 509
Toledo, Ohio 43606
Phone: (419) 530-2311
Email: Utoledopress@utoledo.edu

We’d be happy to do further interviews regarding the publication.

The mission of the University of Toledo Press is to publish professional quality books with relevance to general readers in Toledo, Northwest Ohio, and the Western Lake Erie region. The UT Press will read and consider for publication manuscripts that investigate, highlight, and celebrate the unique identity of our region's communities, institutions, and individuals. It will consider scholarly and general nonfiction, fiction, photography or poetry manuscripts. It will also consider manuscripts by writers with a biographical connection to the region.

The University of Toledo Press was established in July 2010 and benefits from institutional support from the University's Department of English Language and Literature, College of Graduate Studies, and Office of Marketing and Communications.

Barbara Floyd, the current Director of the University of Toledo Press, has authored, co-authored, and edited multiple works such as:

  • The Tower’s Lengthening Shadow: 125 Years of the University of Toledo. Toledo, OH: Friends of the University of Toledo Libraries, 1997.
  • ‘A Most Excellent Education:’ 100 Years of the University of Toledo College of Arts and Sciences. The University of Toledo College of Arts and Sciences, Spring 2010.
  • Principal author and editor, “Wholly Toledo: The Business and Industry that Shaped the City.” Exhibition catalog. Published by the University of Toledo Libraries, November 2010.
  • Principal author, “Medicine on the Maumee: A History of Health Care in Northwest Ohio.” Exhibition catalog. Published by the University of Toledo Libraries, March 2012.

She also serves the University of Toledo as the Director for the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections and a Professor for Library Sciences. Her education consists of a B.A. of Journalism, an M.A. of American History, and an M.P.A. in Public Administration, all from the University of Toledo.

She carries a vast range of knowledge of history, though she has specialized in medical history pertaining to Ohio and the Toledo area.

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The University of Toledo Press

2801 W. Bancroft MS 509
Toledo, Ohio 43606

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