Details

ARC-1388

collection

Larry Hulst Photographs

1970-1999

7.12 (Linear feet)

Larry Hulst is an American concert photographer known for images of rock, blues, and soul performers from the late 1960s onward. Born in 1946 in San Diego, California, Hulst served for 27 years as a government photographer and photojournalist. His rock photography career began in 1969, after he returned home from a tour of duty in Vietnam. He continued to photograph rock and blues musicians at night, eventually shooting thousands of performances across the United States from the 1970s through the 1990s, with an emphasis on on-stage perspectives and crowd atmosphere.

The Larry Hulst Photographs, dated 1970–1999, consist of 75 black-and-white photographs of rock, blues, and soul musicians in live performance settings as well as condition reports and label copy from the traveling exhibit, Front Row Center: Icons of Rock, Blues, and Soul. The photographs document prominent performers and groups including Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Bo Diddley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, and Lauryn Hill. The collection provides visual documentation of influential musicians and live performances from the 1970s through the late 1990s. Hulst’s emphasis on on-stage perspective documents the energy of live performance and the visual culture of rock, blues, and soul music in the late twentieth century.

: The Larry Hulst Photographs were received by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a gift from Hulst on October 21, 2025.

: [Identification of Item], Larry Hulst Photographs, Library and Archives, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

: Materials are in English.

: Processed by Crystal Matjasic, Technical Services Archivist. Completed January 7, 2026. Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS and local processing manual.

Collection is open for research. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights statement on the Researcher Registration Form before using this collection. Consult the Library and Archives in advance of your visit to ensure access to these materials is available.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. has a limited copyright license to the materials within this collection. This limited license does not cover the works of other individuals and organizations contained in the gift. For more information, please consult the staff of the Library and Archives.