Firm News

A caricature of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, March 29, 1973.

Back in the day, at least for those of us who dreamed of growing up to be rock stars, nothing captured that fantasy better then Shel Silverstein’s song, “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone,’” first recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show in 1972.

If you were young back then, you can close your eyes and still recite the following lyrics:

But the thrill we’ve never known
Is the thrill that’ll getcha
When you get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone.

Could anything compete with the cover of the Rolling Stone? We now know the answer, compliments of our client, the acclaimed international photographer, director, and producer Lou Bopp. (We’ve actually known the answer for a while, but our lips were sealed.)

First, some background:

One of Lou’s artistic passions is to capture on film the world of traditional Southern blues, which he has documented in a series of stunning photographs of those musicians taken in and around the juke joints, roadhouses, and blues bars of Mississippi. The subject of museum exhibits, several of these photographs (and others from Lou’s other collections) can be viewed at his website: http://loubopp.com/

Just before Thanksgiving, the United States Postal Service announced that it would be issuing a new set of Forever stamps in 2017, including the Mississippi Statehood stamp. Guess what image the Postal Service selected for the State of Mississippi?

Lou’s iconic photograph of Mississippi blues legend Jimmy “Duck” Holmes.

As the Postal Service described this striking image in its announcement:

This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Mississippi statehood. Mississippi became the 20th state on Dec. 10, 1817. The stamp features a 2009 photograph showing a close-up of a guitar player’s hands. Mississippi is the birthplace of many legendary blues artists who created a uniquely American genre of music. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with an existing photo taken by Lou Bopp.

So while most of us abandoned our dream of “getting your picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone,” it’s hard to think of anything cooler, especially for a photographer, than getting your picture on the cover of a commemorative US postal stamp.

Congratulations, Lou!