Twenty-six rock legends, one per letter · Photographs by Chuck Boyd, 1942–1991
A is for
Aretha.
Chuck Boyd left behind roughly thirty thousand negatives. They were lost for decades, then turned up in a shoe box. Twenty-six of those photographs became an alphabet book.
Paperback · 60 pages · more than thirty photographs
For ages 2 to 7, and whoever reads it out loud
The photographer
Chuck was 16 when they handed him a press pass.
The pass came from KRLA Beat in Los Angeles. He went on to shoot for Sunn Amplifiers and Gibson Guitars, jobs that put him onstage and backstage through the best years of rock and roll.
He died in 1991. The negatives stayed missing until his brothers finally recovered them. Most of the photographs in this book have never been published anywhere.
“There are a lot of rock and roll photographers, but few who had his access. When Chuck was with the band, he truly was.”
The contact sheet
Twenty-six letters.
Twenty-six legends.
One photograph per letter. No illustrations, no stock, no stand-ins.
Shown small and compressed, out of respect for the archive. Images are presented in large format in the book and are ideal for young readers.
Aretha Franklin · The Beatles · Cream · The Doors · Elton John · Fleetwood Mac · The Grateful Dead · The Hollies · Ike & Tina · James Brown · KISS · Led Zeppelin · Marvin Gaye · Neil Young · Ozzy · Peter Frampton · Queen · The Rolling Stones · Santana · Tom Petty · The Velvet Underground · Van Morrison · The Who · T. Rex · The Yardbirds · Frank Zappa
How it reads
Rhyming couplets, one per letter.
Every spread gives you a photograph, two lines, and a piece of music history worth passing on. It’s a delight to read out loud, making it a pleasure for kids and grownups alike at bedtime.
Ais for Aretha, oft referred to as the Queen… Bis for the Beatles in their ‘Yellow Submarine’… Cis for Cream and the British blues invasion… Dis for Doors and their sonic exploration…
The gift
A bedtime book for people with a record collection.
Give it to the couple who met at a show, the new dad who still argues about drummers, or the grandparent with the good records.
It turns up at baby showers and first birthdays for a reason. Most presents for a new baby are only for the baby. This one is for whoever has to read it out loud, too.
Your two-year-old gets twenty-six letters and a rhyme that scans. You get Aretha, Zeppelin, and The Stones in photographs almost nobody has seen. Neither of you gets tired of it.
The press, 2011–2012
“An ABC book even a hipster could love.”
New Jersey Family
“The ABC’s never sounded so good.”
Parade
“Great for edgy parents tucking in their toddlers.”
The Miami Herald
“Buy this book if you love rock and roll.”
Greencastle Banner-Graphic
“A joy to behold.”
The Grand Rapids Press
Where it came from
“When we made it to page four and Jacob had run off and gotten his toy guitar, I knew I was on to something.”
Jeffrey Schwartz taught social studies in the Santa Monica–Malibu district and built a rock and roll history course for middle and high schoolers. He noticed something happening at his students’ dinner tables.
“All of a sudden the dinner conversation would gravitate toward music, and these kids would come in to class the next day all excited to share that they just discovered mom or dad was really cool. I wanted to create something that would continue to facilitate those intergenerational music exchanges.”
He tested the idea on his three-year-old nephew. It worked on page four.
The show is never over,
and we hope you won’t forget
to fill your life with music
like our Rocker’s alphabet.
From the last page
Get in touch
Booksellers, press, museum shops.
For press, speaking engagements, wholesale orders, or anything else about the book, write to mojohandllc@gmail.com.
Mojo Hand LLC · Los Angeles