It's one of many historic moments captured by metro Atlanta photographer Ron Sherman in more than a half-century of working for news outlets and corporate sponsors. His rare front-row seat to decades of Atlanta life is now featured in his new book, "Witness: A Photographic Essay of Humor and Heart."
Sherman worked for such major media of the day as Newsweek, Time and United Press International, shooting everything from Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign to a Bruce Springsteen concert to plane crashes and fires.
Sherman recalls that his work often came from outside media who seemed to be perpetually rediscovering Atlanta and the South. "In the '70s, '80s and '90s, I'd get an assignment to shoot the 'New South,'" he said with a laugh, adding the editors were often New Yorkers. "And what do they know?"
While his photos were published around the world, the laconic and businesslike photographer rarely sought the spotlight himself. That means his contribution was sometimes overlooked - including, he said at a Nov. 9 appearance at Decatur's Different Trains Gallery, that Hank Aaron home run photo, which long hung without his name on the credit until a friend happened to visit and recognized it.
Other times, Sherman himself wasn't aware of the full significance of what he shot. A major example is the reason he made that gallery appearance: his photos of the pioneering punk rock band the Sex Pistols on Jan. 5, 1978, kicking off their first and only U.S. tour at Atlanta's Great Southeastern Music Hall.
For Sherman, it was just another Newsweek gig, just some of the hundreds of thousands of photos he donated last year to Emory University's Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. For library curator Randy Gue - who founded an "Atlanta Punk Rock" collection there - the rare images of the notorious band's U.S. debut was a stunning find.
"His photographs document a key moment - the arrival of punk in Atlanta and the South," said Gue in an email. "The images also reveal that behind their exaggerated reputation, the Sex Pistols were a loud and uncompromising rock 'n' roll band. This simple revelation ensured that punk had a future in places far from London and New York City."
At the gallery appearance with Gue as moderator, Sherman brushed off questions from punk fans eager to glean nuggets about what it was like standing within spitting distance from the fearsome Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. He mostly remembered trying to nail his shots while hemmed in by the capacity crowd.
"The music didn't bother me," he deadpanned to uproarious laughter.
And what photos they are, capturing the attitude, energy and personal connection of the band and its influential working-class, do-it-yourself approach to rock. Gue continues to nurse an effort to get a state historical marker erected on the site of the long-gone concert venue in Buckhead.
While the punks are in "Witness," the cover image comes from another rock moment: Aerosmith playing the long-lost Omni in 1976. Turning away from the stage, Sherman captured the rapturous faces of the fans reaching out to their idols.
A far bigger 1970s story that Sherman photographed - one of the biggest in Georgia - was the political rise of Jimmy Carter. In 1976, Newsweek commissioned Sherman to spend two days with the then-governor in Plains for a cover story about his presidential campaign. Despite a communications mix-up that gave Carter no heads-up about the visit, the governor welcomed the photographer.
Sherman recalls repairing a cart for daughter Amy and hanging out with other family members, including brother Billy and wife Rosalynn, whose death last month the photographer said saddened him. Sherman says he sent a copy of the book to the Carter Center prior to Jimmy Carter's 99th birthday in October and received a note of thanks from his office.
"He was a good president, but I guess people weren't enamored with what he did in a number of cases," says Sherman.
He photographed many other notable political figures, from President Bill Clinton to Mayor Andrew Young to Alabama Gov. George Wallace.
Sherman was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, "but I wanted to get out there as soon as I could," he says. After some time in New York state and service during the Vietnam War, he came to metro Atlanta in 1971 and continues to live in Roswell. "This is a great town for lots of reasons," he says. "I can understand when people come here, they want to stay."
Over the years, he worked with or founded various photography organizations and also works closely with the Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association.
With his photojournalism and corporate work commissioned by the likes of Delta Air Lines and the Coca-Cola Company, Sherman amassed a vast photo library. Those were fodder for three previous commercial photo books he's been involved with, the latest being 2014's "America the Beautiful: Atlanta." The self-published "Witness" is Sherman's first book created with his own editorial eye and career focus. Among the vendors stocking it is the bookstore at the Atlanta History Center, where he likely will give an author talk next year.
Meanwhile, Sherman's photo archives from 1971 through 2001 remain permanently available to the public through the Rose Library.
"The fevered pace of growth in Atlanta ensures the city's past ends up demolished, pushed aside, or forgotten," says Gue, the library curator. "Ron Sherman's vibrant photographs document people, stories, and places that are difficult to find now in the city's landscape. Emory University's Rose Library is proud to be the home of the Ron Sherman photographs."
For information on purchasing "Witness," see the book's website. More information about Sherman and his archives is available on his business website.
