Photographer to the rock gods

Janet Macoska still remembers the moment when she realized her future was in rock’ n’ roll.

It was February 1964. The Beatles were making their first visit to the United States, and the 10-year-old growing up in Cleveland was hooked.

“That changed my life,” she said. “I knew I’d be attached to rock’n’roll. I couldn’t play music, but I had discovered the camera in my parent’s closet.” Macoska pursued her idols at Cleveland radio stations with a camera, and got her first photo — a shot of Sonny and Cher — published at age 12 in a teen magazine. Later, she joined the photo staff at her high school and college newspapers.

Macoska made rock photography her career, and she eventually became known as one of the world’s top rock ’n’ roll shooters.

Over the years, her work has appeared in countless publications, including Rolling Stone, Creem, Circus, People, Vogue and The New York Times. David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, AC/DC and The Kinks are just some of the artists who have used Macoska’s work on their albums.

Today, Macoska is the primary photographer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.

She frequently fields calls from television networks and publications seeking to use images from her extensive archives in “rockumentaries.”

Macoska will visit the Mahoning Valley on Saturday for a print and book signing at the AWWWmazing Place in Southern Park Mall, Boardman.

She will be joined by Youngstown-based pop artist Chris Yambar.

Yambar put a new spin on Macoska’s rock-star photos with a series of stylized colorizations that were exhibited in 1998. Subjects include Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Tina Turner.

The Yambar pieces as well as photos by Macoska will be available at Saturday’s mall event.

Macoska will also have copies of her new book, “Jews Rock: A Celebration of Rock’n’Roll’s Jewish Heritage.”

The hard-bound, coffee-table volume consists mostly of photographs but includes an introduction written by Macoska.

It wasn’t just the plethora of Jews who have risen to the top ranks of the rock world that inspired Macoska to create “Jews Rock.”

She also wanted to uncover the story of the many Jewish-Americans who put the emerging genre before the public. Men like Leo Mintz, a Cleveland record store owner, who bought air time for disc jockey Alan Freed, because he figured if people heard the music, they would buy the records. Mintz, who owned Record Rendezvous on Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, was right.

Freed, who grew up in Salem and briefly worked at WKBN radio in Youngstown, became a driving force behind the music and coined the term “rock’n’roll.”

Other Jews who played key roles in rock include legendary promoters Bill Graham and Don Kirshner, label owners Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss (A&M), and songwriting duo Lieber and Stoller, who penned many of Elvis Presley’s hits. The rockers themselves include the likes of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss, and Bob Dylan.

Macoska is already working on a sequel to her book

Proceeds from Saturday’s event in Boardman will benefit The A Way With Words Foundation, which serves Mahoning Valley children who are cancer survivors. The group provides activities for the children to keep them positive, said Yambar.

The foundation was started by Austintown native Brenda Rider in 2000.

The AWWWMazing Place is a boutique and gallery that sells art, jewelry, and handmade crafts and pottery. Its raises money for the A Way With Words Foundation.

The Macoska and Yambar pieces will remain on exhibit at the gallery through Sept. 30. Admission is free.