Haunting the recording studios, jam sessions, concert halls, and nightclubs of New York City, William “PoPsie” Randolph chronicled the postwar transformation of American music from swing and jazz, to rhythm & blues and rock n' roll. The 100 000 negatives left behind after his death in 1978 span the giddy, glitzy heyday of swing in the 1940s, the hot and cool jazz spawned in the clubs of 52nd Street, the rumbling emergence of black R&B and doo-wop, the sudden explosion of rock n' roll in the late '50s, the rise of Brill Building pop and the British Invasion of the '60s, and the growth of rock into a multibillion-dollar industry by the '70s.

PoPsie's son Michael has chosen the very best of his father's collection for inclusion in this remarkable book. Here readers will find luscious black-and-white photos of everyone from Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday to Elvis, The Beatles, Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones. Insightful text explains the time, people, and place of each captured moment.