Don Sturkey (b. 1931) was a photographer at the Charlotte Observer from 1955 through 1989, serving as Chief Photographer for his final twenty-six years at the newspaper. During his career Sturkey photographed nearly sixty music-related events, capturing memorable moments backstage, onstage, in audiences, and during interviews.
This exhibition featured a selection of these photographs, including several from the first decade of rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm ‘n’ blues; the post-bebop years of jazz, and the Old Time Fiddlers Convention in Iredell County during the 1970s.
Sturkey donated more than 107,000 negatives and color slides to the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives. The photographs displayed in this exhibition were inkjet prints made from high-resolution digital scans from the original negatives.
