The Birth Of Rock And Roll collects images from the early days of rock ’n’ roll in the US. Documenting the period before celebrities and pin-ups took centre stage, it focuses on the music’s roots in chapels, town halls, parties and bars in the 1950s. The images are from the collection of Jim Linderman, who started his archive around a decade ago. Bringing together images of people being baptised outdoors, His first book Take Me To The Water was published in 2009 with a CD by Dust To Digital.

Linderman sources images from garage sales, dealers, Ebay and anywhere else he can find them. “Everyone should collect something,” he says, “and this is especially true of physical forms which are disappearing so quickly. I see original photographs as physical objects just like vinyl records. They scratch, they wear out and they are worth preserving... Beauty comes from individual moments in a collective cultural trend. It all adds up, and it might be that the unfettered eye of an individual photographer is the only accurate documentarian.”

The book contains little in the way of explanation or accompanying text. This was intentional, says Linderman, adding that he "wanted to tell the entire story with no explanation”. He continues: “Every book on rock ’n’ roll had centred on personalities and specific artists. I saw the history as a story so broad and encompassing words could not describe it. We have been fortunate to live through the entire history of rock ’n’ roll, but that history is more accurately told when it is inclusive and a little unfocused.”

Follow Jim Linderman at his blog Dull Tool Dim Bulb.

More information on his new book The Birth Of Rock And Roll is available here.