Popsie Randolph

Most recently, “Popsie's” work was featured in the highly acclaimed book “Popsie” by Michael Randolph, foreword by Quincy Jones and published by Hal Leonard Corporation. Additionally, “Popsie” photos and books are on exhibit at Chartwell Booksellers, 55 East 52nd Street, NYC; the Smithsonian - National Museum of American History Washington, D.C.; the Grammy Museum Live in Los Angeles; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland; the Brooklyn Museum (Fall 2009); and the White House has repeatedly requested and been provided prints from his voluminous collection.

“Popsie” was there for the jump from the studio crafted pop of Tin Pan Alley to the rhythms of rock and roll and the uptown sounds of rhythm & blues into the soul that laid much of the foundation of contemporary music. The 100,000 negatives and prints left behind after Randolph's death in 1978 constitute a vast collection. The range of the material includes: When Frank Sinatra was named "King of the Singers" at The Copa during a broadcast on WINS with comic Phil Silvers officiating. When Elvis Presley came to New York to cut his first records for RCA Victor. Bobby Darin signing with Atlantic Records (for the string of hits that included the smash "Mack the Knife"). When Harry Belafonte entered a New York studio to launch the mid-1950s calypso craze. He also photographed all of the major teen idols through the years from Eddie Fisher and Tab Hunter to Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton and Fabian.

William “Popsie” Randolph (May 15, 1920 – October 1, 1978) was a US photographer of Greek descent. The son of Greek immigrants, Randolph capitalized on his early success in photography of the New York music scene from the 1940s by continuing to photograph many of the music industry's greats but also movie stars, athletes and politicians including Robert F. Kennedy during the release of the "Kennedy Years" recordings.