Ebet Roberts moved from her native Memphis, TN to New York City to paint, but switched to photography in 1977 when she began documenting the evolving CBGB scene. Since then, Ebet has consistently documented musicians — capturing the essence of the artists she photographs, while accumulating a vast archive and respect from her peers.
Ebet’s work has been syndicated and exhibited worldwide, and is included in MTV-VH1 television specials, music anthologies, posters, advertisements, galleries, and private collections, as well as permanent collections for such rock, jazz, and classical musicians as: Bob Marley, Neil Young, Ravi Shankar, Phillip Glass, Bob Dylan, R.E.M., The Ramones, The Cure, The Pretenders, Robert Plant, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Talking Heads, The Clash and Bon Jovi. Her work can be seen in innumerable publications in the music industry and across the publishing spectrum.
Ebet first photographed The Beach Boys in Central Park in 1977, as she was just starting out in her adopted city. She went on to shoot “America’s band” at their July 4th concerts in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Miami in the mid-80s, and all the way up through their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and beyond.