Michael Ochs

Michael Andrew Ochs (February 27, 1943 – July 23, 2025) was an American photographic archivist best known for his extensive collection of pictures related to rock music dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. The Michael Ochs Archives, located in Venice, California, contained 3 million vintage prints, proof sheets and negatives which were frequently licensed for use in CD reissues, books, films and documentaries.

The Los Angeles Times called Ochs "America's preeminent rock 'n' roll photo archivist" and described his archive as "the dominant force in the rock image marketplace". The New York Times called it "the premier source of musician photography in the world". in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Ohio and New York.

In the late 1960s, Ochs served as manager for his older brother, the folksinger and protest songwriter Phil Ochs. In the 1970s, Michael Ochs led the publicity departments at Columbia, Shelter and ABC Records. He would allow friends, including rock critics John Morthland and Lester Bangs, to use the pictures for free to illustrate their articles. Ochs began to take a more professional approach after two incidents. First, the Los Angeles Free Press attributed one of his photos to the "Michael Ochs Archives". Then, Dick Clark sent Ochs an unexpected check for $1,000 after Clark used some of Ochs's pictures on a television special. According to the Los Angeles Times, Rock Archives "put [Ochs's] archives on the map".

In 1987, 26 years after the death of photographer Ed Feingersh, Ochs discovered several rolls of negatives of Marilyn Monroe by Feingersh. They included a shoot commissioned by Redbook made during the week March 24–30, 1955. They were the only candid images of Monroe made specifically for publication.

During the 1990s, as record companies reissued large numbers of CDs, they often turned to Ochs for photographs to include in the liner notes.

The archive was also tapped for illustrations for books — according to a 2006 New York Times estimate, about half of the rock and roll books issued at the time included photographs from the collection — and as background photos and research material in the production of documentaries, feature films, and television programs. The original exhibition featured works by author Kurt Vonnegut, musicians Graham Nash and Marilyn Manson, photographer William Claxton and artists Ralph Steadman and Robbie Conal. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sponsored the exhibition and this non-profit traveling show premiered at their Cleveland museum continuing on to Seattle's Experience Music Project and assorted universities around the country.

Ochs died at his home in Los Angeles, California, on July 23, 2025, at the age of 82. At the time of his death, he had Parkinson’s disease for five years, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney and heart issues.

Published works Rock Archives: A Photographic Journey Through the First Two Decades of Rock & Roll. Introduction by Peter Guralnick. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1984.

Elvis in Hollywood; Michael Ochs; text by Steve Pond; New American Library, 1990;

Marilyn Monroe: From Beginning to End. Text by Michael Ventura; photographs by Earl Leaf from The Michael Ochs Archives, Blanford Press, 1997, Shock, RATTLE & ROLL: Elvis Photographed During the Milton Berle Show; Michael Ochs & Ger Riff; 1998; The Greatest Album Covers That Never Were. Michael Ochs & Craig Butler, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum; 2003;