A close-up of Atlanta’s Black music scene by photographer Bud Smith at the Tubman Museum

Visitors of the Tubman Museum rode the sound waves through time on Sunday to see some of the most iconic faces of the Black music scene at the opening reception of Atlanta photographer Bud Smith’s exhibit “THRILLERS! Black Music in Atlanta, 1960s – 1990s.”

On one wall, Dizzy Gillespie, in dark shades and a crisp button-down shirt with floral sleeves, puffs his cheeks out as he presses his lips to the shiny trumpet in his hand.

Another shot depicts a crisp black and white photograph of Dianna Ross holding a microphone up to her face, her mouth opened wide, undoubtedly energized by a powerful note let out before a captivated audience. 

“There’s a lot of work to be done in terms of the generational appreciation of black entertainers,” museum Director of Exhibitions Jeff Bruce told attendees at the opening reception July, 28. “It’s valuable for us to keep doing exhibits like this, to keep that culture and history alive, because otherwise it will be lost.”

“Thrillers!” is not the first Bud Smith exhibit displayed at the Tubman Museum. In 2008, the museum opened “The Atlanta Series: 1968-2008,” an exhibit of more than 80 photos by Smith, highlighting some of his most impressive work from his decades-long career.

Smith, who attended the Tubman Museum’s opening reception for the exhibit, answered questions from the audience and spoke to museum attendees about his career – marked by more than 60,000 rolls of film and more than one million negatives. 

An Atlanta native, Smith’s career spans 60 years, in which he documented many historically significant events in Atlanta history. Most notably, Smith documented the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and photographed key figures of the Civil Rights movement; this includes his coverage of Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and John Lewis’ six-day memorial ceremony. Smith covered other King family funerals and even traveled with Coretta Scott King to the White House when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a national holiday.

Smith worked for The Atlanta World, Ebony, Time and Black Enterprise magazines – to name a few. 

Capturing Atlanta’s music scene 

Working for A&M and Motown Records gave Smith a behind-the-scenes look at the names and faces that dominated the Black music scene in the second half of the 20th century.

Smith has several favorite pieces in the “Thrillers!” exhibit, but first, he pointed to a panoramic photograph of The Jackson 5.

“This is all one picture,” he said. “And you can actually see the faces of each one of them.”

 Although not officially part of the exhibit, the image was displayed for the opening reception. 

In 1979, Smith was hired for a week to photograph the final tour of The Jackson 5 in New Orleans. The experience gave Smith a brief glimpse of Michael Jackson – not the enigmatic superstar who was made for the stage – but a regular 16-year-old boy. 

“Michael had on shorts, a Bourbon Street T-shirt and a straw hat,” Smith told visitors, recalling some of the moments he witnessed of the Jackson kids just being kids. “If you talked to him, you had to walk up to him close to hear what he said, but as soon as you put a mic in his hand, it was like a whole different world.”

Visitors can see a color photo of young Michael Jackson on display near the front of the exhibit. 

What makes the photo

Smith explained that he didn’t shoot digitally and mostly worked with available light.

“I would try different things to get it and most of the time things came out great. But again, it took a lot of work,” he said. 

The details make the photo, according to Smith, like when you can see the sweat dripping off the performer’s forehead. 

He noted another photograph in the exhibit, a close shot of Hugh Masekela with a trumpet to his lips, the camera angled upward to capture the concentrated expression on his face. 

“It’s been a rewarding career and if somebody called today, I’d go grab the camera and I’m on the way,” Smith said at the opening reception. 

The exhibit will run at the Tubman Museum until Sept. 28. For more information on the Tubman Museum and the “Thrillers!” exhibit, visit tubmanmuseum.com/event/thrillers-exhibit