Beloved Rock Music Figure David Byrde Has Died

The artist who helped define the visual language of rock and roll’s golden age has taken his final bow. David Edward Byrd, whose psychedelic posters captured the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and the Grateful Dead while also creating some of Broadway‘s most memorable images, died Monday at a hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as announced by rep Jerry Digney. He was 83. According to Deadline, his husband, artist Jolino Beserra, shared that Byrd had battled heart and lung problems, pneumonia, and two bouts of Covid before his passing.

From the walls of the legendary Fillmore East to the marquee of the Winter Garden Theatre, Byrd’s distinctive style shaped the look of American entertainment. His portfolio included album covers for Lou Reed’s Sally Can’t Dance in 1974 and collaborations with artists ranging from Iron Butterfly and Frank Zappa to Ravi Shankar and Prince.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that after his friend Joshua White – who created the distinctive psychedelic aura with his Joshua Light Show – recommended him to rock promoter Bill Graham in 1968, Byrd became the exclusive poster and program designer for the newly opened Fillmore East. His Jimi Hendrix Experience poster from that year was later ranked eighth greatest rock poster of all time by Billboard magazine.

His artistic reach extended far beyond concert venues. Byrd created the iconic poster for the musical Follies, featuring a crumbling, brilliantly colored Art Deco bust of a showgirl that captivated Broadway in 1971. As he revealed to Playbill in 2023, per Deadline, the design was inspired by “a famous Life Magazine photo of Gloria Swanson standing amidst the rubble of a demolished theater.”

The poster caught producer Edgar Lansbury’s attention, who called Byrd to his office and said, “I want you to go to the window, stick your head out, and turn to the left… I want that poster. But I want it to be Jesus.” This led to his creation of the Godspell poster, featuring Jesus in Deco black and white swirls with “a small circle of red on his cheek meant to convey the circus-clown imagery.”

Born April 4, 1941, in Cleveland, Tennessee, and raised in Miami Beach, Florida, Byrd studied at Carnegie-Mellon University before teaching at New York’s Pratt Institute from 1970 to 1979. His work with the Fantasy Unlimited art collective brought him commissions from rock royalty, including The Rolling Stones‘ 1969 U.S. tour, The Who’s 1971 Metropolitan Opera House performance of Tommy, and the interconnected solo album covers for KISS in 1978.

While one of his most intriguing designs – a poster for the original Woodstock festival featuring winged angels and heart motifs framing a nude female figure pouring water atop the words “An Aquarian Exposition Wallkill, New York” – went unused when the event relocated during his Caribbean vacation, Byrd’s influence continued to evolve. He later worked as art director for Van Halen, created theater posters for the Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre, and even collaborated with J.K. Rowling on visuals for the Harry Potter films.

His 2023 autobiography, Poster Child: The Psychedelic Art & Technicolor Life of David Edward Byrd, showcases the vibrant portfolio that delighted generations. Byrd is survived by his husband and partner of 40 years, Jolino Beserra.