Born James Joseph Marshall in Chicago, Illinois, on February 3, 1936, the son of Assyrian parents who had emigrated from Iran to the USA. He purchased his first camera while at high school in San Francisco, and began taking pictures of musicians and artists. After serving in the military, he began to work as a professional photographer in New York. This included taking pictures of musicians associated with Atlantic Records and Columbia Records. His photographs appeared in all the most important magazines, while hundreds of album covers display his musician portraits. His direct and personal photographic style was trend-setting. Marshall lived in San Francisco during the latter part of his life. He passed away, however, in New York City on March 24, 2010, while on a trip, during which he was scheduled to speak in SoHo.
