On July 12, music journalist and photographer Steve Caraway died of natural causes in his home in Sparks, Nevada; he was 67.

In a career that spanned five decades, he worked for several magazines, on staff and as a freelancer. In the mid ’70s, he served as Guitar Player magazine’s ad director, assistant editor, art director, and photographer, often simultaneously. Besides his monthly “Pro’s Reply” column, he did interviews and took the photos for cover stories on the Band, Charlie Daniels, and others.

Knowledgeable and passionate about a broad range of music, Caraway went on to be the original editor of M.I. (Musicians’ Industry), was in marketing for Nady Wireless Systems and Dean Markley, worked at the original Songwriter magazine, and was blues harpist Andy Just’s manager. He was also an avid fisherman and baseball fan.

His website, stevecarawayimages.com, is filled with world-class photography, divided into vintage rock and nature. (Be sure to click on “Road Stories” and read the anecdote about VG Editor-at-Large Dan Forte setting the record for most corn dogs eaten at Winterland.) For VG, Caraway contributed pictures of Robben Ford playing with George Harrison and Carlos Santana’s first meeting with B.B. King. His pictures of J.J. Cale were included in the deluxe edition of Eric Clapton’s tribute, The Breeze.

As Guitar Player’s former Managing Editor, Tom Mulhern, stated, “How that much energy and enthusiasm can be stilled is just incomprehensible. Last time I saw Steve was at NAMM a few years ago, and as always, he was moving at sprinter speed, talking, smiling, and with all mental gears running at 300 mph – the way I will always remember him.”