Born in Harlem in 1930, Rollins began playing saxophone as a child and later performed alongside legends such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. Despite battling heroin addiction and personal struggles in the 1950s, he recovered and went on to create some of the greatest jazz recordings ever made.
In 1959, at the height of his fame, Rollins stepped away from music to practice alone for years on New York’s Williamsburg Bridge, later inspiring his comeback album The Bridge. Throughout his career, he continued experimenting with different styles and even collaborated with The Rolling Stones.
Rollins survived 9/11 after escaping his apartment near the World Trade Center carrying only his saxophone and later released the Grammy-winning album Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert. He retired in 2014 after developing pulmonary fibrosis but never lost his love for music, once saying, “Hope burns eternal.”