Rock Dreams was a fantasy tribute to rock 'n' roll that placed various major rock stars in dreamlike situations intended to reflect their music and public images. With 116 flashy pictures by Peellaert and pithy commentary by English rock writer Nick Cohn, the book masterfully conveyed “the spirit of rock -- the irreverence, the outrage, the gaudiness, the occasional tenderness," wrote pop music critic Robert Hilburn in 1974 in The Times.
John Lennon reportedly framed the cover of the British edition, which shows him sitting at a lunch counter with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Bowie.
In other paintings, Dylan is depicted as an isolated superstar, huddled in luxury in the back of a limousine; Presley is surrounded by imitators at a disciples' banquet of hamburgers and Cokes; and Alice Cooper is a carnival sideshow businessman.
Bowie and Jagger “fought for custody of Peellaert's time and genius like jealous parents," according to a 2000 article in The Times. In 1974, Peellaert provided the cover for the Rolling Stones' Its Only Rock n Roll and for Bowie's Diamond Dogs.
He also created the posters for the Wim Wenders films Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire, for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and for Robert Altman's Short Cuts.
