I attended the memorial, arriving late, but at least I made it. Coby Batty and Johnny Hott & friends were supplying some heartfelt music in the lobby, I recognized a Dylan song. They played to a crowd of several hundred, who milled back and forth between there and the gym, where food was set up on many tables. The pictures on display of Gary (plus his Stratocaster) were great to see, and they also were on a slide show in the lobby.
Later, we went down to the Positive Vibe restaurant, where musicians were gathering, there was quite a crowd. The place has doubled in size, and Gary was very involved in the success of the place, taking on any job that was needed to be done to make it happen. A true public servant, R.I.P.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
James Fortune Photographer of the Stars
Fame and Fortune
(Legendary Bands on Film)
In the sixties and seventies photographer James Fortune took more than 20,000 pictures of legendary bands in their prime, both onstage and off. The list included The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Bob Dylan, and Iggy Pop, to name a few.
His work has graced the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “How The West Was Won,” the inner sleeve of Led Zeppelin’s “Mothership” CD, a recent Who documentary, and there are eighteen of his prints displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fortune’s photos have appeared in magazines and newspapers world-wide, along with posters and coffee-table books, including a recent one on The Doors.
One of Fortune’s best-known images is of Robert Plant holding a white dove that just landed in his hands. The singer is framed by a massive crowd at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, and it is certainly one of the most famous rock posters ever made. Led Zeppelin was breaking the Beatle’s record for attendance on that day in 1973, and a print hangs in Plant’s home in England.
Fortune’s photography career began when he filmed the L.A. riots on Sunset Boulevard in 1966, and a picture of protesters on the roof of a bus showed up in publications around the world. But the first rock star shoot was in May 1967, when Fortune contacted record companies from his college newspaper.
“To my surprise, Elektra Records called back asking me if I could photograph one of their new bands called The Doors, at a recording session. When we arrived at Sunset Sound, we found Jim Morrison leaning against a wall staring at us, so we said hello and entered the studio. Then we introduced ourselves to Paul Rothchild, their producer. As we sat down in the control room, we heard them playing back the instrumental of ‘I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind.’ That music was incredible,” Fortune relates, and describes the key for adding the vocals.
“Morrison wanted the lights turned down low as he sang.”
Then Fortune took more pictures outside when Rothchild called for a break.
“We went out on Sunset Boulevard, and I got a few photos of the band there. I also photographed them at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and in the back of a limousine, which is the one of Morrison with a hat pulled down.” That image became one of the most iconic Morrison pictures ever taken.
Fortune served in the Navy from 1968 to 1969 as a combat photographer in the Pacific, and after returning, got a job taking pictures for the National Association for Record Merchandising, the largest of the recording industry trade associations. For the next seven years he photographed bands at their star-studded events.
In 1973, a call came from Led Zeppelin’s publicist, and Fortune was asked to meet the band at the Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Boulevard. They always stayed at the Hyatt, which was jokingly called the “Continental Riot House” because of all the wild parties. It was a familiar place to Fortune and others in the music scene in Los Angeles.
“The rumors you hear about Led Zeppelin’s parties there are all true, from Harley rides down hallways to staged drugged-out orgies, not to mention the secret affair between Jimmy Page and his 14-year old model Lori Maddox. Too bad there are not more photos of what went down there.”
When Fortune arrived at the suite, the band was too drunk to cooperate with photo taking. So their manager Peter Grant bodily picked them up and put them in a chair that would be best for the picture.
“I wanted a close shot that would be good for the newspapers, because there were already a lot of pictures out there with wide angles. The chair in the corner looked good for that purpose.”
In 1974, Fortune teamed up with Bob Yamasaki and One Stop Posters in Los Angeles. Over the next five years, they published ten rock and roll posters that sold over 700,000 copies.
Fortune was asked to take pictures of Paul McCartney and his family on several occasions in Los Angeles in 1975, and tells how it happened.
“I walked into the pool area where McCartney and his family were sitting. Then Paul came out of the pool, and held a white towel against his body in a great imitation of Gypsy Rose Lee, so I snapped a picture. As we hung around the pool, Paul’s little girl climbed out and said, “my feets are hot, my feets are hot.” I set down my camera and carried her over to Paul’s wife, Linda, who thanked me. I finished taking a number of photos there, and then I was asked to come back the next day to the Beverly Hills Hotel, and then again for another visit.”
The former Beatle ordered a half-dozen 11 x 14 prints from the sessions, according to Fortune, and was a pleasure to work with.
Michael O’Sullivan of the Washington Post called Fortune a “prolific chronicler of rock royalty” in his preview of a Washington, D.C. gallery exhibit in 2005. Some of Fortune’s pictures he recommended included Keith Moon “cavorting with what appear to be topless groupies,” and a portrait of a “buff, bleeding, and not-yet-wizened Iggy Pop,” taken a performance at the Whisky a Go-Go in LA.
In the latter, the sneering singer was flipping the bird as blood streamed from multiple cuts on his chest. This image defines punk, and the violent shot joins classics such as Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his guitar at Monterey Pop Festival, and The Who smashing their amps and drums.
O’Sullivan went on to say that “a prize for strangeness must surely go to the artist’s photograph of odd-threesome Linda Lovelace of “Deep Throat” fame; Moon (yes, him again); and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. Man, wouldn’t you love to hear the story behind that night?” he finishes.
In 2008, Peter Skinner of Rangerfinder magazine contributed an article on Fortune in their July issue, saying he was “one of the most important photographers to document the halcyon years of rock.” He stated “the connection, the intimacy and rapport that exude from Fortune's images illustrate the close, even personal relationship and trust between subject and photographer."
These days, along with various invitations to very exclusive parties and events at galleries, the job has its perks. Fortune received at his home in Richmond, Virginia a package containing prints of one of his best-known Eric Clapton photographs to sign.
“It was great to see that signature and add mine, and ship them out,” said Fortune.
Only a handful of photographers really gain fame for their work, despite their images being recognized around the world. That’s fine with him, Fortune never was that concerned anyway with glory.
“I’m just happy to have been there at the right time with a good eye and a personality that clicked with the stars,” he adds.
Please contact Brooke Saunders at 804-687-7062 or email brooke.saunders@rockitz.net.
(Legendary Bands on Film)
In the sixties and seventies photographer James Fortune took more than 20,000 pictures of legendary bands in their prime, both onstage and off. The list included The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Bob Dylan, and Iggy Pop, to name a few.
His work has graced the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “How The West Was Won,” the inner sleeve of Led Zeppelin’s “Mothership” CD, a recent Who documentary, and there are eighteen of his prints displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fortune’s photos have appeared in magazines and newspapers world-wide, along with posters and coffee-table books, including a recent one on The Doors.
One of Fortune’s best-known images is of Robert Plant holding a white dove that just landed in his hands. The singer is framed by a massive crowd at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, and it is certainly one of the most famous rock posters ever made. Led Zeppelin was breaking the Beatle’s record for attendance on that day in 1973, and a print hangs in Plant’s home in England.
Fortune’s photography career began when he filmed the L.A. riots on Sunset Boulevard in 1966, and a picture of protesters on the roof of a bus showed up in publications around the world. But the first rock star shoot was in May 1967, when Fortune contacted record companies from his college newspaper.
“To my surprise, Elektra Records called back asking me if I could photograph one of their new bands called The Doors, at a recording session. When we arrived at Sunset Sound, we found Jim Morrison leaning against a wall staring at us, so we said hello and entered the studio. Then we introduced ourselves to Paul Rothchild, their producer. As we sat down in the control room, we heard them playing back the instrumental of ‘I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind.’ That music was incredible,” Fortune relates, and describes the key for adding the vocals.
“Morrison wanted the lights turned down low as he sang.”
Then Fortune took more pictures outside when Rothchild called for a break.
“We went out on Sunset Boulevard, and I got a few photos of the band there. I also photographed them at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and in the back of a limousine, which is the one of Morrison with a hat pulled down.” That image became one of the most iconic Morrison pictures ever taken.
Fortune served in the Navy from 1968 to 1969 as a combat photographer in the Pacific, and after returning, got a job taking pictures for the National Association for Record Merchandising, the largest of the recording industry trade associations. For the next seven years he photographed bands at their star-studded events.
In 1973, a call came from Led Zeppelin’s publicist, and Fortune was asked to meet the band at the Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Boulevard. They always stayed at the Hyatt, which was jokingly called the “Continental Riot House” because of all the wild parties. It was a familiar place to Fortune and others in the music scene in Los Angeles.
“The rumors you hear about Led Zeppelin’s parties there are all true, from Harley rides down hallways to staged drugged-out orgies, not to mention the secret affair between Jimmy Page and his 14-year old model Lori Maddox. Too bad there are not more photos of what went down there.”
When Fortune arrived at the suite, the band was too drunk to cooperate with photo taking. So their manager Peter Grant bodily picked them up and put them in a chair that would be best for the picture.
“I wanted a close shot that would be good for the newspapers, because there were already a lot of pictures out there with wide angles. The chair in the corner looked good for that purpose.”
In 1974, Fortune teamed up with Bob Yamasaki and One Stop Posters in Los Angeles. Over the next five years, they published ten rock and roll posters that sold over 700,000 copies.
Fortune was asked to take pictures of Paul McCartney and his family on several occasions in Los Angeles in 1975, and tells how it happened.
“I walked into the pool area where McCartney and his family were sitting. Then Paul came out of the pool, and held a white towel against his body in a great imitation of Gypsy Rose Lee, so I snapped a picture. As we hung around the pool, Paul’s little girl climbed out and said, “my feets are hot, my feets are hot.” I set down my camera and carried her over to Paul’s wife, Linda, who thanked me. I finished taking a number of photos there, and then I was asked to come back the next day to the Beverly Hills Hotel, and then again for another visit.”
The former Beatle ordered a half-dozen 11 x 14 prints from the sessions, according to Fortune, and was a pleasure to work with.
Michael O’Sullivan of the Washington Post called Fortune a “prolific chronicler of rock royalty” in his preview of a Washington, D.C. gallery exhibit in 2005. Some of Fortune’s pictures he recommended included Keith Moon “cavorting with what appear to be topless groupies,” and a portrait of a “buff, bleeding, and not-yet-wizened Iggy Pop,” taken a performance at the Whisky a Go-Go in LA.
In the latter, the sneering singer was flipping the bird as blood streamed from multiple cuts on his chest. This image defines punk, and the violent shot joins classics such as Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his guitar at Monterey Pop Festival, and The Who smashing their amps and drums.
O’Sullivan went on to say that “a prize for strangeness must surely go to the artist’s photograph of odd-threesome Linda Lovelace of “Deep Throat” fame; Moon (yes, him again); and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. Man, wouldn’t you love to hear the story behind that night?” he finishes.
In 2008, Peter Skinner of Rangerfinder magazine contributed an article on Fortune in their July issue, saying he was “one of the most important photographers to document the halcyon years of rock.” He stated “the connection, the intimacy and rapport that exude from Fortune's images illustrate the close, even personal relationship and trust between subject and photographer."
These days, along with various invitations to very exclusive parties and events at galleries, the job has its perks. Fortune received at his home in Richmond, Virginia a package containing prints of one of his best-known Eric Clapton photographs to sign.
“It was great to see that signature and add mine, and ship them out,” said Fortune.
Only a handful of photographers really gain fame for their work, despite their images being recognized around the world. That’s fine with him, Fortune never was that concerned anyway with glory.
“I’m just happy to have been there at the right time with a good eye and a personality that clicked with the stars,” he adds.
Please contact Brooke Saunders at 804-687-7062 or email brooke.saunders@rockitz.net.
Monday, May 18, 2009
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