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
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Magical History Tour 4
After Jim Morrison’s section of pictures in Linda McCartney’s book, we move to the Who, photographed at a hotel in New York, and the Filmore East. Linda states they were one of her favorite bands, but had not taken off in America. They were touring in support of the Herman and the Hermits, which had been having number one hits in America since 1965.
This reminds me of the Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees tour, or Led Zeppelin opening for Grand Funk Railroad, it only made sense to promoters balancing who the people really came to see against the real talents. Talent is a matter of opinion, but history really sorts out the best.
Linda said the first time she met Pete Townsend was at the Americana Hotel in New York, where she had gone to take pictures of Herman and the Hermits. She was with Danny Fields, who was a Who fan also, and they spotted Pete “skulking” in the corner, who was bewildered why the Who were not more popular in a America. She took pictures of Pete, but the lighting was so bad she could not use them.
There is a picture below that text that is not labeled, but it shows someone who looks exactly like Mick Jagger wearing round black sunglasses, and it’s not clear who it is. I did not see the Pete Townsend nose under the shades, kind of a mystery.
McCartney says the first time she photographed the Who live was in 1967 at “Murray the K’s Fifth Dimension” shows at the RKO Theatre in in New York. You may remember Murray as the DJ that championed the Beatles when they first came to America and called himself the “Fifth Beatle,” though Stu Sutcliffe really should have that title.
The shows were a real watershed in American rock history, five concerts a day for 9 days, featuring Cream, the Who (this really was the making of those bands in America), and many others, Wilson Pickett, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, the Blues Magoos, and others, according to McCartney.
There is a really cool picture of Pete backstage at the show sitting under a Marx Brothers poster, and he’s playing a sunburst Stratocaster, and it really shows in stark black and white the famous Townsend look.
Next are photographs of the Who playing the Filmore East in 1968, and there is a wonderful closeup of the band standing behind the Filmore after the sound check. Roger Daltry is laughing and looking away, Pete is looking down, somber as usual, Entwhistle has his arms folded, the typical Anglo Saxon medieval knight-yeoman with a bowl haircut look, and Moon on the far right has a happy smile, leaning into the photo.
Next are five shots of the band by McCartnery doing a sound check at the Filmore, but it sure looks like Pete is smashing a guitar, maybe he did that at sound checks also! All five are circular images because of the spotlight, and are dim and fuzzy, and you can see Moon’s double bass drum, the drum on the left only says “THE.”
The next couple of pages feature shots of Keith Moon, one has him in a room at the Drake Hotel wearing a Snoopy sweatshirt, and holding a book that says “Tales of Horror,” probably a Poe edition. The next shot is a portrait of Moon wearing a nice jacket and lace cravet, sitting with his ankle on his knee in a chair, and wearing a reflective look on his face. This was one of two shots Brian Epstein bought from McCartney on her first trip to England, the other being the one of Brian Jones on the boat during the Stones press party.
The Filmore East opened with a bang on March 8th with a concert featuring Big Brother, Albert King, and Tim Buckley. Though Buckley never really got the recognition he deserved, and had a very uneven career, finally dying of a heroin overdose, the Washington D.C. native was highly respected by no less than Robert Plant, and many others. There are a couple of great Tim Buckley shots at this link:
http://fortunesicons.com/index.php?newsess=no&menuitem=artists&artist=TimBuckley
The Who played the Filmore East a month after it opened, smashing guitars and drums during a blistering set. Linda McCartney says that the Who’s biographer heard the unreleased tapes and stated that “The Who- Live at Filmore East” would have proven to the world that the Who was the greatest live group in the world.” Maybe in the top five, when you consider the Beatles in Hamburg, Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, etc., but up there nonetheless.
The next shots are five images of Keith Moon behind his Premier drums, making great facial expressions, in closeup shots. McCartney says she got to know Moon and Townsend the best, and that Pete was very deep and intelligent, and Moon a lot of fun, and always a complete gentleman, despite his wild-man antics.
She said once Moon turned up at their house with "two brand new boiler suits, a red one for Paul, and a white one for me." Linda related that she and Paul were with Moon the night he died, he was partying at the annual Buddy Holly evening tribute show, and was excited about an idea of Paul’s, the Rockestra orchestra.
There are several shots James Fortune took of Paul McCartney with Keith Moon and Linda, they can be seen at
http://www.fortunesicons.com/index.php?newsess=no&menuitem=artists&artist=KeithMoon
This reminds me of the Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees tour, or Led Zeppelin opening for Grand Funk Railroad, it only made sense to promoters balancing who the people really came to see against the real talents. Talent is a matter of opinion, but history really sorts out the best.
Linda said the first time she met Pete Townsend was at the Americana Hotel in New York, where she had gone to take pictures of Herman and the Hermits. She was with Danny Fields, who was a Who fan also, and they spotted Pete “skulking” in the corner, who was bewildered why the Who were not more popular in a America. She took pictures of Pete, but the lighting was so bad she could not use them.
There is a picture below that text that is not labeled, but it shows someone who looks exactly like Mick Jagger wearing round black sunglasses, and it’s not clear who it is. I did not see the Pete Townsend nose under the shades, kind of a mystery.
McCartney says the first time she photographed the Who live was in 1967 at “Murray the K’s Fifth Dimension” shows at the RKO Theatre in in New York. You may remember Murray as the DJ that championed the Beatles when they first came to America and called himself the “Fifth Beatle,” though Stu Sutcliffe really should have that title.
The shows were a real watershed in American rock history, five concerts a day for 9 days, featuring Cream, the Who (this really was the making of those bands in America), and many others, Wilson Pickett, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, the Blues Magoos, and others, according to McCartney.
There is a really cool picture of Pete backstage at the show sitting under a Marx Brothers poster, and he’s playing a sunburst Stratocaster, and it really shows in stark black and white the famous Townsend look.
Next are photographs of the Who playing the Filmore East in 1968, and there is a wonderful closeup of the band standing behind the Filmore after the sound check. Roger Daltry is laughing and looking away, Pete is looking down, somber as usual, Entwhistle has his arms folded, the typical Anglo Saxon medieval knight-yeoman with a bowl haircut look, and Moon on the far right has a happy smile, leaning into the photo.
Next are five shots of the band by McCartnery doing a sound check at the Filmore, but it sure looks like Pete is smashing a guitar, maybe he did that at sound checks also! All five are circular images because of the spotlight, and are dim and fuzzy, and you can see Moon’s double bass drum, the drum on the left only says “THE.”
The next couple of pages feature shots of Keith Moon, one has him in a room at the Drake Hotel wearing a Snoopy sweatshirt, and holding a book that says “Tales of Horror,” probably a Poe edition. The next shot is a portrait of Moon wearing a nice jacket and lace cravet, sitting with his ankle on his knee in a chair, and wearing a reflective look on his face. This was one of two shots Brian Epstein bought from McCartney on her first trip to England, the other being the one of Brian Jones on the boat during the Stones press party.
The Filmore East opened with a bang on March 8th with a concert featuring Big Brother, Albert King, and Tim Buckley. Though Buckley never really got the recognition he deserved, and had a very uneven career, finally dying of a heroin overdose, the Washington D.C. native was highly respected by no less than Robert Plant, and many others. There are a couple of great Tim Buckley shots at this link:
http://fortunesicons.com/index.php?newsess=no&menuitem=artists&artist=TimBuckley
The Who played the Filmore East a month after it opened, smashing guitars and drums during a blistering set. Linda McCartney says that the Who’s biographer heard the unreleased tapes and stated that “The Who- Live at Filmore East” would have proven to the world that the Who was the greatest live group in the world.” Maybe in the top five, when you consider the Beatles in Hamburg, Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, etc., but up there nonetheless.
The next shots are five images of Keith Moon behind his Premier drums, making great facial expressions, in closeup shots. McCartney says she got to know Moon and Townsend the best, and that Pete was very deep and intelligent, and Moon a lot of fun, and always a complete gentleman, despite his wild-man antics.
She said once Moon turned up at their house with "two brand new boiler suits, a red one for Paul, and a white one for me." Linda related that she and Paul were with Moon the night he died, he was partying at the annual Buddy Holly evening tribute show, and was excited about an idea of Paul’s, the Rockestra orchestra.
There are several shots James Fortune took of Paul McCartney with Keith Moon and Linda, they can be seen at
http://www.fortunesicons.com/index.php?newsess=no&menuitem=artists&artist=KeithMoon
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Linda McCartney, The Doors, The Rolling Stones
Magical History Tour Vol 3
(for signed prints of many of the stars mentioned here, go to www.fortunesicons.com
In this part I’m moving to Linda McCartney’s coffee table book of photographs she took from 1966 to 1969, called “Sixties: Portrait of an Era.” On the cover is a headshot of a smiling Jimi Hendrix in black and white, as are most of the pictures in the volume. The book was published in 1992 by Bullfinch Press, and is divided into three sections: East Coast, West Coast, and England. Most of the photos are black and white, as Linda was very new to the business, and black and white was easier to shoot in low light to get candid shots. The Doors, The Who, The Yardbirds, and many others are featured.
Linda got her start in the industry because she was working in New York City at Town and Country, who had put the Rolling Stones on their cover issue. Two of the Stones were in the famous cover, shot by well-known photographer, David Bailey, and they were pictured with an innocent model. Keith Richards had a leather jacket and Brian Jones was smoking a cigarette, and apparently this impressed the Stones enough to give the magazine an invitation.
So Linda “liberated” the invitation the magazine received for their press conference on a boat in the Hudson River. When she got there, there were throngs of press members, but she got onboard, she was the only photographer there. Linda thought it was combination of two things, the Town and Country cover, and being the only young and blonde photographer (gee, that’s a hard choice for the Stones). She said the Stones were very flirtatious, especially Mick Jagger. Apparently, the band cursed extensively, according to one of the journalists onboard, Lillian Roxon, especially Brian Jones.
One of the best shots was of Brian Jones lying back in the cabin, yawning, with his legs apart, wearing striped pants and a polka dot shirt. Brian Epstein loved this one, and bought it from Linda, which led to her fateful meeting with the Beatles later in England.
Others show Brian, Keith and Mick together, and Linda said Jagger was highly aware of the camera, but Bill Wyman couldn’t be bothered. After the boat docked, she was besieged for the photographs, and later, Allan Klein tried repeatedly to buy the negatives, wishing he had hired a photographer instead.
These photos led to much more work, and soon Linda was working as a freelancer. Not long after this, she went to a small club called Ondine to photograph The Doors, with lead singer, Jim Morrison. They had never played outside of Los Angeles, and Elektra Records had just signed them. Linda was taken by him, especially the poetry of his lyrics, and how got completely into the music, cupping his hand behind his ear to hear better. These shots were taken not long after James Fortune filmed them at Sunset Sound recording their first album.
The pictures show a tiny club, that’d be a great place to see a band like The Doors in their early stage. Linda said Paul Newman came down to see them for a film project, but nothing came of it. After a couple of pictures of the band, she then presents a series of images of just Morrison’s face while singing. After this, they became friends, and Morrison would visit her and meet for various photography sessions, and discuss visual images, as Morrison had just graduated from film school.
Morrison was enjoying the increasing popularity of the band, but was uncomfortable with some aspects of the frenzy. A childhood friend spotted him on the street in Greenwich Village, and went crazy over him. A photograph of him bare-chested had really made the beefcake circuit, and Jim hated being a sex object, unlike many other rock stars.
Check out www.fortunesicons.com
(for signed prints of many of the stars mentioned here, go to www.fortunesicons.com
In this part I’m moving to Linda McCartney’s coffee table book of photographs she took from 1966 to 1969, called “Sixties: Portrait of an Era.” On the cover is a headshot of a smiling Jimi Hendrix in black and white, as are most of the pictures in the volume. The book was published in 1992 by Bullfinch Press, and is divided into three sections: East Coast, West Coast, and England. Most of the photos are black and white, as Linda was very new to the business, and black and white was easier to shoot in low light to get candid shots. The Doors, The Who, The Yardbirds, and many others are featured.
Linda got her start in the industry because she was working in New York City at Town and Country, who had put the Rolling Stones on their cover issue. Two of the Stones were in the famous cover, shot by well-known photographer, David Bailey, and they were pictured with an innocent model. Keith Richards had a leather jacket and Brian Jones was smoking a cigarette, and apparently this impressed the Stones enough to give the magazine an invitation.
So Linda “liberated” the invitation the magazine received for their press conference on a boat in the Hudson River. When she got there, there were throngs of press members, but she got onboard, she was the only photographer there. Linda thought it was combination of two things, the Town and Country cover, and being the only young and blonde photographer (gee, that’s a hard choice for the Stones). She said the Stones were very flirtatious, especially Mick Jagger. Apparently, the band cursed extensively, according to one of the journalists onboard, Lillian Roxon, especially Brian Jones.
One of the best shots was of Brian Jones lying back in the cabin, yawning, with his legs apart, wearing striped pants and a polka dot shirt. Brian Epstein loved this one, and bought it from Linda, which led to her fateful meeting with the Beatles later in England.
Others show Brian, Keith and Mick together, and Linda said Jagger was highly aware of the camera, but Bill Wyman couldn’t be bothered. After the boat docked, she was besieged for the photographs, and later, Allan Klein tried repeatedly to buy the negatives, wishing he had hired a photographer instead.
These photos led to much more work, and soon Linda was working as a freelancer. Not long after this, she went to a small club called Ondine to photograph The Doors, with lead singer, Jim Morrison. They had never played outside of Los Angeles, and Elektra Records had just signed them. Linda was taken by him, especially the poetry of his lyrics, and how got completely into the music, cupping his hand behind his ear to hear better. These shots were taken not long after James Fortune filmed them at Sunset Sound recording their first album.
The pictures show a tiny club, that’d be a great place to see a band like The Doors in their early stage. Linda said Paul Newman came down to see them for a film project, but nothing came of it. After a couple of pictures of the band, she then presents a series of images of just Morrison’s face while singing. After this, they became friends, and Morrison would visit her and meet for various photography sessions, and discuss visual images, as Morrison had just graduated from film school.
Morrison was enjoying the increasing popularity of the band, but was uncomfortable with some aspects of the frenzy. A childhood friend spotted him on the street in Greenwich Village, and went crazy over him. A photograph of him bare-chested had really made the beefcake circuit, and Jim hated being a sex object, unlike many other rock stars.
Check out www.fortunesicons.com
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