By Michael Goldstein

Subject: Led Zeppelin II – an illustration and limited-edition print created by artist David Juniper for the cover of Led Zeppelin’s 1969 Atlantic Records release titled “Led Zeppelin II”.

Led Zeppelin II was released in October, 1969, and became the first LZ album to go to #1 on the U.S. album charts, unseating “Abbey Road” by The Beatles for the top spot. It was the first recording with engineer Eddie Kramer (famous then for his work with Hendrix) and his expertise, combined with their desire to “keep it raw” in the studio, produced a record that influenced every heavy metal/hard rock record (and act) that followed.

Amazingly, this record took 8 months to record, since the band was touring the U.S. and the U.K. most of the year, and so they’d go to the studio during breaks to lay down tracks whenever possible. Although they could not spend that much time writing new songs, their re-workings of the rock and blues standards (“Bring It On Home”, the hit “Whole Lotta Love”, and others) let them add the Zeppelin touches – guitar solos, extended drum solos, pounding bass lines – that turned these tracks into what would become “classic Led Zeppelin”. Robert Plant was able to exhibit his song-writing prowess, however, on new tunes such as “Ramble On” and “What Is and What Should Never Be”, and it is pretty obvious that Kramer and Jimmy Page twirled many a knob on the mixing board creating the psychedelic center section of “Whole Lotta Love” (creating a 6-minute hit song during a period where 3-minute hits were the norm).

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album #75 on their list of “Greatest Albums of All Time”.

Interesting LZII trivia –

The band opened many of their live shows in 1971 and 1972 with “Immigrant Song” followed immediately by “Heartbreaker”, while during subsequent tours it was often played as an encore. “Heartbreaker” and “Communication Breakdown” were the only songs to be played live during every year that the band toured. However, on commercial radio, “Heartbreaker” typically segues into the next song on the album, “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman),” However, they would never be played this way during live concerts because (apparently) Jimmy Page did not like playing “Living Loving Maid”.

The making of Led Zeppelin II, in the words of the artist, David Juniper -

“In the late sixties in London, anything seemed possible!! I was employed at the time in a boring Art Director’s job, so I got a lot of satisfaction out of moonlighting on speculative stuff.

The music of Led Zeppelin I had blown me away and so, on spec, I mocked up a fold-out design for the second album and took it to (Zeppelin’s manager) Peter Grant and Micky Most at Rak Records. I had a few friends starting to get into the music industry and helped to point me in their direction.

The combination of collage/photography and airbrush illustration was groundbreaking for me, because the traditional airbrush technique was very tricky, especially when compared to today’s digital equivalents. The cover imagery was completely experimental and I liked the combination of the abstract ghostly Zeppelin shape along with a faded sepia WW1 photo of German Aviators.

All the faces were replaced or altered (sunglasses & beards on some of the pilots!). In amongst the four band members (airbrushed in from a publicity photograph) are Miles Davis (or was it Blind Willie Johnson?), a girlfriend/muse of Andy Warhol (perhaps Mary Woronov) and the astronaut Neil Armstrong. The original photo of the Jasta Division of the WW1 German Air Force came from an old book about the ‘Sopwith Camel’, which was a famous British bi-plane from WW1.

I used bright inks to make the illustration parts really pop. I just presented it to the group and they went for it, with only a few changes to the inside spread (see below). The outside cover went through as it was proposed.

The inside image is full-on psychedelia, in contrast to the original idea discussed, which had a Zeppelin flying past the Statue of Liberty. They did not want something on the inside with a similar feel to the outside, so I just went for a colourful painting as a complete contrast to the outside. I remembered a documentary film of 1920/30’s German architecture and thought this approach would give the image a heavy rock/blues feel.

Anyway, from that point forward, the group’s management was all very friendly and used me on other covers for some of their other artists, including Donovan and Lulu.

Another great treat was to be asked down to Olympic Studios in Barnes while they worked on the recording, but what pleased me the most was that cover was nominated at the 68′ Grammy Awards!

About David Juniper (again, in his words) –

I grew up in Epson Surrey UK, as did Jimmy Page, and we went to art schools in the same area. This area was a great place for music fans, and I would have liked to have taken the time to learn the guitar, but decided instead to concentrate on drawing and painting. I still wish I had done both.

I have been a professional Artist and Designer for 40 years including stints in Ad Agencies, a Studio (Wurlitzer) partnership and freelance illustrating/designing.

My Web Site contains loads of images www.davidjuniper.com if you’d like to see what I’m up to these days.

To see all of the Led Zeppelin-related items in the RockPoP Gallery collection, please click on the following link:

http://rockpopgallery.easystorecreator.com/items/led-zeppelin/list.htm?1=1

About “Cover Stories” –

Our weekly series will give you, the music and art fan, a look at “the making of” the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.

Every Friday, we’ll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.

We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you’ll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.

Michael Goldstein is the owner of the RockPop Gallery, an art gallery specializing in rock and roll cover art bsed in Huntington, New York.

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By Michael Goldstein

Subject - “Lynyrd Skynyrd Road Series - Blue” - a painting and limited-edition print created by artist Michael Cartellone and used in the CD booklet of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 2005 release on Universal Music’s UMTV records titled “Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Greatest Hits”.

Greetings – As those of you who visit the RockPoP Gallery site and have read my past “Cover Stories” columns know, our focus has been on trying to elevate the status within the fine art world of people who earn their living creating the artwork and photography that grace your favorite album/CD covers and other music-related promotions and packaging. All of the artwork and photographs featured to this point were created by talented individuals who make their living on “the graphics side” of the business. This Cover Story, though, is quite special, as it features the work of someone who has earned his fame as a much-praised studio/tour drummer (and continues to enjoy a fantastic career as the drummer for one of the most popular musical acts of all time, 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd).

That’s right – this issue we’re featuring the fine art of Michael Cartellone, who’s recorded and toured with an amazing list of acts, covering all genres of music - John Fogerty, Peter Frampton, John Wetton, Freddie Mercury, Cher, Adrian Belew, Accept and, my favorite, multi-platinum “supergroup” Damn Yankees.

As busy as he is with his musical career, Michael’s first love was painting, and while his career kept him on the road constantly, he found himself relaxing and refocusing his energies by painting in his hotel rooms and on the tour bus. As it is that he works to create hyper-realistic images of life on the road (hence, his most recent prints, which are used to illustrate the booklet included with “Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Greatest Hits” - the 30thanniversary compilation on UMTV records - are named the “Road Series”), I’m not quite sure just how he relaxes while he works, but let’s ask him to give us some insight…

“I’m very proud of the Road Series Paintings. The three years (during three World Tours - 2001, 2002 and 2003) I spent painting the five canvases were very satisfying creatively. I was being fed musically at night, playing with Skynyrd, and artistically during the day, painting in my hotel rooms. I enjoyed this so much that I can’t imagine touring without painting now. In fact, this year I’m working on a painting of a Carousel, which has been an idea stored in the back of my head for a dozen years.

So, when my friend Michael Goldstein of RockPoP Gallery asked me to contribute a piece to Cover Stories, I thought I’d focus on one of the Road Series Paintings – “Blue”.

Blue is easily the most personal painting of the five, as it illustrates my working perspective (which no one else shares) of Life On The Road. Only I see that view, day in and day out while on tour. So, I thought it would be interesting to share it with others. Any drummer will tell you, when sitting at their kit they feel a comfort zone. It’s one constant for us, in an ever changing, city to city, venue to venue environment. I feel this comfort when I look at Blue.

Blue also gives away some of the “behind the scenes” attributes of the Road Series Paintings: the ever-present half an orange (for sticky hands to hold drumsticks), the bottle of Gatorade, the tape on the pedal board for a little bit of traction and last, but not least, the homage to all my drum endorsement companies.

I will say that of all five paintings, the hardest thing and most time consuming to paint was the cymbal in Blue. I spent a month alone on that cymbal. Upon close inspection, you’ll notice the ridges changing color throughout. This effect required a lot of attention and many, many coats of paint to achieve the final result. I knew I would be happy with that cymbal once finished, but I honestly was surprised how involved it was to paint. I love this painting and it’s my favorite of the five.

Looking back on the Road Series paintings, I couldn’t be happier that they were how I officially kicked off my art career. Even though I had shown and sold work through the years, these paintings enabled me to enter “the Art World” with a real splash. Doing so, it enabled me to use my art, to paint about my life in music. It’s the perfect example of two halves making a whole.”

Michael Cartellone
May 2007

Lynyrd Skynyrd Greatest Hits – released June, 2005, on the Universal Music TV label, UK.
This ‘greatest hits’ package brings together some of the finest moments from Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd’s back catalogue. This two CD set acts as the perfect introduction into the band’s mix of hard rock, blues, and country and features 30 of their biggest hits, including “Freebird”, “Sweet Home Alamba”, “What’s Your Name”, “Gimme Three Steps”, and many others.

Formed by high school friends in Jacksonville, FL in 1964 and adopting the name Lynyrd Skynyrd from the name (Leonard Skinner) of an antagonistic high school PE teacher, the core of the band at the time - singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Gary Rossington, guitarist Allen Collins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, and drummer Bob Burns – release their first single in 1968.

Their debut LP - ‘Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’ is released and goes gold. In November of that year, they opened for The Who on their ‘Quadrophenia’ tour. Al Kooper then discovers Lynyrd Skynyrd in an Atlanta club and signs them to his Sounds Of The South label. From that point forward, the band released a series of hit singles, charting with “Sweet Home Alabama” in 1974, then with “Saturday Night Special”, followed by “Freebird” (from their debut record, but re-released as a single in 1975).

During the next 30 years, the band recorded and toured continuously (including a tour with the Rolling Stones), with musicians moving regularly in and out of the band, and a series of tragedies – culminating with the horrible plane crash in late 1977 that killed 4 band members (including founding member Ronnie Van Zandt) and injured many of the others – only served to motivate the surviving members to continue to play, ultimately re-grouping in 1987 (with Ronnie’s brother Johnny on vocals) and continue producing Skynyrd music, bringing their unique brand of Southern Rock to good ole’ boys everywhere to this day. In 2006, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which featured a performance by many of the musicians who had played with the band over the years.

Michael Cartellone bio –
Michael Cartellone was born June 7, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio. He began painting at the age of four and drumming at the age of nine. Music and art would be a simultaneous learning adventure throughout his childhood.

Michael’s music career began at the age of 11 when he played his first bar. After many years on the club circuit, he moved to New York City when he was 22. After playing with former Roxy Music/UK keyboardist Eddie Jobson, and then former Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw, Michael found himself a member of the multi-platinum selling band Damn Yankees. This was the springboard for a career that has included recording and touring with John Fogerty, Peter Frampton, John Wetton, Freddie Mercury, Cher, Adrian Belew, Accept and, since 1998, drumming for 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Michael’s art career has included New York-area gallery shows, two shows in suburban Washington, D.C. and dozens of paintings sold to individual collectors.

RockPoP Gallery is pleased to be able to offer Michael’s “Road Series” images which, as the title would indicate, were done while he was on tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. In addition, he’s recently added an image that pays homage to another musical hero of his - John Lennon.

See all of this artist’s work.

About “Cover Stories” - Our weekly series will give you, the music and art fan, a look at “the making of” the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.

Every Friday, we’ll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.

We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you’ll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.

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By Michael Goldstein

Subject - “Lynyrd Skynyrd Road Series - Blue” - a painting and limited-edition print created by artist Michael Cartellone and used in the CD booklet of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 2005 release on Universal Music’s UMTV records titled “Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Greatest Hits”.

Greetings – As those of you who visit the RockPoP Gallery site and have read my past “Cover Stories” columns know, our focus has been on trying to elevate the status within the fine art world of people who earn their living creating the artwork and photography that grace your favorite album/CD covers and other music-related promotions and packaging. All of the artwork and photographs featured to this point were created by talented individuals who make their living on “the graphics side” of the business. This Cover Story, though, is quite special, as it features the work of someone who has earned his fame as a much-praised studio/tour drummer (and continues to enjoy a fantastic career as the drummer for one of the most popular musical acts of all time, 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd).

That’s right – this issue we’re featuring the fine art of Michael Cartellone, who’s recorded and toured with an amazing list of acts, covering all genres of music - John Fogerty, Peter Frampton, John Wetton, Freddie Mercury, Cher, Adrian Belew, Accept and, my favorite, multi-platinum “supergroup” Damn Yankees.

As busy as he is with his musical career, Michael’s first love was painting, and while his career kept him on the road constantly, he found himself relaxing and refocusing his energies by painting in his hotel rooms and on the tour bus. As it is that he works to create hyper-realistic images of life on the road (hence, his most recent prints, which are used to illustrate the booklet included with “Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Greatest Hits” - the 30thanniversary compilation on UMTV records - are named the “Road Series”), I’m not quite sure just how he relaxes while he works, but let’s ask him to give us some insight…

“I’m very proud of the Road Series Paintings. The three years (during three World Tours - 2001, 2002 and 2003) I spent painting the five canvases were very satisfying creatively. I was being fed musically at night, playing with Skynyrd, and artistically during the day, painting in my hotel rooms. I enjoyed this so much that I can’t imagine touring without painting now. In fact, this year I’m working on a painting of a Carousel, which has been an idea stored in the back of my head for a dozen years.

So, when my friend Michael Goldstein of RockPoP Gallery asked me to contribute a piece to Cover Stories, I thought I’d focus on one of the Road Series Paintings – “Blue”.

Blue is easily the most personal painting of the five, as it illustrates my working perspective (which no one else shares) of Life On The Road. Only I see that view, day in and day out while on tour. So, I thought it would be interesting to share it with others. Any drummer will tell you, when sitting at their kit they feel a comfort zone. It’s one constant for us, in an ever changing, city to city, venue to venue environment. I feel this comfort when I look at Blue.

Blue also gives away some of the “behind the scenes” attributes of the Road Series Paintings: the ever-present half an orange (for sticky hands to hold drumsticks), the bottle of Gatorade, the tape on the pedal board for a little bit of traction and last, but not least, the homage to all my drum endorsement companies.

I will say that of all five paintings, the hardest thing and most time consuming to paint was the cymbal in Blue. I spent a month alone on that cymbal. Upon close inspection, you’ll notice the ridges changing color throughout. This effect required a lot of attention and many, many coats of paint to achieve the final result. I knew I would be happy with that cymbal once finished, but I honestly was surprised how involved it was to paint. I love this painting and it’s my favorite of the five.

Looking back on the Road Series paintings, I couldn’t be happier that they were how I officially kicked off my art career. Even though I had shown and sold work through the years, these paintings enabled me to enter “the Art World” with a real splash. Doing so, it enabled me to use my art, to paint about my life in music. It’s the perfect example of two halves making a whole.”

Michael Cartellone
May 2007

Lynyrd Skynyrd Greatest Hits – released June, 2005, on the Universal Music TV label, UK.
This ‘greatest hits’ package brings together some of the finest moments from Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd’s back catalogue. This two CD set acts as the perfect introduction into the band’s mix of hard rock, blues, and country and features 30 of their biggest hits, including “Freebird”, “Sweet Home Alamba”, “What’s Your Name”, “Gimme Three Steps”, and many others.

Formed by high school friends in Jacksonville, FL in 1964 and adopting the name Lynyrd Skynyrd from the name (Leonard Skinner) of an antagonistic high school PE teacher, the core of the band at the time - singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Gary Rossington, guitarist Allen Collins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, and drummer Bob Burns – release their first single in 1968.

Their debut LP - ‘Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’ is released and goes gold. In November of that year, they opened for The Who on their ‘Quadrophenia’ tour. Al Kooper then discovers Lynyrd Skynyrd in an Atlanta club and signs them to his Sounds Of The South label. From that point forward, the band released a series of hit singles, charting with “Sweet Home Alabama” in 1974, then with “Saturday Night Special”, followed by “Freebird” (from their debut record, but re-released as a single in 1975).

During the next 30 years, the band recorded and toured continuously (including a tour with the Rolling Stones), with musicians moving regularly in and out of the band, and a series of tragedies – culminating with the horrible plane crash in late 1977 that killed 4 band members (including founding member Ronnie Van Zandt) and injured many of the others – only served to motivate the surviving members to continue to play, ultimately re-grouping in 1987 (with Ronnie’s brother Johnny on vocals) and continue producing Skynyrd music, bringing their unique brand of Southern Rock to good ole’ boys everywhere to this day. In 2006, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which featured a performance by many of the musicians who had played with the band over the years.

Michael Cartellone bio –
Michael Cartellone was born June 7, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio. He began painting at the age of four and drumming at the age of nine. Music and art would be a simultaneous learning adventure throughout his childhood.

Michael’s music career began at the age of 11 when he played his first bar. After many years on the club circuit, he moved to New York City when he was 22. After playing with former Roxy Music/UK keyboardist Eddie Jobson, and then former Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw, Michael found himself a member of the multi-platinum selling band Damn Yankees. This was the springboard for a career that has included recording and touring with John Fogerty, Peter Frampton, John Wetton, Freddie Mercury, Cher, Adrian Belew, Accept and, since 1998, drumming for 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Michael’s art career has included New York-area gallery shows, two shows in suburban Washington, D.C. and dozens of paintings sold to individual collectors.

RockPoP Gallery is pleased to be able to offer Michael’s “Road Series” images which, as the title would indicate, were done while he was on tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. In addition, he’s recently added an image that pays homage to another musical hero of his - John Lennon. To see all of this artist’s work available in the gallery, click here.

About “Cover Stories” - Our weekly series will give you, the music and art fan, a look at “the making of” the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.

Every Friday, we’ll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.

We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you’ll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.

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I was looking for a photo of Keith Moon’s last girlfriend (a beauty by the name of Annette Walter-Lax) when I came across the amazing Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool. This site is an incredible compendium of swingin’ chicks, and stuff on everybody from the Rat Pack to the Beatles. Take some time and cruise around the site. It’s like groovy man!

Later.

Mark

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I was looking for a photo of Keith Moon’s last girlfriend (a beauty by the name of Annette Walter-Lax) when I came across the amazing Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool. This site is an incredible compendium of swingin’ chicks, and stuff on everybody from the Rat Pack to the Beatles. Take some time and cruise around the site. It’s like groovy man!

Later.

Mark

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Bulls-Eye has a fascinating feature called The Best Albums You’ve Never, Ever Heard which lists a bunch or really cool records that they feel never got their proper due. I definitely agree with their including CDs by the great Cotton Mather and Jason Falkner but man it looks like there is some interesting stuff that I will have to investigate.

Later.

Mark

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RockPop Cover Story: “Frampton Comes Alive” by Richard E. Aaron

“Frampton Comes Alive”, a photograph taken in 1974 by Richard E. Aaron, used on the cover of Peter Frampton’s 1976 2-record set titled “Frampton Comes Alive”, released on A&M Records

by Mike Goldstein,

The biggest-selling live double album of all time (such a big-seller that, in the movie “Wayne’s World 2″, Mike Myers’ character Wayne states that “everybody in the world has ‘Frampton Comes Alive’. If you lived in the suburbs, you were issued it free along with samples of Tide.”), the record made Frampton, who’d made a name for himself as a “teen idol” in the UK with his band The Herd and then with his guitar chops both in the studio and with the band Humble Pie, a household name. His band’s powerful live performances, as well as his use of the “Talk Box” effects device, made hit singles of songs such as “Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do”.

The record was a compilation of a number of performances recorded in 1975, including shows in California at the Winterland Ballroom and the Marin County Civic Center, as well as 2 New York area performances. There was so much material available that A&M decided to make it a 2-record set, doubling the studio workload of the band and master engineer/remixer Chis Kimsey (see photos, below). Once it was decided that this would be a double album, A&M’s art department needed to create an eye-catching package, and so our story begins…

In Richard’s words - “One day Peter Frampton, whom I had photographed many times by the early 70’s, called and asked if he could take my photo portfolio of him to A&M headquarters in Los Angeles. The senior art director was looking for a photograph for Peter’s next record, a live concert album. Of course I agreed but thought nothing more of it. Although I was already in demand as a photo-journalist, I had pretty much given up on ever having an album cover credit; art directors, it seemed, preferred studio shots.

A few weeks later, I got a message on my answering service that Peter had called and that it was “very important” that I return his call in L. A. By this time, his career was beginning to take off, and the answering service operator was impressed that he had called — “Do you really know Frampton?”

The message came in at 9:30 a.m., which made it only 6:30 a.m. in Los Angeles. I reached Peter immediately, and he said, “Richard are you standing or sitting?” ” Why?” I asked. “Well you should sit. You not only got the cover of my LP but you also got three out of four of the shots inside the double album. ” (Editor’s note - Richard’s photographs of Frampton, guitarist and keyboard player Bob Mayo and bassist Stanley Sheldon were used on the inside of the gatefold). I was in shock. Finally, after three years, I got my first album cover, and it was from a musician who’s music I actually liked and who was also a friend. He knew that it was my first album cover and he congratulated me.

A few months later at a party for Peter in New York, he showed me a mock-up of the cover — a gatefold with a performing shot of Peter that extended over both outer sleeves. This was the first time I had seen the photo A&M had picked (Ed. Note #2 - interestingly, the shot used was taken at an earlier concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC and is not from one of the shows featured on the recording). The art department had put an extra diffusion filter over the photo to give the hypnotic effect to the viewer, a dreamy effect. The two background stage lights to the side of Peter’s head had been re-positioned to make it more symmetrical, and also some coloring added in selected areas on the print. At the time, the only thing that really bothered me was that the focus wasn’t sharp; I was trained to believe that every photo had to be technically perfect — no exceptions. What would my professors at New York School of Visual Arts and the Brooks Institute say when they saw it?

Through the years, colleagues would good-naturedly kid me about the focus. At first, I would say that I had purposely used a diffusion filter. Then, about 10 years later on a radio interview, I came clean — I told everybody it was out of focus. The album went on to become the biggest selling live LP in history, which just goes to show you: teachers, and critics, aren’t always right”.

BONUS MATERIAL - For this story, Richard went into his archives and provided us with 2 additional never-released photos he took to document the making of this classic recording. Both images were taken at Electric Lady studios in New York City in late 1975 during the mixing sessions for the “Frampton Comes Alive” record.

The first photo shows Peter with his then-girlfriend Penny McCall (long before their famous palimony suit), the late Bob Mayo, and studio/mix wizard, producer Chris Kimsey. Richard was invited by Peter to the studio - his first visit to the Hendrix-built complex - and asked if he could bring along his camera.

The second photo shows the three lads in deep concentration - they’d just been notified that this record was going to be a double LP and now they had twice the work to do!

Richard E. Aaron biography -

In a career that spans over three decades, Richard E. Aaron has shot still photography for a wide variety of media, ranging from feature films, television and video to corporate public relations, entertainment publicity and album covers.

Perhaps best known for his music photography, he was honored by Modern Photography Magazine as one of the “10 Best Rock Photographers” in the world, he has more than 50 album covers to his credit including “FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE,” still the biggest selling double live LP. He shot the first photographic rock ‘n’ roll cover of Time magazine - Paul McCartney/Wings Over America. All told, his work has appeared in more than 6,000 magazines, newspapers and books worldwide.

His extensive work in music photography (4,000 groups photographed) led to his first tour assignment, “Fleetwood: The Visitor in Africa” (RCA Records), a tour shot on location in Ghana West Africa. Similar projects for many top rock & roll groups around the world followed. He traveled through the People’s Republic of China for several months in 1986, where he documented the first Western rock group to record an album and tour.

He still he shoots music - as in music videos, CD jackets and publicity. A native of New York, Mr. Aaron and his photo agency have been located in Los Angeles since 1980.

He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts (New York City) and of Brooks Institute of Photography (Santa Barbara, California) - BA,BFA,MA.

Click here to see all of Mr. Aaron’s works in the RockPoP Gallery collection.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2007 - Republished with Permission

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Continuing their amazing Cover Story series, the RockPop Gallery presents to you this week the story behind Bob Dylan’s “Infrared” photo by photographer Elliott Landy. If you look at the last issue of Rolling Stone magazine, you will see this very photo in the background as Bryan Ferry talks about his music and his muse, Bob Dylan.

A wonderful look into the making of some of the finest cover art in rock and roll. Great series.

Later.

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Continuing their amazing Cover Story series, the RockPop Gallery presents to you this week the story behind Bob Dylan’s “Infrared” photo by photographer Elliott Landy. If you look at the last issue of Rolling Stone magazine, you will see this very photo in the background as Bryan Ferry talks about his music and his muse, Bob Dylan.

A wonderful look into the making of some of the finest cover art in rock and roll. Great series.

Later.

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The RockPop Gallery is a an amazing art gallery that specialises in “bringing customers the best selection of limited-edition, music-related art prints, photography and related collectibles available on the market today.” They have some phenomenal stuff and their recent exhibition in LA on album cover art was amazing.

Not only is this a great place to buy some impressive rock collectables, owner Michael Goldstein has a great blog that is well worth visiting and to entice you even more he has started a regular Friday feature called “Cover Stories.”

According to Michael,

Our weekly series will give you, the music and art fan, a look at “the making of” the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.

Every Friday, we’ll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.

We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you’ll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.

This week he features the work of artist Terry Pastor on Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars.” It is a fascinating look into, what I fear is a fast disappearing art form, especially now with the prevalance of digital downloads.

Check out the feature and enjoy this look into the creative process. I’ll remind you every Friday of what Michael has up his virtual sleeve but really, the site is a must visit.

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I am a big fan of rock and roll history. No matter the decade, there are always numerous examples of great stories and interesting side trips to take in the name of rock and roll. Richie Unterberger, an accomplished rock and roll historian has put together a number of excellent, very readable rock and roll histories covering those figures in rock and roll that often get little mention amongst the tales of rock and roll lore but yet have compelling stories that are often as fascinating as the music that may have been forgotten by the general public.

In “Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of 60s Rock”, Unterberger mines a motherlode of great stories from rock’s increasingly distant past. Covering everybody from the raunchy Pretty Things and their struggles to get heard in America to the fate of “two-shot wonders” like Bobby Fuller, the Beau Brummels and Mike Brown to my favourite part of the book titled “Unsung Heros” where he looks at early Rolling Stones “manager” Giorgio Gomelski and Who producer Shel Talmy, Unterberger manages to flesh out these “should have been” legendary characters in order for the reader to come to terms with a musical legacy which, though forgotten is still worthy of a listen today.

While I won’t quibble with the book’s premise that the best rock was made in the ’60s, no one can deny that it was probably the most fertile period of time in rock and roll history. The sad part is that todays “classic rock” radio, in addition to constantly playing the same stuff over and over again has not even had the guts to delve into some of this little known stuff to perhaps give it it’s due today. Pick up a copy of “Urban Spaceman” and get yourself educated on some artists lost in the mists of time. The book even includes a CD to set you on the right path on a rock and roll archaeological journey that would make Indiana Jones proud. At the end of the day you will have to admit that there was a lot of great music from the era that is just not heard now as then. Somethings never change. A good read.

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The late and sorely missed Ram Rod Shurtliff, the Grateful Dead’s chief crew manager, president of their corporation, and their longtime trusted confidant will have left some lucky, and no doubt rich Grateful Dead fans with some very cool parting gifts. Bohnhams Auction House is auctioning off a lot of the memorabillia that Ram Rod collected throughout his life before he died last year. The auction will take place Tuesday, May 8, 2007 in San Francisco.

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Check out the pretty impressive 1960s British Rock and Popular Music A Selected Chronology website which covers, strangely enough the growth of British rock and roll from 1956 to 1970. Very extensive and very informative.

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Not too long ago I reviewed “Grateful Dead Gear” by Blair Jackson. In that review I cheerfully admitted to being a gearhead and it is that fascination that finds me frothing at the mouth to get my hands on Recording the Beatles. Every mixer, outboard effect, microphone, tape machine and speaker are discussed in exquisite detail like no other book before it. While pricy, it looks to be heaven for all you Beatles obsessives out there as well as for gearheads like me. Very impressive. Hopefully I will be able to get a review copy to give you my thoughts. Amazing. When you think they have been covered completely somebody comes up with yet another gem of a Beatles book.

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Not too long ago I reviewed “Grateful Dead Gear” by Blair Jackson. In that review I cheerfully admitted to being a gearhead and it is that fascination that finds me frothing at the mouth to get my hands on Recording the Beatles. Every mixer, outboard effect, microphone, tape machine and speaker are discussed in exquisite detail like no other book before it. While pricy, it looks to be heaven for all you Beatles obsessives out there as well as for gearheads like me. Very impressive. Hopefully I will be able to get a review copy to give you my thoughts. Amazing. When you think they have been covered completely somebody comes up with yet another gem of a Beatles book.

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Check out this very cool video on some famous London recording studios of the ’60s that I saw on the Bomp Refugees List. Good stuff!

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Dirk Dirksen "The Pope of Punk" Memorial Auction on eBay sponsored by H.E.A.R.- Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers at http://www.hearnet.com/auction.html

San Francisco, CA January 26, 2007

Musicians and music fans who love the roots of PUNK will want to check out this eBay auction sponsored by H.E.A.R. Rare photos, posters, artwork, books, rare punk mags and vinyl from the Mabuhay Gardens and other important venues when Devo, Blondie, Dead Kennedys, Avengers, The Tubes, Ramones, SVT, Crime, Black Flag, Social Distortion, Vktms, The Contractions, Flipper, Mutants, Roky Erickson and others were baby bands circa 1977-1984. No telling what rare piece of PUNK history you will find.

Historic Punk bands, artists, photographers, friends and fans of the late Dirk Dirksen have gone into their personal rare roots PUNK collections to contribute to Dirk’s Memorial Auction on eBay.

New items are posted regularly. Here are just some of the rare collectibles you will find:

- Original Dead Kennedys artwork by Winston Smith "Winnebago Warrior" the illustration that accompanied song "Winnebago Warrior" on Dead Kennedys album "Plastic Surgery Disasters".
- Autographed Ramones poster circa 1979 donated by Prairie Prince of the Tubes.
- Autographed copy of the The Tubes’ "White Punk" on Dope" single.
- Original copy of the famous First Issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, featuring John Lennon on the cover.
- Original B/W art photograph of the Avengers band circa 1978 by Marcus Leatherdale handprinted in 1978 (aprox.11"x 14") and signed by Penelope Houston and Greg Ingraham. This is a very rare item.
- Original copy of the PUNK GLOBE w/ Dirk Dirksen on the cover.

Auction held during the month of January 2007.

Auction page: http://www.hearnet.com/auction.html For more information contact: Kathy Peck: mailto:hear@hearnet.com phone: 415-409-03277

We are excepting contributions for Dirk’s Memorial Fund and auction items. Send to : H.E.A.R. 1405 Lyon St. San Francisco, CA 94115.

For more info on Dirk Dirksen events and auction photos: Dirk¹s message online board: http://fuzzmonsterrecords.com/dirk/

About Dirk Dirksen: LA Times: Dirk Dirksen, 69, a punk music impresario who ran San Francisco’s Mabuhay Gardens "Fab Mab" nightclub during its heyday in the 1970s, died Monday November 20,2006 in his sleep. Considered the godfather of the city’s punk rock scene, Dirksen presented a who’s who of punk acts in his more than 10 years of running the club. Acts included the Dead Kennedys, the Mutants, Flipper, the Contractions, Mary Monday, Vktms, Nuns, Crime, Avengers, Devo, Blondie, the Ramones, Pearl Harbor, Black Flag and the Go-Go’s. After leaving the club business in the early 1980s, Dirksen operated a video production firm Dirksen Molloy Productions with partner Damon Molloy producing local TV shows " "Positive Spin and Comos San Francisco", as well as, music videos and documentaries. Dirksen was born in Braunschwig, Germany, in 1937. His family moved to Southern California after World War II and settled in Downey. Dirksen served in the Army and briefly attended San Jose State before dropping out to open a surfing business in Santa Cruz. He found his way into the entertainment business as a tour manager for Ray Charles, the Supremes and Iron Butterfly and worked as a TV producer for famous comedians, Red Skelton "Red Skelton Show" and "Rock to Stardom" with a young Lenny Bruce. Continuing a pattern of helping to break new ground in the arts, Dirksen also works closely with the San Francisco based "Unity Foundation","Recreation Center for the Handicap" and the "H.E.A.R. ­ Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers, Inc. "

About H.E.A.R. : The online eBay auction is managed by H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (http://www.hearnet.com/) a nonprofit dedicated to informing musicians and the public about the prevention of hearing impairment in the music environment and providing hearing services. The auction homepage is http://hearnet.com/auction.html

Source: 2007 Punmaster’s MusicWire  http://www.punmaster.com

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James Brown, the legendary "Godfather of Soul" died today at the age of 73. Watch the man and remember:

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Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary co-founder of Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson has passed away at the age of 83, ironically as a result of a fall backstage at a Rolling Stones concert this past October. My first recollections of the man were as an avid Stones and Zeppelin fan in the Seventies when I would see this distinguished looking gentleman partying with Mick Jagger at the St. Regis or chatting with Robert Plant (in a neck brace!) backstage at some show in the states. To say that the man was a rock and roll legend is an understatement. His work with Atlantic Records didn’t just create an amazing body of work in rock and roll, his contributions to Rhythm and Blues with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding make the man a prime candidate for one of the most influential people in music, ever. I leave you this statement from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the legend that was and always will be Ahmet Ertegun:

It is with deep remorse and great regret that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum acknowledges the passing of our friend, founding father and Co-Chairman, Ahmet Ertegun.

“Ahmet played an immeasurable role in the explosive growth of popular music since the 1940s and he was one of the driving forces in the development and growth of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland,” said Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. “From Aretha to Zeppelin, Ahmet was instrumental in breaking many of the iconic artists of the last 50 years.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would not be what it is today without his leadership. Ahmet’s guidance, counsel and support will be greatly missed.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will display a photo exhibit in memory of Mr. Ertegun. Mr. Ertegun was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

About Ahmet Ertegun: One of the most significant figures in the modern recording industry, Ahmet Ertegun co-founded Atlantic Records in 1947 with partner Herb Abramson. Atlantic was at the forefront of great independent labels that sprang up in the late Forties, challenging the primacy of the major labels of the time (RCA, Columbia and Decca) by discovering, developing and nurturing new talent. Under the guiding hand of Mr. Ertegun - the son of a career diplomat and a lifelong jazz and blues aficionado - Atlantic became the nation’s premier rhythm & blues label in a few short years. The label’s artist roster in the Fifties reads like an honor roll of R&B talent: Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Ray Charles, LaVern Baker, the Drifters, the Coasters, the Clovers, and many more. During this period, Mr. Ertegun produced or co-produced the vast majority of records released on Atlantic. He even wrote songs for Atlantic artists in the early days using the pseudonym “Nugetre”(Ertegun spelled backwards).

Though he was less directly involved as a producer, Ertegun continued at the helm of Atlantic in the Sixties and Seventies as the company conquered the realms of soul and rock with phenomenal success. During this time, the label brought the music of artists such as the Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Sonny & Cher, Crosby Stills, Nash & Young and others to fans across the globe.

Ertegun served as chairman of Atlantic Records and the Co-Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until his death. At the tenth annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Dinner in 1995, it was announced that the Museum’s main exhibition hall would be named after Mr. Ertegun.

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Love ‘em or loath them, the Hard Rock Cafes, Casinos and Hotels have an amazing quantity of very cool rock and roll memorabilia hanging from the walls. If you want to see what they have and how they got it, you might want to check out their new Hard Rock Treasures DVD, a 90 minute journey tracing how the Hard Rock finds and displays their treasure. Pretty cool.

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About.Com’s Classic Rock page has an article titled Top 6 Classic Rock Bands You Never Knew You Didn’t Know that lists 6 bands author Dave White thinks you should check out that you probably missed first time around. The bands in question are:

1. Tucky Buzzard
2. Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys
3. Ram Jam
4. Moxy
5. The Human Beinz
6. Lothar and the Hand People

I think we’ve all heard "Black Betty" but this is definitiely a list worth investigating. Check out the article and let the hunt begin!

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a cool museum but completely an irrelevant institution that is supposed to determine who rocks and who doesn’t has announced the 9 artists that will be considered for induction in 2007. And they are (drumroll please):

R.E.M.
The Stooges
Patti Smith
The Dave Clark Five
Van Halen
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Chic
The Ronettes
Joe Tex

Okay fine. Still no Rush this year of course but that is par for the course. A completely ridiculous excercise in my books. Just put on a yearly mega-concert mixing it up like Bill Graham used to do in the old Fillmore days while making it free for one and all. Celebrate rock and roll, don’t institutionalize it!

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Sandy West, drummer extraordinaire of The Runaways died of cancer today at the too young age of 47. The Time Machine has a fitting tribute. Sad news indeed.

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