Photographer Profile ~ Bob Gruen

Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in Rock and Roll. From Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones; Elvis to Madonna; Bob Dylan to Bob Marley; John Lennon to Johnny Rotten, he has captured the music scene for over forty years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition. Shortly after John Lennon moved to New York in 1971, Gruen became John and Yoko’s personal photographer and friend, making photos of their working life as well as private moments. In 1974 he created the iconic images of John Lennon wearing a New York City t-shirt and, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty making the peace sign - two of the most popular of Lennon’s images.

Bob Gruen has worked with major Rock acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Elton John, Aerosmith, Kiss & Alice Cooper. In 1989, he documented the epic trip to Russia of the “Moscow Music Peace Festival” featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi. For many years Bob was the official photographer for the New York New Music Seminar, covering dozens of aspiring new bands in the course of a summer week. As chief photographer for Rock Scene Magazine in the ‘70s, Bob specialized in candid, behind the scenes photo features. He toured extensively with the emerging punk and new wave bands including the New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Clash, Ramones, Patti Smith Group and Blondie.

This seminal body of work reflects a profound commitment and long-standing personal friendship with the artists. His wealth of personal experiences and uncanny memory provide the most illuminating and comprehensive histories of rock youth culture. In the spring of 2007 FAAP University in Sao Paulo, Brazil presented an installation of Bob Gruen’s work. Titled ROCKERS, the exhibition attracted 40,000 visitors. [Via morrisonhotelgallery]

The Rock ’n’ Roll Mona Lisa Image of John Lennon in NYC/1974

The T-shirt photo shoot didn’t seem particularly portentous, Mr. Gruen said. It was August 1974, and Mr. Lennon phoned while recording the “Walls and Bridges” album to say he needed some shots for the cover package. Mr. Gruen showed up at Mr. Lennon’s East 52nd Street apartment — this was during the couple’s separation — and started snapping the musician on the penthouse’s terrace. Then he noticed the skyline. “Do you still have that T-shirt I gave you?” he asked Mr. Lennon. (Mr. Gruen had at least seven of the shirts, which he considered part of his uniform. He used to buy them in Times Square and cut off the sleeves with his Buck knife.) Mr. Lennon retrieved it from his bedroom, they shot a few rolls and the session was over. The photo became famous only in 1980 when Mr. Gruen selected it to be displayed in the Central Park band shell for Mr. Lennon’s public memorial. Mr. Gruen thought it was the perfect image to reinforce Ms. Ono’s point that Mr. Lennon loved the city and that it bore no responsibility for his death. “Yoko always said, don’t blame New York for John’s death,” Mr. Gruen said. “John died in New York because he lived in New York.”

Led Zeppelin, NYC, 1973 Photographer Profile ~ Bob Gruen

TheClash, Boston, MA, 1979

Mick Jagger & John Lennon. New York City 1972. Photo by Bob Gruen

KISS

Kiss, NYC, 1975

Mick

Bob Dylan, NYC, 1974

Debbie Harry, NYC, 1977

Sid Vicious,1970

Iggy Pop, Cyrinda Fox, David Bowie & Lisa Robinson, NYC, 1977

Joan Jett

Kiss, NYC, 1974

Joan Jett

Pete Townshend, NYC, 1973

Alice Cooper & Salvador Dali, New York City, 1973

“People ask me how do I get to be friends with musicians,” Mr. Gruen said. “How do you get to be friends with anybody?” He thinks about it for a moment. “Joe Franklin used to say, ‘It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.’ ”

Mick, John & Yoko

Johnny Rotten & Sid Vicious, US Tour, 1978

Sid and the suits

Kate Moss, Johnny Depp & Iggy Pop, London, England, 1996

Keith Richards, Tina Turner & David Bowie, NYC 1983

Iggy Pop & Debbie Harry, in Toronto, 1977

Debbie Harry with Debbie Harry
Photographer Profile ~ Bob Gruen

Alice Copper ~ Baby Doll On Sword' Madison Square Garden NYC 1973
“Bob Gruen was a part of the entire rock scene, as much as any band, really, because he was one of those guys that everybody really liked,” Alice Cooper says in the Letts movie. “And he always seemed to get the money shot.”

Photographer Profile ~ Bob Gruen