Who Shot Rock & Roll...

by Bob Gruen - Joe Strummer & Gaby - Kiss On Car - NYC, 1981

If you're in Memphis you MUST GO SEE THIS EXHIBIT!! It's at the Brooks Museum until September 26th. No excuses to miss it - every Wednesday is Pay What You Can!

About the exhibit (from the Brooks site):

Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present is an exhibition about the men and women who have photographed one of the

most important cultural revolutions ever, rock and roll. The music needed images to communicate its message of rebellion, freedom, and personal reinvention. The best photography of rock is skillful, sensual, sexy, creative, compelling, and underrated.

...Rock photographers see themselves as going to the front lines and not returning until they capture the frenetic energy, euphoria, and freedom that is rock and roll. They say, correctly, that no one would believe in the revolution unless there were pictures... and learn the names of the photographers who shot

some of the world’s most iconic images. For, like the musicians they photographed, they, too, changed the world and how we see it.

This exhibit was very inspiring. It's crazy to see so many images I recognized, yet had no idea who photographed them until now. More to come after I look at my notes on my favorite images of the exhibit...

One of the images that first struck me was of Kurt Cobain crying. I had never seen it before and it gave me chills...

by Ian Tilton - Kurt Cobain, Seattle 1990

Tilton had been photographing Nirvana since 1988. Not only was this shot voted as one of the Top 25 music photos in history, but is now No. 6 in the Top 100 Rock & Roll photographs.

Tilton, on the infamous shot (from his website):

This was in Seattle, 1990. He simply came off stage, sat down and cried for about half a minute. Then he was fine. He had just trashed his gear on stage, and it was simply a release of energy. It is a painful picture, but it's about the angst of performance. The band seemed used to it. He seemed very healthy then, and very happy. He was a very powerful and energetic performer, and it was all he wanted to do. The band was his vehicle, the most important thing in his life.