10 Iconic Photos by Henry Diltz
Today is the legendary photographer's birthday so to celebrate, I'm taking a look at some of his most iconic photographs.
1. Morrison Hotel
The famous album cover for the Doors' fifth album, was taken by Diltz in 1969.
"This was a transient hotel in Downtown LA on Hope Street" said Diltz, "The Doors didn’t have permission to take this picture, so when the lobby was empty, they ran in quickly and sat behind the window. One roll of film shot before we would get asked to leave."
2. Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock
Diltz was official Woodstock photographer. He explains how this photo of Jimi was "Taken on Monday morning around 6am. Hendrix was supposed to close on Sunday night, but things were so backed up that he didn't come on until Monday morning. Henry got to stand on the stage during the festival and take photos of all the acts.It was real bizarre and psychedelic. The key point was when Jimi started playing the Star Spangled Banner. He started to put the sound effects in: machine guns, planes dive-bombing – utterly amazing."
3. Selfie with Linda and Paul McCartney
Diltz shot the McCartneys in April 1971 and their portrait was featured on the cover of Time magazine. But it's this casual selfie of the trio that has always stuck with me. "Henry was friends with fellow photographer Linda Eastman...She called him in 1971 to take a portrait...On this day in Malibu, Paul played Henry the unreleased RAM album and asked him what he thought… Henry liked it.. a lot."
(Source: https://morrisonhotelgallery.com/products/paul-linda-mccartney-cover-of-life-magazine-1971-qh4juh)
4. The Crosby, Stills & Nash album cover
"The photo on the cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash debut album released in 1969 on Atlantic Records that launched them into stardom. It spawned two Top 40 hit singles, Marrakesh Express and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, which peaked respectively at [number] 28 the week of August 23, 1969, and at [number] 21 the week of December 6, 1969, on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. We found an old couch in front of an abandoned house to take this photo. It became their first album cover." - Henry Diltz
5. Mama Cass
"One of my favorite pictures of Mama Cass in the Palm Springs desert", Diltz said on social media "It never got used for an album cover, but it was a huge billboard on the Sunset Strip for Caesars Palace."
6. Bob Dylan and George Harrison at Concert for Bangladesh
"The Concert for Bangladesh was the collective name for two benefit concerts organized by former Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar. The concerts were held on Sunday, August 1st in 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The shows were organized to raise international awareness and fund relief efforts for refugees from East Pakistan." - Morrison Hotel Gallery (Source: https://morrisonhotelgallery.com/collections/henry-diltz/products/bob-dylan-george-harrison-concert-for-bangladesh-1971-04y3ts)
Be sure to check out my piece on "All Things Must Pass" for more information on the benefit concerts: https://www.thehotchildinthecity.com/post/all-things-must-pass
7. Janis Joplin at Woodstock
8. Sweet Baby James
The album cover was taken by Diltz in the Lake Hollywood area.
9. "Robert Plant strutting his stuff on stage with Led Zeppelin"
(Source: https://morrisonhotelgallery.com/collections/henry-diltz/products/robert-plant-1975-9unyze)
10. My husband, Neil Young at the Broken Arrow Ranch
"Neil Young by his barn outside of his Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California." - Morrison Hotel Gallery
11. Bonus photo: Henry Diltz by Me!
I took this photo of Henry at the Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles. Inside the already iconic hotel you will find the Morrison Hotel Gallery, an art gallery specializing in music photgraphy (other location is in New York City). On February 29, the gallery held a launch party and signing for Henry's book "CSN&Y Love the One You're With".
Happy Birthday Henry, Love HC
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