A New Book by Photographer Baron Wolman
Janis Joplin, Belvedere Street Studio, San Francisco, 1968
“I needed to get some color shots of Janis, but there were no concerts scheduled so she came to the studio… I don’t know what goes on in the head of performers; maybe they either perform or they don’t perform… As I recall Janis could not “not” perform, so for an hour she gave me the gift of a Janis Joplin live performance. I call it “The Concert For One.” I was taking pictures and she was singing just for me alone.”
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Circle Star Theater, San Carlos, CA, 1967
Baron talks about the sombre mood of Mr Cash backstage before the show, but this photograph is just so sweet – look carefully. “The Cash photos are some of the first I took on assignment for Rolling Stone. We started publishing in October of 1967; these were taken in December of that year at the Circle Star, a popular theater-in-the- round south of San Francisco.”
Jeff Beck, S&C Ford, San Francisco, 1968
“…(Beck) asked me if I knew where he could buy an American hot rod so I took him to the showroom of a car dealer who had one which was for sale. Jeff was immediately fascinated with the car and decided to buy it on the spot…” Read more in the book and listen to the story via this podcast.
Joni Mitchell at home, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, 1968
Excerpt about the beautiful Joni Mitchell – buy the book to read more!
“Joni’s lyrics are neither simple nor simplistic; they’re complex and soulful and usually reach the heart of the matter. Joni is also a skilled painter; you can see her work on her website. But unlike other would-be musician-painters she refuses to market or sell them at all. I admire her for that although I would love to publish a book of her paintings; that would be one good way to share them without selling them.”
Little Richard at KPIX-TV, San Francisco, 1967
On Saturday, August 6th from 10 am to 4 pm, Baron will be signing books at Gallery 270 in Westwood, New Jersey. You don’t have to get your chest autographed, Baron will still welcome you with open arms when you buy the book!
Smokey Robinson, Bimbo’s 365 Club, San Francisco, 1968
Smokey Robinson thrilled Baron and the rest of the audience when he sang ‘Tracks Of My Tears’ at Bimbo’s in San Francisco. Rolling Stone Magazine places ‘Tracks’ as number 50 of the 500 greatest songs.
Backstage at Bimbo’s
Smokey, one of the greatest R&B singers of all time, in his dressing-room before the show.
View from the stage, Woodstock Music & Art Fair, Bethel, NY, 1969
Beck Rocchi & James Watkins over at T-Squat ran an extensive interview in their culture blog. Here’s a short excerpt:
T: Woodstock 1969 is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most pivotal moments in popular music history. Who or what blew you away over these three days?
B: What made Woodstock so unique for me wasn’t the music, although the line-up was extraordinary. Rather it was the gathering of so many people in one place, at one moment in time, for the sole purpose of enjoying themselves and one another. If you look at the pictures I took you will see I concentrated on the people not the performers. There is one photo I shot standing pretty much in the middle of that enormous Woodstock stage, using the widest-angle lens I had at the time (24mm, I think) where I tried to capture the enormity of the crowd. Even that lens didn’t include everybody. I mean, think about it. Here was a disaster waiting to happen – rain, mud, humidity, not enough food, insufficient sanitary facilities – and nothing untoward happened, no violence, no anger. That single concert fulfilled the “hippie promise” of peace, love and music…
Lighting scaffold, Woodstock Music & Art Fair, Bethel, NY, 1969
The Grateful Dead posting bail, San Francisco, 1967
My first story for Rolling Stone was the Grateful Dead bust. The Dead put on this great press conference held appropriately where they lived and where they had been arrested. The band members sat across a table from the media. Along with the microphones, which were arranged between the band was a great big bowl of whipped cream which is visible in the pictures and which they threatened to throw at the media if any of them asked a stupid question. If you read the first issue of Rolling Stone you understand the band was making the point: “Why are you busting us? If you busted everybody who smokes pot in San Francisco you’re going to have no lawyers, you’re going to have no doctors, and you’re going to have no professionals of any kind because everybody smokes.” The band was quite adamant about it, and they were right of course.
Syd Barrett, 1967, Sausalito, CA
Baron loves this solo picture of Syd Barrett, looking so happy and playful on the veranda at the band’s hotel… pretending to drop LSD on sugar cubes…
Pink Floyd, Casa Madrona Hotel, 1967, Sausalito, CA
A popular photograph of Pink Floyd from Baron’s archive, this was taken at the Casa Madrona Hotel in Sausalito on Pink Floyd’s first trip to the States in 1967, but it was soon after, early in 1968, that they split with Syd Barrett. A confused Syd showed up to a few gigs even after that.