Bob Gruen
Tokyo Journal columnist Bob Gruen is one of the most well known and respected photographers in Rock and Roll. By the mid 1970s he was already regarded as one of the foremost documenters of the music scene working with major artists such as John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Elton John, Kiss, Aerosmith, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, etc., and also covering the emerging New Wave and Punk bands including The New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones & Blondie.
Tokyo Pop and Carrie Hamilton
Tokyo Pop and Carrie Hamilton
Legendary Rock Photographer Bob Gruen in Japan
A friend of mine from high school wrote and directed the movie Tokyo Pop. She brought me to Tokyo to be the stills photographer for the film, and that’s where I met Carrie Hamilton. She plays a young girl who becomes a singer in a Japanese rock band and finds her own path. Tokyo Pop co-starred Yutaka Tadokoro, now known to millions of people across Japan as Diamond Yukai, and features actress Toki Shiozawa and wrestler Dump Matsumoto. Filmed in 1986 on location in Tokyo, Tokyo Pop explores what life in Tokyo was like back then, especially for an American girl and a rock and roll band trying to make it.
Four Decades of Rock in Japan
Four Decades of Rock in Japan
Legendary Rock Photographer Bob Gruen in Japan
I first arrived in Japan with Yoko Ono in August 1974. I stood behind her as the plane door opened, and I followed her as she walked down the stairs into a crowd of photographers. She was on tour in Japan with a band of top musicians.
Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
In the fall of 1976, I met the Sex Pistols for the first time when Malcolm McLaren took me to Club Louise in London. That same night, I also met The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Billy Idol and many of the people who went on to become the core of the infamous punk scene in England.
Blondie
BLONDIE
I clearly remember when Lisa Robinson called me to tell me to take pictures of a band called The Stilettos. She said the lead singer was very beautiful and was going to be a big star. The minute I saw Debbie Harry I knew Lisa was right! Soon after, Debbie and the lead guitarist Chris Stein formed Blondie.
THE RAMONES
THE RAMONES
IN 1975, I attended a small showcase where the Ramones played for the press. They performed about a dozen songs for no more than 16 minutes, and I wasn't sure what had happened, but I wanted to see them again.
New York Dolls
Go on tour with legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen, who is one of the most well known and respected photographers in Rock and Roll.
WHEN I met John Lennon & Yoko Ono, they were working with the band Elephant’s Memory and I was soon taking a lot of photos of them. When the band chose one of my photos to use for their album cover, I went to their management office where Tony Machine, who worked for them, told me I had to come see another band they worked with–the New York Dolls, who were playing at the Mercer Arts Center. I went there and discovered a wild, exciting and shocking, downtown New York artists’ scene.
John Lennon & Yoko Ono
New York, 1971 – 1980
I first saw John and Yoko at a benefit concert at the Apollo Theater shortly after they arrived in New York City in 1971. I’d taken a photo of them backstage and dropped off some copies to their apartment, which was around the corner from mine in the West Village, but I didn’t make any further connection with them then. A few months later I was asked to take photos of John and Yoko for a story about Elephant’s Memory, their backing band on the new album they were recording. That night I went to their recording studio, took some photos of them all together, and they soon contacted me to use them in the album package.
KISS Retrospective
KISS Retrospective
On Tour with Bob Gruen
I STARTED working with KISS in 1973 when they signed with Buddah Records, a company I had worked with regularly. Working with KISS proved to be a different experience from most of the bands I had photographed. It’s not just that they wore makeup; the New York Dolls did that too. It was that their makeup created a different identity, as if they were superheroes. Right from the beginning when Buddah’s president, Neil Bogart, wore makeup and had the contract handcuffed to his wrist for the photo announcing their signing, I knew this was an unusual band.
Alice Cooper Photo Retrospective
On Tour with Bob Gruen
Alice Cooper Retrospective
I first photographed Alice Cooper in 1971 when he played at the legendary Fillmore East in New York City. It was one of the most theatrical shows I have ever seen. Alice goes a lot further than just standing and singing into a microphone; he acts out each song with simple but effective props. During the show he was strapped in a straightjacket, tries to break out, and ends the show in an electric chair. In later shows the electric chair was replaced by Alice getting hanged by the neck from a gallows. Later came a guillotine, which remains part of his act today. Alice has said that his show is about being the bad guy punished for his evil deeds, like a real life horror movie with a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack.
By 1973 I was working more with Alice, who up to that point had several top 10 hits and was becoming a well-known act. The band had rented a mansion in Connecticut and I photographed them there. One of my favorite pictures is Alice looking very comfortable wearing a jacket with stuffed white rats running up the front and on the sleeves. On another occasion Alice came to my studio with the great radio DJ Wolfman Jack to make a Christmas picture with Alice as Santa Claus and Wolfman Jack sitting on his lap like a little kid.
On Tour with Bob Gruen Elton John Retrospective
On Tour with Bob Gruen
Elton John Retrospective
IN 1970 I was hired to photograph a young piano player from England who was going to open a show at the New York City’s Fillmore East theatre for Leon Russell. His name was Elton John. I remember thinking how hard it is to get an interesting picture of someone playing piano. It’s a very large instrument and the player is usually just sitting behind it. But Elton John is not the usual piano player. He is one of the most exciting performers I’ve worked with. He doesn’t just sit at his piano. He jumps around it and on top of it. Sometimes he leaps straight into the air with only his hands on the keyboard. And he’s still playing! He also wears onstage the most flamboyant and colorful costumes and outrageous glasses.
I enjoyed working with Elton for the next several years. At the Fillmore in the spring of 1971 I got a nice and arty double-frame photo of him with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Then I photographed him twice at Carnegie Hall, and later at Madison Square Garden. At Carnegie Hall, his mother made a surprise backstage visit.
