"A musician's life is hanging out, and I knew how to hang out." - Henry Diltz
Diltz fell into photography when his music career faltered in the mid-1960's. He bought a $20 used camera while on tour and a sold a shot o the Lovin Spoonful to Teen Set magazine for $100. Forty years later, his archives comprise "California Dreaming" a 344-page, large-format book of more than 500 photos taken between 1966-1975. Price: $450
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He has shot more than 200 album covers, and never took a photography class.
Break on through.
Morrison Hotel, a transient hotel in downtown Los Angeles provided the cover image for The Doors 1970 album, "Morrison Hotel". Though a young clerk behind the front desk nixed a photo shoot, the group rushed back into the lobby after he slipped into an elevator. Diltz says, "They - the Doors - ran in, got behind the window, and I took one roll of film before anyone noticed. Then Jim (Morrison) said, Let's get a drink. We went to a place called the Hard Rock Cafe in skid row. He loved the stories the old winos told him. That photo, on the back cover, showing the group at the bar, gave rise to the London-based chain of Hard Rock Cafes.
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