Just imagine if you had Neil Young, The Doors, Bruce Springsteen, The Stones, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix and the Eagles all in the same room at one time for an intimate look at each one. Well that is exactly what has happened at the Morrison Hotel in La Jolla, CA thanks to legendary Rock n' Roll Photographer Henry Ditz, and his longtime partners Richard Horowitz and Peter Blachley.
The Morrison Hotel Photo Gallery is the brainchild of these three pioneers and their collective vision has been all of our good fortune. What they set out to accomplish was the simple offering of some of Rock's most indelible images and worshipped stars in the most stunning and candid black and white photography you could ever imagine. This is authentic collectible art that can be displayed almost anywhere. Yet this is art that represents so much more than just a photo on paper.
There is no doubt the sixties was an explosive time for change in America. The Social Revolution combined with Rock music and the characters that lived in it were a big part of the collective soul of many of our lives. We listened intently to what our Rock heroes said. We lived, breathed and existed for their music. Those records are now timeless pieces of that era. Each is a classic that is still held in high regard today, are just as popular, and still make money for the artist and the record companies. If you don't believe it then just check out the sales of 60's and 70's music at any store.
In the pantheon of rock n' roll photographers there are few that sit on the same steps as Henry Diltz. His background originated as a founding member of a 60's group called the Modern Folk Quartet (MFQ). With this group Henry toured, recorded and made friends on the road and in the music venues of America. He got to know, travel and hangout with many of the musicians he shared the bill with nightly and had a great rapport with them. Some were lifelong relationships that continue today. It was this camaraderie with the artists that allowed him to get in close with his new hobby, a camera. So close that he came away with candid shots that featured the feeling of trust and intimacy that many other photographers could never get. Henry was one of the crew, part of the group, a sacred member of an exclusive club that reveled in psychedelia, social change and a new brooding and meaningful musical style.
"This is not history," muses the Eagles, Glenn Frey about Diltz in a press release, "this is evidence!"
It started innocently enough. Henry the musician is on tour, he finds a $20 used Japanese camera, starts snapping a couple of shots and finds out he has a knack for putting images on celluloid. When his band MFQ breaks up he keeps shooting photos and lands the cover for an album by the Loving Spoonful. Instead of being on the road playing music, Diltz is on the road with the same people and this time he is the photographer. He already understood the "scene" and the parties, gigs, venues, and the road. Suddenly Henry Diltz is very busy shooting his friends. He gets real good, real quick.
Henry Diltz is so good that he is now in constant demand with the top groups in music. He sharpens his skills like he sharpens his images. With an incredible on-the-road technical expertise, knowledge of light and shadows and an amazing ability to get his subjects to open their psyche up for his lens Henry scores album cover after album cover.
Among the hundreds of thousands of photos Diltz has produced over the last 35 years you will find some of the most famous images ever of artists ranging from Linda Ronstadt, Paul McCartney, Janis Joplin, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, CSN&Y, and many, many more. He has documented some of the best in popular music from Woodstock to Monterey and has over 250 covers to his credit.
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