Iconic Rock Photographer Henry Diltz Picks His Top Album Cover Shots (EXCLUSIVE)
Much of what sets world-renowned photographer Henry Diltz apart from the rest is his organic approach to capturing his subjects. Diltz and art director Gary Burden worked together, encapsulating the timeless music pouring out of Southern California during the 1960s and 1970s. The pair’s shared interest in leading a simple lifestyle quickly endeared them to the mainstays of the legendary music scene in and around Laurel Canyon at the time.
Everyone wanted to work with these guys. The Eagles’ Glenn Frey described the two as being so discreet and easy to work with that, much of the time, he didn’t even realize they were there.
The duo often planned big adventures for their shoots, photographing everything that took place. “Too many sessions are done in studios with lights and a backdrop; there’s no story,” Diltz explains. “Gary and I liked having real life happening when we shot.”
Thanks to that philosophy, musicians were drawn to Diltz’s innate ability to capture split-second, magical moments with his camera. “I believe if you just relax and let the universe do its thing, ‘it’ happens. Somehow an album cover would just show up amongst the shots!” Diltz explains.
He’s with the band
Everett Collection
Diltz was a former musician himself, playing with Modern Folk Quartet in the early 1960s. That experience allowed him an insider’s understanding of how musicians operate, and he often became friends with his subjects. Members of the rock band America counted Diltz among their pals, as did David Cassidy, both during his teenage heyday and long after.
Diltz shot his latest album-cover photo for Long After the Fire, from collaborating couple John Cowsill (The Cowsills, who inspired The Partridge Family) and Vicki Peterson of the Bangles). The record, with its cover featuring a cozy shot of the couple in a truck, was released last month.
To further showcase his work, Diltz conducts slideshows at venues across the U.S. He’s also at work on a coffee table book featuring his photos of Cassidy throughout the years and will appear at the David Cassidy West Orange Historical Marker event at the end of July.
Below are Diltz’s favorite album cover photos, described in his own words.
1 Crosby Stills & Nash: self-titled debut Crosby Stills & Nash (1969)
Location: Abandoned lot off Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
“They were recording their first album, and had no pictures together — not even a band name. They needed a publicity photo to give to Cash Box, so we all got in Gary’s old station wagon and found an old house with a couch out front, near an Orange Julius and a car wash!” Diltz recalls. “When they saw that photo, they decided it would make a great cover. Then they decided on a band name and noticed they were in the wrong order [in the shot]. So we went back two days later and the house was gone!
“All album covers were glossy then, and the printer thought Gary was crazy,” Diltz continues. “He wanted it printed on the back — the uncoated, rough side — and it came out beautifully. The Doors saw that cover, called us and said, ‘We want you to do our next album like that!’”
Notable track: “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
2 The Doors: Morrison Hotel (1970)
Location: Morrison Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles
“The hotel manager wouldn’t let us shoot in the lobby,” Diltz recalls. “I noticed he got in the elevator, so I told the band to run in there! It was a five-minute shoot. Jim (Morrison), Ray (Manzarek), Robby (Krieger) and John (Densmore) went in and just hit those positions. Nobody said ‘move over a little … you guys trade places.’ Nothing. I ran across the street and went click, click, click. The four of them just spread out naturally, more or less how they are positioned on stage.”
Then he adds, “I love the beautiful arc of the white lettering [on the window] too!”
Notable track: “Roadhouse Blues”
3 James Taylor: Sweet Baby James (1970)
Location: ‘The Farm,’ Laurel Canyon
“Peter Asher, Taylor’s manager, called me out of the blue and said, ‘Hey, can you come down to my house this afternoon and photograph this guy? We need some publicity pictures,’” Diltz remembers.
“I had never heard of James until that day,” he continues. “When he played his guitar, it totally blew my mind. I was in awe! I took him over to my friend’s place, this musical commune that had a barn and little sheds you could lean against. Once they saw those color photos, it was decided to make one his album cover. I really love the black-and-white I took that they used for the inside too.
“I sang ‘Sweet Baby James’ to both of my kids while they were growing up,” Diltz adds. “It’s still one of my favorites!”
Another notable track: “Fire and Rain”
4 America: Homecoming (1972)
Location: Back alley, Hollywood and Big Sur
Jack Kay/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
“We went up to Neil [Young’s] ranch above Big Sur for a few days,” Diltz says. “I got that sky shot when I took photos of the horizon up there; it was just beautiful. The shot of the three guys (Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell) was actually taken in an alley behind a recording studio in Hollywood — I think we were at Sunset Sound. Then Gary snipped it into the horizon photo I took in Big Sur.
“Gerry and I were playing chess a lot at that time, because the Bobby Fischer/Boris Spassky tournaments were going on and the papers would print their moves,” Diltz continues with a chuckle. “That’s how we learned to play!”
Notable track: “Ventura Highway”
5 Eagles: Desperado (1973)
Location: Paramount Ranch, Malibu Canyon
“It’s the back I like best, where they’re lying in the street! J.D. Souther is on the right. Jackson Browne is on the left with the four guys (Bernie Leadon, Frey, Randy Meisner, Don Henley) in the middle,” Diltz explains. “We played cowboys, shooting blanks, and, at the end, J.D. takes out this book about Western outlaw heroes in the 1800s,” Diltz continues. “There were photos of the posse posing with the dead outlaws lined up and lying in the street. So we posed the shot that way, based on a real photo in that book. We hadn’t planned it; we didn’t know he had that book!”
“I did that red lettering above, freehand,” Diltz adds proudly. “A student of calligraphy!”
Another notable track: “Tequila Sunrise”
Bonus Album! Diltz asked that one more be added to his list.
Dan Fogelberg: Souvenirs (1974)
Location: Gary Burden’s home, Topanga Canyon
“Dan rented a little cabin across the street from me in Laurel Canyon. When he walked over one day and introduced himself to my wife, he told her he had been looking for me to take photos of him,” Diltz recollects. “He didn’t realize he had moved right across the street!
“We went to Gary’s house where he had a lot of Indian artifacts,” Diltz continues. “We’re sitting in the living room and this little kitten was playing on the floor. Dan picked up an eagle feather and started tickling the cat with it, then sat up, looked at me, and I went ‘click.’ And there was the shot.”
Notable track: “Part of the Plan”
Check out more of Henry Diltz’s work here!
1972
January 2022
1972 was a year packed with everything from “American Pie” to Ziggy Stardust What’s not to love?
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