Rich Zimmermann
February 11, 2013
On November 27, 1971, I photographed Joe Walsh and the James Gang at the Milwaukee Arena. John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers also played that night and I think they were the opening act. The James Gang was very popular at that time with their songs "Funk #49" and "Walk Away" being very sucessful records.
The James Gang was just a 3 piece band with Joe Walsh accompanied by Jim Fox on drums and Dale Peters on bass. This was the ultimate power trio of musicians and many bands tried to do the same thing. Joe Walsh left the band shorthly after these photos were taken to do a solo career and the James Gang was never successful without him.
The classic lineup came together a few more times after that. They reunited for an election rally for Bill Clinton in Cleveland, Ohio which is where the band actually originated. In 1996 and then again in 2006, they toured the United States with a keyboardist and backing vocalists.
Enjoy a look into the past of the James Gang.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
February 4, 2013
It's Mardi Gras time!! Dr. John, sometimes called Dr. John the Night Tripper, brought a little Mardi Gras to Milwaukee's Summerfest in July of 1972.
Being a New Orleans native, Dr. John brings the Mardi Gras with him wherever he goes. In these photographs you can just see the party atmosphere he brings with the glitter on his face and his great hat!
His band with two drummers and a nice chorus was excellent and we all had a good time. Such a good time that after Summerfest that night we continued to party at a bar near Marquette Unversity 'til early in the morning. I can still see Dr. John coming out of a dressing room in his sunglasses at that club and it was filled with incense smoke!
If you look in the background on one of my photographs here you can see some cranes off to the right side. That's when they were constructing Milwaukee's famous Hoan Bridge. The bridge is getting old now and parts of it are falling to the ground at Summerfest. It needs some repair work. The view from the bridge of a sunrise or of the Summerfest crowd is amazing, but another blog story.
Nothing like a little Mardi Gras in July to have a fun night!
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
January 28, 2013
Richie Havens had a birthday last week. He is a young 72 years old!
My first meeting with Richie was at the Wisconsin Music Festival in 1972 in his dressing room. I remember that he was so nice to me that night. I was just a young 18 year old photographer wandering around a bunch of rock stars!
Every time I saw Richie he was singing, playing guitar and practicing. He was having fun with Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstadt, Ramblin Jack Elliott and others.
Enjoy a few photographs from 1972 and Happy Birthday Richie.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
Ian Anderson the leader of Jethro Tull.
January 21, 2013
In June of 1990, the CART Indy Cars came to the Milwaukee Mile for their traditional visit the weekend after the Indy 500. The cars in 1990 were full of horsepower and had a sexier look compared to those of today. The helmets were also very different back then and this was before the now manditory HANS device for neck support. Back then, drivers simply used a foam donut collar for support!!
Emerson Fittipaldi was, and still is, my favorite race car driver. In 1990 he had the number 1 on his car after winning the Indy Car Championship the year before. He had won in Formula One cars, retired and then came back in winning form with Roger Penske's racing team. Emerson raced for a few more years and even tried being an Indy car team owner with Tiago Montiero as a driver for a year. I miss seeing Emerson drive these days because he really had determination to win whenever he was in the race car.
Attached are a few photographs from the race at the Milwaukee Mile in 1990 and a photo of the qualifying speeds on the board that was used that day. This was still a time when we just had a board instead of computer screens everywhere with information for us all to see!!
All blog photographs are for sale at a special price of $30.00 for a limited edition 8 X 10 or 8 1/2 X 11 gloss print which includes shipping in the U.S.. This sale is just during the week of the featured blog. Contact us soon.
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter @ richzimmermann.com
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
January 14, 2013
The place was the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The date was April 19, 1975, and the Hunter-Ronson band was playing. Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople and the core of David Bowie's band, Mick Ronson, were at work here.
Mick Ronson was with Ian Hunter touring around America as the Hunter-Ronson band. Mick had just finished working with David Bowie who identified Mick as "the perfect foil for the Ziggy character". He was referring, of course, to Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. As a rock duo, Mick Ronson and David Bowie were like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards being a great rock duo. Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson were also a good duo that night.
In researching for this blog, I discovered a couple of interesting facts about Mick Ronson other than the fact he was one of the best guitar players of all time. Mick worked on Pure Praire League's 1972 album Bustin' Out with guitar, vocals and string ensemble arrangements! He also worked with John Mellencamp on his album American Fool and was instrumental in helping John arrange Jack & Diane, one of his most famous songs. Mick, put in the baby rattles and sang "let it rock, let it roll" on that song.
The week of this concert was a busy week for me as I look back on my photo records. March 19, 1975 I was photographing Joe Walsh at the Riverside Theater and then I had to go to Marquette University to photograph my friend Uncle Vinty! March 21, I was photographing John Mayall at the Uptown Theater where the Hunter-Ronson band was the night before! It was a busy time and a good time for me being a rock'n'roll photographer.
Attached are a few photographs for you to enjoy from the Hunter-Ronson show.
All blog photographs are for sale at a special price of $30.00 for a limited edition 8 X 10 or 8 1/2 X 11 gloss print which includes shipping in the U.S.. This sale is just during the week of the featured blog. Contact us soon.
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter @ richzimmermann.com
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
January 7, 2013
Fresh out of my senior year of high school I was trying to fulfill my dream of becoming a rock'n'roll photographer. This path took me to the Milwaukee Arena, photographing Jethro Tull for the Bugle American newspaper on June 6, 1972.
Jethro Tull was very popular in 1972 with their albums "Aqualung" and "Thick As A Brick" being released. The show that night was full of theatrics with props and costume changes. Ian Anderson, the leader of the band, plays flute, guitar and also does the majority of the vocals in between running around the stage. In the photographs here you can see Ian playing guitar and flute and also answering the telephone and playing a symbal under the piano.
I would photograph Ian and his band Jethro Tull two more times in the coming years but this performance was the most memorable with Martin Barre on guitar. Martin was the calm one on stage just playing great guitar. Jeffrey Hammond was on bass with John Evan on piano and organ.
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter @ richzimmermann.com
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
December 31, 2012
Happy New Years Eve everyone! Have a nice New Years Eve and a safe, healthy, prosperous 2013.
My blog today is about the greatest rock'n'roll band ever, Led Zeppelin! I actually debated with myself on that statement because I am a huge Rolling Stones fan. Today, I think that the Rolling Stones are the second best rock'n'roll band in the world. Tomorrow, I might change that statement!
These photographs are from January 20, 1975. I walked in the backstage door along with a few friends. We were all carrying Nikons. I was working for the Bugle-American Newspaper and that was always good for general admission access to the Chicago Amphitheater. It didn't matter that this was the Chicago Blackhawks hockey rink because that night it belonged to Led Zeppelin and a whole lot of fans.
Getting anywhere close to the stage was impossible for me, so the photographs were taken from a distance, but it is still a glimpse at Led Zeppelin! The greatest rock'n'roll band in the world!
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter @ richzimmermann.com
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
December 17, 2012
A.J. Foyt has driven just about every type of race car. His specialty and love has always been Indy Cars, either old roadster type or the present day rear engine car.
He is now a team owner in the IRL Indy Car series, but in 1990, as we see here, he was racing in the CART series against Mario Andretti and others. The images attached are from the 1990 season at the Milwaukee Mile and Elkhart Lake's, Road America, where A.J. had his terrible accident going off in Turn 1 and really damaging his feet.
The rivalry between he and Mario was made for television and it brought crowds to the race track. However, it has been said that they were never really friends. In two of the pictures attached here of A. J. and Mario, I would really like to know what they are saying to each other!
A.J. has had some coarse relationships with his drivers but that is because of his love of racing I think. Tony Stewart is the one driver that had a great time with A.J. and when Tony won the NASCAR championship a while ago A.J. was the first phone call Tony got to congratulate him!
We need more racers like A.J. Foyt and Mario that live for Indy Car racing.
Attached are a few photographs from the race that day for you to enjoy.
All blog photographs are for sale at a special price of $30.00 for a limited edition 8 X 10 or 8 1/2 X 11 gloss print which includes shipping in the U.S.. This sale is just during the week of the featured blog. Contact us soon.
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter @ richzimmermann.com
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
