Jeff Beck performing the last time I would see him October 23, 2022 at the Chicago Theater.

January 13, 2025

Hope everyone is having a good start to the New Year and prayers for everyone in Los Angeles. What a mess of a fire going on there.

My favorite band has always been the Rolling Stones but favorite musician and guitarist goes to Jeff Beck who passed away two years ago already. January 10, 2023 was a shocking and sad day when we suddenly lost Jeff.

I was lucky enough to meet and photograph Jeff in my senior year of high school (1972) when I worked for the Bugle American newspaper as a music photographer here in Milwaukee.

The Seigal Schwall band from Chicago opened the show for Jeff and became friends as they played Milwaukee a lot.

I believe Corky Seigal introduced me to Jeff who was the most humble and nicest musician I've ever met.  He could play a Fender Stratocaster better than anyone. Jeff didn't sing and let his guitar do all the work.

Photographed Jeff a lot through the years and I was lucky to be part of his BECK01 book a few years back. Copy number 10 of the very limited run is signed and in our house here with 5 of my photographs in it.

On January 22 in London a live stream of Jeff's vast guitar collection is going up for auction by Christies Auction House. It is sad, but good that they will all be played and appreciated again. The catalog book is for sale.  It's amazing and an education to learn about Jeff's history with his guitars.

I last saw Jeff at the Chicago Theater on October 23, 2022 not realizing that it would be the last time. I photographed him six times and saw him a few more times just to enjoy the show.

So here are a few photographs of Jeff and the band through the years. It's hard to pick a favorite. More photographs are on my website of course in the Rock category. Miss you my friend. Enjoy a look at the best guitarist ever.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

December 28, 2024

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Here we are a few days away from 2025 already and I wish the best of health to all. Been a rough 2024 around here for my wife and me with my bladder cancer and other issues. Thanks to her I have the best nurse 24/7 and I love her a lot.

I was trying to figure out what to do for this blog and I recently found out that a local guitarist, Greg Koch, grew up in my old neighborhood in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Right around the block from us really but I never realized it as he's 12 years younger and we moved when he was 5 years old.

Greg in 2012 was recognized by Fender Guitars as the one of the 10 top unsung guitarists of the world! He has a very unique style and won the 1989 Bluesbreaker Guitar Showdown judged by blues man Buddy Guy. In April of 2023 he was inducted into the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame.

He is a master guitar playing teacher with a lot of videos and has given a lot of lessons worldwide. In 2020, Guitar World called him one of the best guitar teachers.

I photographed Greg in 2009 and 2010 at Summerfest and seen him play a few other times. If you get a chance, go see him play and you won't regret it.

Enjoy a few photos from Summerfest 2009 and 2010.

Have a wonderful 2025 and great health to all.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

July 29, 2024

This blog was going to be part 2 of the Indy Cars at Road America last June but that will have to wait until the next blog.

Reason being, we just lost one of the most influential musicians ever with the passing of John Mayall on July 23, 2024 at 90 years old. He was still touring and playing but passed away at home in California.

He got into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of fame as a musical influencer this year. My photos of him have been submitted for his induction.

John started in the early 1960's and his lineup of fellow musicians through the years is amazing. Without John we wouldn't have a lot of musicians that he hired and discovered.

Some of them are Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Keef Hartley, Jack Bruce, Sugarcane Harris, Jon Mark and Johnny Almond. That's just a few and he really brought to us a lot of great musicians in his John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers band.

John was a great guitar player but also an amazing harmonica and keyboard player.

I first met John in 1971 doing an interview for the Bugle American newspaper and photographing his show. He was a very nice and talented man.

I also photographed him in 1975 and 1978.

Enjoy some old photos of the master and notice his very cool harmonica holder and unique guitar.

Gonna miss you John and thanks for all you did.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

May 6, 2024

John Mayall turned 90 a few weeks ago and is being awarded the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame Musical Influence Award in 2024. About time he gets put into the Hall of Fame after so many musicians he helped start out are in there after being part of the John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers band.

Had the pleasure of photographing John and many of the musicians he had with him in his band in the early 1970's several times.

We can thank John for bringing us Mick Fleetwood who would then do his own band Fleetwood Mac with another Bluesbreakers musician John McVie.

Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce who would form Cream. Keef Hartley the drummer seen below, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, John Almond and so many others I could mention but John Mayall really influenced the blues and music starting in 1963 and still going!

The photos here are all from Milwaukee in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975 when I was working for the Bugle American newspaper and had my photo studio.

John Mayall influenced my taste of music greatly I believe starting with his most famous tune "Room to Move".

His harmonica and guitar playing are really, really good and checkout the harmonica holder he wears and his guitar full of holes. Very cool plus he always seemed to have a Fox tail hanging around his belt!

Enjoy a look at the master and influencer WAY before there were influencers.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

A little tour of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975 in Milwaukee.

April 8, 2024

I've been a music and rock'n'roll photographer since I was 16 years old (1970) for several newspapers, bands, record companies, Summerfest and more. I wanted to work for Rolling Stone Magazine as a music photographer but it was never meant to be apparently.

An album cover was another item that I ALWAYS wanted but never achieved until this week! I have done photos inside of albums, books and several publications but have never gotten the elusive album cover until now.

On June 3, 1973 at Milwaukee's Performing Arts Center, Foghat played with the Thomas Jefferson Kaye band as the opening act. I photographed the show for the Bugle American newspaper here in Milwaukee.

Bearsville Records Inc. along with Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company, contacted me a few months ago for usage of my photos for a Record Store Day Foghat album release on April 20th.

Thanks to using metadata in all of my photos on my website, they found me.

The album called Foghat-Permission to Jam-Live in New Orleans is from a show they recorded on September 1 and 2, 1973. This is my first ever album cover and they used three other photos on the back cover. It is a huge honor and only took me 54 years of photography to get'er done.

The album cover is a nice full photo of the band in black and white and the three photos of mine on the back cover were color but they made them black and white.

Lonesome Dave Peverett was the vocalist, leader of the band and a character. Dave was a lot of fun and had the energy to ROCK!

So enjoy a peak at the only copy that is in our house here but you can pick one up soon at your record store.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

March 11, 2024

On June 15, 1977 Pink Floyd brought their Animals/In The Flesh tour to the Milwaukee County Stadium for another great show in the rain!! Their last show here in 1975 for the Wish You Were Here tour was also a rainy event.

It was another amazing show and a lot of work for their team to set up and protect all the gear from the rain. The rain stopped the show a few times, but no one cared.

Notice the photo of The Pig before it was inflated for the show and traveled about via a cable.

Enjoy a look at the setting up and rehearsal plus a bit of the show.

The setlist consisted of;

1. Sheep

2. Pigs on the Wing 1

3. Dogs

4. Pigs on the Wing 2

5. Pigs (Three Different Ones)

6. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)

7. Welcome to the Machine

8. Have a Cigar

9. Wish You Were Here

!0. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)

11. Money

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Pink Floyd doing their "Animals Tour" June 15, 1977 at the Milwaukee County Stadium.

February 26, 2024

On June 22, 1975, the Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" tour came to the Milwaukee County Stadium for a show.

Milwaukee County Stadium was not real happy to have their nice grass baseball field messed up, so I was hired for insurance purposes by Daydream Productions to photograph it before and after! One of the weirdest photo jobs I've ever had but I also got to photograph the setup and rehearsal for the show.

That is why you see a friend holding a board that has 21 on it for the June 21 field condition on the day before the show.

It took two days to set it up and the field survived well enough that more shows were allowed like the Rolling Stones a few months earlier when I also photographed the grass.

Fun to look at the old days and the gear that was used for the show. An airplane they made that flew on a wire over the crowd was one of the more interesting things used.

For the show it rained and I didn't risk the photo gear getting soaked but the crowd didn't care. The show started and stopped a few times and ended at 12:30am with the crowd still wanting more!

Enjoy a look at the setup, people, cars and staging on a very hot couple of days! It makes you appreciate all the work it takes to setup a major show and notice the $0.65 beer!

Also take a look at the guy with the long curly out of control hair parted right down the middle. That would be me!

Here is the setlist from the night.

1. Sheep

2. Dogs

3. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)

4. Have a Cigar

5. Speak to Me

6. Breathe

7. On the Run

8. Time

9. Breathe (Reprise)

10. The Great Gig in the Sky

11. Money

12. Us and Them

13. Ant Colour You Like

14. Brain Damage

15. Eclipse

16. Echoes

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann