Some history of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1987!

December 12, 2022

On November 30th, we lost musician Christine McVie from the band Fleetwood Mac. I was fortunate enough to photograph Christine with Fleetwood Mac three times through the years. She had such a great voice and was a talented artist.  She even did the album cover artwork for their album "Kiln House". That album is one of my personal favorites, especially  the song "Station Man".

In my very early photography days back on October 20th 1971 at the Milwaukee Arena, I photographed Rory Gallager, Frank Zappa and Fleetwood Mac with Christine. Also playing in the band was guitarist and vocalist Bob Welch who passed in 2012.  Rhythm guitarist, Danny Kirwan, also played that night. He passed away in 2018.

Maybe there is a new Fleetwood Mac band upstairs having fun and playing music again. Christine and Bob Welch really worked well together with their awesome vocals. Christine has been quoted saying  that she really enjoyed working with Bob.

These black and white photos shown here are not the greatest photos I've ever taken but I was just getting started at 17 years old!

The next time I photographed Fleetwood Mac was on September 11th, 1977 at Milwaukee County Stadium. I wasn't allowed to photograph the show but had fun backstage taking a few photos and then listened to the band play to a very large crowd. One of the photos shows Christine backstage with a large boombox! Kenny Loggins and his band opened up  for Fleetwood Mac that night.

Then in 1987 as a house photographer for Alpine Valley Music Theater, I was allowed to take a few photos and one of Christine is included here as the last photo.

Enjoy a look at Christine, Bob Welch, Danny Kirwan and a couple of Mick Fleetwood.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

November 28, 2022

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

A few weeks ago we lost one of the best rock 'n' rollers to ever play. Jerry Lee Lewis ,"The Killer", was one of a kind and we will never have another musician or person like him.

I had the pleasure on July 18, 1972 to not only photograph The Killer but to chat with him and his band backstage that night. Really a nice guy and had alot of fun with him that night.

The band Truc, also known as Truc of America,opened the show for Jerry Lee Lewis. Drummer Ed Sison became a good friend and was also playing for the band The Ox in those days.

Enjoy a look at both bands from that night.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Rick Springfield having a fun night at Summerfest on July 9, 2022

October 17, 2022

I'm finally getting caught up a bit since most of my Summer racing and music photography is complete!

Now it's time to share some of the past shows and events.

This blog is on Rick Springfield at Summerfest on July 9th this past Summer.

Nice hot night for a hot show with Rick rocking it out with his band! He and the guys were one of the better shows I saw at Summerfest this year.

During the show, Rick tossed at lot of red and white roses into the air and the stage was full of them. Made the ladies in the front very happy it seemed!

Check out his tennis shoes. Each shoe was a different color. That was interesting!

Enjoy a look at Rick and his band.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Rise Against ROCKIN' the Summerfest stage on 9-4-2021.

March 21, 2022

Finally catching up with all the bands I photographed at Summerfest last September!

This is the band Rise Against, who I must say is the LOUDEST band I've heard in a long time and I've been doing this for over 50 years! Maybe they are the loudest ever as my body shook to the core at this show!

The punk rock band was formed in 1999 by bassist Joe Principe and has had a few versions through the years.

Joe recruited Tim Mcllrath and they were the band for years. The present band also includes Brandon Barnes on drums and Zach Blair on the second lead guitar.

Tim Mcllrath does the main vocals and lead guitar and powers up the band.

The stage setup was very interesting and a bit tough as a photographer to shoot. The guys had monitors that lit up with graphics in the very front of the stage. Plus, they had huge speakers in the photo pit to maneuver around.

Doesn't matter though because I always try to get'er done somehow even with only two songs to shoot!

Enjoy a look at the band. It's only 91 days until Summerfest gets going again!!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

February 7, 2022

Every once in a while an old photo job comes to mind.

This was one of those fun jobs at Ed Debevic's restaurant here in Milwaukee on September 18,1996. Some of the cast from "Happy Days" came to help promote being rebroadcast on the cable channel Nick at Night.

Marion Ross who played Mrs. Cunningham or Mrs. C came was so much fun that night.  She said several times to me that she was my real mother once I introduced myself to her.  I became Richie Cunningham for a few hours, not Rich Zimmermann!

Tom Bosley who played Mr. C, Erin Moran who played Joanie Cunningham and Pat Morita who played Arnold the chef also showed up for fun and celebration.

Pat Morita was the nicest guy and is a great comedian! He flipped some burgers that night as he did on "Happy Days" and interacted with everybody.

A good friend of mine and I were hired for the event.  Tom Bosley after posing with about 30 couples said he was done!  Guess I was done too.

Marion Ross is 93 years old now and unfortunately the rest have passed on. Ed Debevic's closed years ago in Milwaukee but the Chicago location is still thriving.

Enjoy a look at the cast in 1996 at Ed Debevic's.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

January 10, 2022

Happy New Year to all and best wishes for a great ahead!  I hope you like this blog on the Shinyribs! If you've never heard of them listen to them on iTunes, Spotify or something else. You won't regret it!

The Shinyribs are from Austin, Texas and are led by Kevin Russell who is a show in himself. He is the leader for sure and has a lot of fun with his large band and multiple singers.

My Rich Zimmermann Photography calendar for 2022 has the Shinyribs on the cover. Hope you got one of my calendars!

The show on September 4, 2021 at Summerfest was so good, I stayed for the whole thing.

Try to see Kevin and his band the Shinyribs whenever you can.  It's a fun show and you will enjoy it.

Here are some photos from that night.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

December 13, 2021

On September 9, 2021 George Thorogood and the Destroyers played at Summerfest. It was one of the many shows I photographed at Summerfest for Milwaukeeindependent.com this past summer and fall.

George has been playing a long time and still sounds great. He moved the house! Our local musician,Jon Paris, (now living in NYC), played with George years ago.  Jon also played with Link Wray and Johnny Winter but that's another story.

The band now has Jeff Simon on drums, Bill Blough on bass, Buddy Leah on sax and Jim Suhler trying to keep up with George!!

They all did a great job and the lighting was fun to photograph.  The other show I did that night for two songs only, was practically in the dark.  George lit it up and lit up the crowd with a lot of energy!

Enjoy a look at September 9th fun.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann