Herb Greene
Encyclopedia
Herb Greene is an American
photographer known for his photographs of 1960s San Francisco musicians.
musicians of the era. His photographs are a noted record of the era and were used as cover art for several recordings including Jefferson Airplane's
Surrealistic Pillow
album, and the Grateful Dead's
In the Dark and Dylan & the Dead
. He has published several books of photographs, primarily focusing on the Grateful Dead. Greene made portraits of other prominent musicians including Jeff Beck
, Joe Cocker
, The Pointer Sisters, Janis Joplin
, Led Zeppelin
, Carlos Santana
, Sly Stone
, and Rod Stewart
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer known for his photographs of 1960s San Francisco musicians.
Career
Herb Greene was part of the 1960s San Francisco art scene and a friend of many of psychedelic rockPsychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
musicians of the era. His photographs are a noted record of the era and were used as cover art for several recordings including Jefferson Airplane's
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
Surrealistic Pillow
Surrealistic Pillow
Surrealistic Pillow is the second album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in February 1967.Original drummer Alexander 'Skip' Spence had left the band in mid-1966, replaced by a jazz drummer from Los Angeles, Spencer Dryden, a nephew of Charlie Chaplin. New lead vocalist...
album, and the Grateful Dead's
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
In the Dark and Dylan & the Dead
Dylan & The Dead
Dylan & the Dead is a collaborative live album by Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, released in 1989 by Columbia Records. It consists of seven songs written and sung by Dylan, with the Dead providing accompaniment. The album was produced by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler.Dylan & the Dead was...
. He has published several books of photographs, primarily focusing on the Grateful Dead. Greene made portraits of other prominent musicians including Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, The Pointer Sisters, Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
.
Hieroglyphics wall
The iconic wall of hieroglyphics used as a background for the Surrealistic Pillow cover photography along with many other famous photos of San Fransisco musicians in the late 1960s was in Greene's dining room. As he removed wallpaper from the room, Greene found the phrase "Happy New Year" written on the wall. Before he had a chance to paint over it, his roommate drew the hieroglyphics which originally upset him but went on to be synonymous with the image of San Fransisco psychedelic music.Books
- The Book of the Dead Delta (1990), ISBN 978-0385299473
- Dead Days: A Grateful Dead Illustrated History (1996), ISBN 978-1888358001
- Sunshine Daydreams (1991), ISBN 978-0877018131