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Revisiting Woodstock '69: From The Archives Of Rowland Scherman
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 16, 2013
Modified Jan 16, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 16, 2013
Modified Jan 16, 2013
Share
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Photographer Rowland Scherman, who grew up in Pelham Manor, NY, began his career as the first photographer for the newly formed Peace Corps in 1961. He went on to work for the likes of Life, Time, National Geographic, Playboy, and countless other magazines. He even won a Grammy Award for his iconic photograph cover of "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits."
But as far as Rowland is concerned, he views himself as "the Forrest Gump of Photography," consistently stumbling into the right place at the right time—and he was there to document some of the most iconic moments of the 1960s and 1970s. For the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at some of his incredible photos and the stories behind them, including pictures of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Woodstock, the March on Washington, John Lennon, Bobby Kennedy, and more. To see more of his work, check out his website here—and also make sure to check out the trailer for a documentary being made about him here.
Previously, we got a peek at a very young Bob Dylan making his debut at Newport in 1963. Today, we're headed to Woodstock.
I was dragged there kicking and screaming: "I don't want to go, I don't want to go." And they said, "Oh, Crosby, Still and Nash will be there," and I said..."Okay, I'll go." Also there were a lot of drugs around, and I was much more interested in having fun than in being a serious photographer but…it's hard to explain. God I wish I had worked harder! Who knew that all these years later it would still be so important?
I got some wonderful pictures of Janis Joplin, of Crosby, Stills and Nash and Joe Cocker, those cats. Most of the time, however, I was, you know, looking for weed, finding a little, and laughing. It was such an amazing weekend. Everyone loved everybody. No fights, no animosity of any kind anywhere. It was never to be repeated, apparently. It was just one of those times. That's my take, anyway.
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Music
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rowland scherman
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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