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Getting Intimate With Crosby, Stills And Nash: From The Archives Of Rowland Scherman
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 30, 2013
Modified Feb 6, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 30, 2013
Modified Feb 6, 2013
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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 Folk Festival in 1963, dipped our toes into Woodstock, and admired Janis Joplin. Now, Rowland explains how he ended up appearing on the Woodstock album:
Judy Collins lived in New York, and we hung out there for a while. I got Steve Stills playing piano in Judy's apartment, that's a neat shot. They were an item back then, which is why I knew about them when Woodstock came along because Judy and I were at the taping of the first Crosby, Stills and Nash record, late, late, late at night in LA.
Even then, I knew that these guys would be immense. You could tell. Or was it the pot? Nah, it could not have been only that. What they were putting together was just so thrilling to listen to: Steve would put the bass track down, and then a voice, and then the harmonies. What they were doing were just amazing, and everyone there (including Ahmet Ertegün, who also was there) knew it. I stopped listening to any music until that record came out, because I couldn't get those harmonies out of my head.
And then when I found out they were going to be at Woodstock, that's the real reason I went there. In fact, I'm on the record, I think. I looked for myself in the Woodstock movie and I never did see myself. [Photographer] Jim Marshall's in it a lot. When Crosby, Stills and Nash went onstage and said, "Tell 'em who we are," Steve said, "They'll know if you start playing." And they started "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," you know, 'da na na na na,' and you could hear this guy saying "Yeah!" in the background—that's me!
Tagged
crosby stills and nash
Music
photography
rock
rowland scherman
woodstock
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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