For a few years, beginning in the late Sixties, Elliott Landy photographed many of the biggest names in what is now referred to as classic rock. His iconic images of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and The Band are featured on their album covers and his work has appeared on the covers of numerous magazines, from Rolling Stone to Life to Saturday Evening Post. He was the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock Music & Arts Festival. Clapton. Hendrix. Baez. The Who. Joplin. In the late Sixties, Landy photographed them and many more.
In his book, Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation, first published in 1994 and expanded to twice the size in the latest 2009 edition, Landy shares his colorful, first-hand stories of his friendship and collaboration with many of these artists.
His story of how the iconic cover photograph of Bob Dylan’s 1969 album, Nashville Skyline, is one of many that Landy tells in the book. Portions of it are reprinted here, in italics, with his permission, along with my new discussion with the photographer in January 2019 about how the photo came to be.
I moved to Woodstock in 1968. I had fallen in love with the lifestyle there and expected that I would do more work with Dylan and the Band. I used to see Bob occasionally here and there.
In early 1969 he called and asked me to take a picture for the back of his new album, Nashville Skyline.He had the front cover already picked out—a picture of the skyline of Nashville, where he had recorded the album.
By that time in our relationship, we were kind of friendly. I was 26; Bob was 27. I didn’t see him a lot but when we did see each other, there was an ease and a closeness there. When I arrived at his home on Upper Byrdcliffe in Woodstock, he played the album for me and we talked a lot.
Leave A Comment