Elliott Landy with cameraI liked going out with girls, and I liked taking pictures, so which one do I wanna make money from?

Thanks to advancements in recording technology throughout the years, along with the amazing ability to carry our music collection with us, we can hear the history behind the music at the drop of a hat in a number of different ways, but the magic of musical movements is never only isolated to the music itself.

Rather, the great moments in music are often defined by incredibly detailed aesthetics and how these aesthetics relate to political and social contexts.

This is why being able to see music history is almost as essential as being able to hear it. And when it comes to what is arguably the most significant development in modern music, we owe one man, in particular, a huge debt of gratitude… Mr. Elliott Landy.

One of the first music photographers to ever be referred to as an “artist”, Elliott Landy’s documentation of music culture in the 60s and beyond was and still is of crucial importance.

Yet, as the man behind the camera, he doesn’t get nearly enough attention, which is why, today, I’ll be shining the spotlight on him for a change.

Shutterbug Beginnings

Landy was born in 1942 somewhere in the USA. No information more specific than that is readily available, but as he graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, we can assert two things with relative certainty.

  1. He was born either in or around the Bronx borough or otherwise moved to the area at a young age — His thick New York accent in interviews backs this theory up.
  2. He was an incredibly gifted child.

See, the BHSoS is no ordinary high school; it’s a specialist school that accepts only 800 of 30,000 applicants each year, celebrates seven Pulitzer Prize-winning alumni, and currently holds the world record for the most Nobel Prize-winning alumni (eight, if you’re wondering).

So, yeah… little Landy must have been something of a prodigy.

After graduating, Elliott landed a spot in The Baruch College affiliated with the City University of New York.

What he studied during his time in college is unknown, but whatever qualification he received upon graduation didn’t pan out in his favor at first, as he ended up accepting a dead-end office job.

Read the full article on the Rocks Off Magazine Site