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Cyrille Victor as Jimi Hendrix, Karen Elson as Janis Joplin & Matt Duffie as Jim Morrison in Rock The House editorial from American Vogue - November 2001. I love this photo because when you see other people impersonating rockstars as legendary as this, it makes you realise how unique their original style and image actually was, and how much of a statement they made. But would each of their individual looks be as famous as they are if it wasn't for their musical ability & fame? For example, a man with a bare chest, long curly dark locks and leather pants will automatically be associated with Jim Morrison. A typical hippy girl with tassels, sequins and round glasses will automatically be associated with Janis Joplin and a man with a bandana, a guitar and a military jacket will be associated with Jimi Hendrix. This is because they each had a statement musical style. They were legends in their era for specific reasons, so their dress sense and style has been noticed as an iconic trademark along with their music and personalities. As I said above, I love seeing editorials & photoshoots with people impersonating rockstars and fashion icons, because their style is so unique and stand-out ish that it's interesting to see what people come up with and how good they are at imitating an icon.
On May 19th, 1968, my brother and I took our girlfriends to an outdoor rock concert – the Northern California Folk-Rock Festival at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Besides the Doors, other performers at the venue were the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & the Holding Company (Janis Joplin’s group), Country Joe & the Fish, Jefferson Airplane, Steve Miller, Taj Mahal, the Youngbloods, the Sons of Champlin, the Loading Zone, and a few other San Francisco bands from that era.
My brother Mark thought to bring our dad’s 1962 era Bell & Howell “Zoomatic” 8 mm movie camera — the exact same model with which Abraham Zapruder captured the assassination of JFK. No batteries, no electronics, just a wind-up spring for power. As far as anybody knows, this is the only known footage from this concert. There are lots of still shots on the Internet, but no video. After trying unsuccessfully to get the remaining Doors to sign off on allowing me to market this footage on eBay — they asked me to “donate” it to their archives — fat chance; I’ve decided to upload it for all the world to see instead.
Mark entrusted me with the film, so I had the original 8 mm Kodachrome footage remastered digitally. The images were passed through an aerial image optical system from a projector to a high end camera which then sends the signal directly to a DVCAM/Mini DV deck. It’s in color, about three and a half minutes long (the last half exclusively of the Doors), however…
The Doors are legendary for both classic songs and Jim Morrison being maybe the ultimate rock star. Songs like “The End” and “Light My Fire” have stood the test of time, as have Morrison’s poetry-inspired lyrics, drug and alcohol binges, on-stage arrests, and the mystique of his untimely death.
Blondie rose to fame with the punk and new wave trends of the late 1970s, but also experimented with raggae, disco, and even rap. Along the way they released several hits and Debbie Harry became an icon. Blondie broke up in 1982 but reformed in 1997. By the way, I chose this video months ago.
TBWA’s First Floor Under has launched a series of posters that include CDs forming images of famous musicians such as Bob Marley, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, among others.
Credits:
Advertising Agency: FirstFloorUnder TBWA\Italy, Milan Italy Creative Directors: Francesco Guerrera, Nicola Lampugnani Art Director: Moreno De Turco Copywriter: Mirco Pagano Photographer: FM Photographers Published: March 2011
Notes about project (from I Believe in Advertising):
These posters were produced for the inauguration of the First Floor Under. The publisher’s digital TBWA Italy. The first show was about music piracy and the exhibition was composed of the six pictures shown in a poster from a video installation and performance in stop motion.
Here is the first recorded version of The End. It’s from the first show at the Matrix Club, San Francisco, on March 7, 1967… You can see some pictures and footage, for example, from the Madison Square Garden Concert or The Doors’ film, Feast of Friends.
Music
