Bob Gruen
Bob Gruen, born in New York in 1945, is one of the most respected and well-known photographers in rock and roll. He has captured the music scene for forty years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition.He began photographing rock stars with Bob Dylan and served as John Lennon’s personal photographer during his time in New York City.
As chief photographer for Rock Scene Magazine in the 70s, Bob specialized in behind the scenes photo features. He toured extensive with major rock acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Elton John, Aerosmith, Kiss and Alice Cooper as well as with the emerging punk and new wave bands including the New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Clash, Ramones, Patti Smith Group and Blondie. As an active freelancer for other magazines like Cream, Melody Maker and Rolling Stone among others.
Bob’s photographs have appeared on the covers and filled the pages of many of these seminal publications capturing the whole scene; on stage, offstage, on tour, at parties, at play, at home and relaxing.
His unassuming behind-the-lens figure embedded himself with rock bands so deeply that in some cases he was regarded as a virtual member.
While visiting John and Yoko’s recording session at the Record Plant in NYC, Mick joined John and Yoko behind a piano to sing along on a song Yoko had just written and they seemed to all have a lot of fun together.
"For me, rock 'n' roll is all about freedom. It's about the freedom to express your feelings very loudly in public."
"I try to capture that moment of freedom, that moment when everybody's yelling 'Yay!' and nobody's thinking about paying the rent."
— Bob Gruen
Documentary
Rock´n Roll Exposed
The Photography
of Bob Gruen
By Don Letts
From Led Zeppelin to The Rolling Stones, Elvis to Madonna, Bob Dylan to Bob Marley, John Lennon to Johnny Rotten, Bob Gruen has captured half a century of music through the eye of a lens. In this landmark documentary, Grammy award-winning filmmaker Don Letts reveals the stories behind some of the most famous rock 'n' roll photographs of all time. 'Rock 'N' Roll Exposed' features interviews with Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Yoko Ono, Alice Cooper, Billie Joe Armstrong and many more.
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Exhibitions by Bob Gruen
Recent Show, 2021
Museum of Image and Sound | MIS-SP
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Books
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
by Bob Gruen
Right Place - Right Time
Book release
New York City
October - 2020
NEW BOOK
Right Time Right Place
Bob Gruen
Abrams Books
The Life of a Rock and Roll Photographer
An action-packed memoir that takes readers front row, backstage, and on the road with rock and roll's hardest-working photographer Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in rock and roll.
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Selected Work
The Teenage Bedroom Installation
Teenage Bedroom Installation at San Francisco "Rockers" Exhibit. SF, 2019
Bob Gruen’s Teenage Bedroom was shown at MoMA’s exhibition "Looking At Music: Side 2" (2009) which explored the creative exchange between musicians and artists in New York City in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The work consists of walls covered with band posters, newsprint articles with images, and maga- zine covers, all featuring Gruen’s rock photos, to resemble the typical bedroom decor of a teenage rock fan.
The Vintage Archive
