TORONTO—Whether hanging out on a roof with John Lennon, on a runway with Led Zeppelin, or on a subway car with the Ramones, rock photographer Bob Gruen has always had a knack for capturing the moment.
He once played bugle for the Clash, he served as personal photographer to Lennon and Yoko Ono, and his 69th birthday party last year attracted the likes of Alice Cooper, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Debbie Harry.
Toronto’s Liss Gallery is hosting an exhibition and sale of the New Yorker’s most-famous work beginning June 23 and running to July 11.
Ahead of his trip to Toronto for the exhibition, Gruen shared the stories behind some of his most famous photographs.
John Lennon
Gruen took many photos of Lennon during his post-Beatles American phase, but none more famous than his shots of Lennon peering into the camera behind circular shades, lanky arms exposed under a sleeveless shirt reading “New York City.”
The shirt was a garment unique to the sidewalks of Times Square that Gruen used to buy in bunches. He cut the sleeves off one to lend it a “New York look” and gifted it to Lennon.
