Showing posts with label Richard Avedon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Avedon. Show all posts
September 17, 2025
February 18, 2024
Elton John ~ Chorus of Light
~
Today I got a notice from Barneby's Auction Gallery that Christie's Auction House is auctioning off $10 million worth of artworks,
clothing and photographs from the former home in Atlanta, Georgia, that was owned by Elton John.
It prompted me to dig into my photographic book collection and find
the book I have of his photography collection; I hadn't looked at it in
years and once again I was amazed by the great classics of photography he had.
Farewell – Yellow Brick Road was the name of the Elton John three-year farewell tour, which ended in Stockholm in July 2023 and was one of the most successful concert series in history with sales of over $800 million. Another farewell followed soon after, as Sir Elton parted ways with his Atlanta, Georgia home, an impressive penthouse on Peachtree Road. The apartment, owned by the musician since 1992, changed hands for $7.2 million.
"Goodbye Peachtree Road" is now the title of the auction series in which Christie's New York will be auctioning off a variety of works of art and personal objects from the Atlanta home of Elton John and his husband David Furnish this month.
Terry O'Neill (1938-2019), Elton John Performing a Handstand, 1972, gelatin silver print, 45 x 55.8 cm. Photo © Christie's.
The 924 lots will go under the hammer in a total of nine auctions. The Evening Sale on February 21 is followed by the Day Sale on February 22 and 23 in two sessions. Bidding is already open for the lots from the online auctions, which end on February 27 and 28.The highlights of the auction include a black concert grand piano on which Elton John composed many a hit . . .
Concert grand piano, model C6F PE, Yamaha Corporation, Hamamatsu, Japan, circa 1992. Photo © Christie.
. . . iconic stage outfits from his decades-long career as a gifted live performer, exclusive Versace shirts and sofas covered with the Italian fashion house's fabrics, as well as some very personal artworks by artists such as Julian Schnabel and Damien Hirst.
Pair of silver leather platform ankle boots worn for several performances, circa 1971. Photo © Christie's
A main focus will also be on the genre of photography. In fact, the music legend owns several thousand photographs, making his one of the most extensive private photo collections in the world.Christie's shows the diverse interest with which Elton John collected photographs: a film still by Cindy Sherman can be found in the offer, as well as Robert Frank's socially critical photograph Charleston, South Carolina, 1955. Otherwise, the focus is on glamour, stars and eroticism, captured - mostly in black and white - by the biggest names in the industry, including Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Horst P. Horst, Herb Ritts and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Richard Avedon (1923-2004), Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent, Los Angeles, California, June 14, 1981, gelatin silver print 78/200, 82.8 x 124.1 cm. Photo © Christie's
The exhibition "The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road" is on view at Christie's in Rockefeller Plaza, New York until February 21.
"It is a distinct privilege for Christie’s to partner with Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish in curating the forthcoming auction: ‘The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road,'" said Tash Perrin, Vice Chairman of Christie's Americas. "This extraordinary collection not only showcases a diverse array of remarkable objects that encapsulate Elton’s unique life, work and art but also provides our clients with a glimpse into the profound impact that the city of Atlanta had on him. We take immense pride in presenting this multi-category sale, featuring a refined assortment of photographs, artworks, fashion and costumes — a testament to a man’s eclectic vision, artistry and impeccable taste."
Terry O'Neill ~ Dodger's Stadium, 1975
It has been estimated that more than $10 million is expected to be raised from this once in a life-time collection.
photos of book by Styrous®
Elton John ~ Chorus of Light - 2000
photo by Chuck Close
Elton John ~ Chorus of Light - 2000
Elton John ~ Chorus of Light
photo of book by Styrous®
photo by Chuck Close
detail photo by Styrous®
Atlanta, GA: High Museum of Art, 2000.
First edition.
Hardcover. 205pp. Folio [34cm].
Burgundy cloth over boards with
embossed titles.
Both cloth and dust jacket are very mildly worn. Near
fine / very good +. Item #60400
ISBN: 9780847823130
ISBN: 9780847823130
Viewfinder links:
YouTube links:
Antiques & the Arts Quarterly ~ Chorus of Light
Elton John World ~ Chorus of Light
High Museum of Art ~ Chorus of Light
November 9, 2023
October 30, 2021
The Cars on the cover of RollingStone by Annie Leibovitz
The Cars - 1980
During the COVID-19 year (2020) I
was going through a box of old newspapers and magazines that have been in storage for the
last thirty years or so and came across my old issues of the RollingStone magazine I'd forgotten all about.
My favorite was issue 329, dated October 30th of 1980, which featured Ric Ocasek and The Cars photographed by Annie Leibovitz; it is hard to believe it was over forty years ago. "My, how time . . . etc."
It
was a good year for Leibovitz on the Stone, she made the cover of
sixteen issues. Richard Avedon only managed to score three.
And of course, Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show had their comedic, sarcastic, tongue in cheek, 1972 hit, written by Shel Silverstein, The Cover of 'Rolling Stone,
in which they bemoan the lack of making the cover of the magazine. The
song is a parody of the rock and roll lifestyle. It pokes fun at all the
things that rock stars indulge in when they're successful: groupies,
shady characters hanging around, limo rides, etc. It's a whole lot of
fun and I love this song!
Cover peaked at No. 6 on the U.S. pop chart for two weeks on March 17–24, 1973. The success of the song led to the band actually appearing, in caricature, on the cover of RollingStone on March 29th of 1973.
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - 1973
RollingStone cover
Poison
did a cover (pun intended) of the song. It is a little slower and a bit
more syncopated than the Hook version. Country music singer Chris Janson had his turn at the song in 2017; he plays a hot harmonica and I like his voice (links below).
YouTube links:
Styrous® ~ Saturday, October 30, 2021
Well, we're big rock singers
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go (that sounds like us)
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten-thousand dollars a show (right)
We take all kinds of pills that give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone) want to see my picture on the cover
(Stone)Wanna buy five copies for my mother (yes)
(Stone)Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone (that's a very very good idea)
I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy
Who embroideries on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin Stone) want to see our pictures on the cover
(Stone) want to buy five copies for our mothers (yeah)
(Stone) want to see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Hey, I know how
Rock and roll
Ah, that's beautiful
We got a lot of little teenage blue eyed groupies
Who do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian Guru
Who's teaching us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep getting richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone)Gonna see my picture on the cover
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (wa wa)
(Stone) Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
On the cover of the Rollin'
Stone) Gonna see my picture on the cover
(talking) I don't know why we ain't on the cover, baby
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother
(talking) We're beautiful subjects
(Stone) Want to see my smilin' face
(talking) I ain't kiddin', we would make a beautiful cover
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Fresh shot, right up front, man
I can see it now, we'll be up in the front
Smilin, man
Ah, beautiful.
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go (that sounds like us)
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten-thousand dollars a show (right)
We take all kinds of pills that give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone) want to see my picture on the cover
(Stone)Wanna buy five copies for my mother (yes)
(Stone)Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone (that's a very very good idea)
I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy
Who embroideries on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin Stone) want to see our pictures on the cover
(Stone) want to buy five copies for our mothers (yeah)
(Stone) want to see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Hey, I know how
Rock and roll
Ah, that's beautiful
We got a lot of little teenage blue eyed groupies
Who do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian Guru
Who's teaching us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep getting richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone)Gonna see my picture on the cover
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (wa wa)
(Stone) Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
On the cover of the Rollin'
Stone) Gonna see my picture on the cover
(talking) I don't know why we ain't on the cover, baby
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother
(talking) We're beautiful subjects
(Stone) Want to see my smilin' face
(talking) I ain't kiddin', we would make a beautiful cover
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Fresh shot, right up front, man
I can see it now, we'll be up in the front
Smilin, man
Ah, beautiful.
Viewfinder links:
Net link:
RollingStone magazine ~ 1980 covers
Society Rock ~ The Story Behind The Cover of Rolling Stone
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show ~
The Cover of 'Rolling Stone (live)
Poison ~ The Cover of 'Rolling Stone
May 3, 2021
March 14, 2018
Audrey Hepburn articles/mentions
February 18, 2018
November 20, 2014
20,000 Vinyl LPs 32: Mike Nichols and Elaine May ~ the first dream team of comedy on vinyl
An evening with Mike Nichols & Elaine May
cover photo by Richard Avedon
photo of LP cover by Styrous®
I woke up this morning to discover that Mike Nichols died yesterday. Although I did not know him personally I was sad to hear of this as he and his partner, Elaine May, were part of my early years of discovery of the world of comedy on vinyl records and I had enjoyed many hours of pleasure listening to their routines.
One of the great cuts from the album is Telephone. This was recorded a decade or so before Lilly Tomlin introduced her world famous character, Ernestine on Saturday Night Live.
Nichols was born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky on November 6, 1931, in Berlin, Weimar Germany. He was an American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s with the improv troupe, the Compass Players, predecessor of the Second City in Chicago and as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. May was also in the Compass. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate (which starred Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman). His other films include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, (the ground breaking film which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge (the controversial film which starred Jack Nicholson), Silkwood, (which starred Meryl Streep) Working Girl, The Birdcage (which was the American adaptation of the French film, La Cage aux Folles, which starred Robin Williams), Closer, Charlie Wilson's War (his final picture), and the TV mini-series Angels in America. He also staged the original theatrical productions of Barefoot in the Park, Luv, The Odd Couple and Spamalot.
Nichols was 83 when he died.
Side 1:
A1 Telephone 8:07
A2 Adultery 7:50
Side 2:
B1 Disc Jockey 9:02
B2 Mother And Son 6:32
Credits
Directed By – Arthur Penn
Photography – Richard Avedon
Piano – Marty Rubinstein
Mother And Son on YouTube
Adultery on YouTube
Disc Jockey on YouTube
Telephone on YouTube
What a Team!
Styrous® ~ November 20, 2014
March 6, 2014
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 50: Cher ~ Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves
I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes in addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling (see link below). Interested? Contact me by email please, not by a comment.
Cher ~ Cher (aka, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves)
reel-to-reel tape cover front
cover photo by Richard Avedon
photo of album cover by Styrous®
This is the original issue of this album which was titled, Cher; the later issue was renamed, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, due to the success of the single of the same name. Both issues were released in 1971, by Kapp Records.
Cher debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one hundred ninety-four in late September. During 1972 sales reached 500,000 copies in North America, and it was certified gold by the RIAA. The album became was one of her biggest hits at the time and the lead single was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Female Vocalist".
Cher debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one hundred ninety-four in late September. During 1972 sales reached 500,000 copies in North America, and it was certified gold by the RIAA. The album became was one of her biggest hits at the time and the lead single was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Female Vocalist".
Cher ~ Cher (aka, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves)
reel-to-reel tape box back
photo by Styrous®
Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946. She met Sonny Bono in November, 1962. In late 1964, they emerged as a duo called Caesar & Cleo. Their songs were cover versions of hits by other artists.
Their version of Love Is Strange (written by Bo Diddley under the name of his wife at the time, Ethel Smith) is a bouncey, easy rock rendition; not nearly as sensual as the original by Mickey & Sylvia (Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool) which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.
I remember when Love Is Strange by Mickey & Sylvia came out. The spoken section of the song is unforgettable (lyrics below). Love was recorded on October 17 and released in late November of 1956; I had just entered high school and I was excited about embarking on a new adventure. It was an exciting time in my life for me. It is interesting, two of my life's highlights were entering high school and leaving it. The first, I couldn't wait to get in and the second, I couldn't wait to get out. Values do have a way of changing.
Caesar & Cleo later became prominent as the folk rock husband–wife duo, Sonny & Cher.
Their version of Love Is Strange (written by Bo Diddley under the name of his wife at the time, Ethel Smith) is a bouncey, easy rock rendition; not nearly as sensual as the original by Mickey & Sylvia (Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool) which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.
I remember when Love Is Strange by Mickey & Sylvia came out. The spoken section of the song is unforgettable (lyrics below). Love was recorded on October 17 and released in late November of 1956; I had just entered high school and I was excited about embarking on a new adventure. It was an exciting time in my life for me. It is interesting, two of my life's highlights were entering high school and leaving it. The first, I couldn't wait to get in and the second, I couldn't wait to get out. Values do have a way of changing.
Caesar & Cleo later became prominent as the folk rock husband–wife duo, Sonny & Cher.
Cher ~ Cher (aka, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves)
reel-to-reel tape box back detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Sonny & Cher popularized a smooth sound that successfully competed with the dominant British Invasion and Motown sounds of the era. From 1965, Cher established herself as a solo artist with successful singles such as Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, Half-Breed, and Dark Lady, songs about subjects rarely acknowledged in American popular music at that time.
Cher ~ Cher (aka, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves)
reel-to-reel tape
photo by Styrous®
Cher went on to an impressive Broadway and film career and is an acomplished actress. I will never forget her in her dramatic films, Silkwood (1983), Mask (1985) and Tea With Mussolini (1999); and her comedic talents shown brightly in the films, The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck, my favorite of all her films (both 1987). Link to her filmology below.
Cher ~ Cher (aka, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves)
reel-to-reel tape detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Love Is Strange spoken section:
"Sylvia!"
"Yes, Mickey."
"How do you call your Lover Boy?"
"Come here, Lover Boy!"
"And if he doesn't answer?"
"Oh, Lover Boy!"
"And if he still doesn't answer?"
"I simply say..."
(Sung VERY sensually) "Baby/ Oh baby/ My sweet baby/ You're the one."
(The sung part is repeated with Mickey singing the harmony.)
(This is followed by a repeat of the instrumental section before the song's fade.)
"Sylvia!"
"Yes, Mickey."
"How do you call your Lover Boy?"
"Come here, Lover Boy!"
"And if he doesn't answer?"
"Oh, Lover Boy!"
"And if he still doesn't answer?"
"I simply say..."
(Sung VERY sensually) "Baby/ Oh baby/ My sweet baby/ You're the one."
(The sung part is repeated with Mickey singing the harmony.)
(This is followed by a repeat of the instrumental section before the song's fade.)
Cher ~ Cher (aka, Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves)
reel-to-reel tape label detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Track list:
Side one:
1. "The Way of Love" ( Al Stillman, Jacques Dieva) - 2:30
2. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" (Bob Stone) - 2:35
3. "He'll Never Know" (Harry Lloyd, Gloria Sklerov) - 3:27
4. "Fire and Rain" (James Taylor) - 2:59
5. "When You Find Out Where You're Goin' Let Me Know" (Linda Laurie) - 2:18
Side two:
1. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Bob Russell, Bobby Scott) - 3:30
2. "I Hate to Sleep Alone" (Peggy Clinger) - 2:28
3. "I'm in the Middle" (Billy Gale) - 2:45
4. "Touch and Go" (Jerry Fuller) - 2:01
5. "One Honest Man" (Ginger Greco) - 2:24
Credits:
1. "The Way of Love" ( Al Stillman, Jacques Dieva) - 2:30
2. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" (Bob Stone) - 2:35
3. "He'll Never Know" (Harry Lloyd, Gloria Sklerov) - 3:27
4. "Fire and Rain" (James Taylor) - 2:59
5. "When You Find Out Where You're Goin' Let Me Know" (Linda Laurie) - 2:18
Side two:
1. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Bob Russell, Bobby Scott) - 3:30
2. "I Hate to Sleep Alone" (Peggy Clinger) - 2:28
3. "I'm in the Middle" (Billy Gale) - 2:45
4. "Touch and Go" (Jerry Fuller) - 2:01
5. "One Honest Man" (Ginger Greco) - 2:24
Credits:
- Cher - lead vocals
- Snuff Garrett - record producer
- Al Capps - arrangement assistance
- Lennie Roberts - sound engineer
- Richard Avedon - photography
MCA Kapp Records - KST 3649-B
1971
reel-to-reel listings on eBay
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