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One of the most interesting and just plain fun people I had the pleasure to photograph in the last forty-five years was David Lindley. Phil Hood and I drove out to his house and spent the afternoon there setting up lights and backdrops, looking through Dave's vast collection of instruments and his even vaster collection of his trademark shirts. I had heard he was not well fairly recently but this one comes as a a gut punch much in the same vein as Prine. We'll miss you greatly Mr. Dave. Already do. These were for Frets Magazine I believe in the fall of '87. These go out especially to Dan Forte who saw these in Frets and hired me to shoot Harrison for Guitar Player and for everyone who loved Dave's high falsetto on Jackson Browne's live version of Stay. All I can hear in my head right now is She Took Off My Romeos from Dave's classic El-Rayo X album. Go out and have a listen. Dave had been suffering for quite some time from the effects of long Covid and I believe his kidneys were failing. As far as I know he was 79.
These were shot on Kodak Ektachrome EPN with my old Mamiya RB67 and most likely with a 180mm lens, not that any of that matters.
Lovely portrait. You did a great job of capturing his personality. Nice story to go along with the photos, too. I’m sure the memories mean quite a lot to you.
spoupard wrote:
Lovely portrait. You did a great job of capturing his personality. Nice story to go along with the photos, too. I’m sure the memories mean quite a lot to you.
Thank you. The memories aren't really what it's about for me although I do have them. It's all about the music and what a freaking virtuoso on anything with strings David Lindley was. If you're not familiar go out and get (and don't stream it) 1981's David Lindley and El Rayo X and listen to the slide guitar solo in Mercury Blues. The whole record is fantastic but so are his collaborations with Jackson Browne and Ry Cooder. And then pay attention to his wardrobe. All those polyester shirts were his living tribute to Lightnin' Hopkins. Probably won't see anyone like Lindley in my lifetime, but who knows, maybe Billy Strings will get into reggae. Ha.
David Lindley is one of those artists where everyone has heard his work, but very few know who he is.
For those unfamiliar, another wonderful video to watch is Jackson Browne and David Lindley performing "Call It a Loan". Search YouTube.
Thanks Doug. And you're right. His sound was so integral to early Jackson Browne both in the studio and on stage that it's hard to separate them but he and Jackson both played heavily into the early Warren Zevon records as well. I saw Lindley play with Jackson in '88 at what was then Irvine Meadows for a fantastic show with some of the best live sound I have ever heard and then heard Lindley play a small solo show at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica where he drank Jolt on stage and talked more about Warren than himself. We don't get too many true musical geniuses these days but Lindley is one who more than fits the bill, and when he teamed up with Ry Cooder, well, it was just game over. Hard to say whether the collaboration with Ry or with Jackson were more influential but they're all worth listening to.
Absolutely wonderful images Peter. They feel like you captured part of his soul. They're that good. And what a musician he was. They're slipping away. More of them every year and it feels like I'm losing part of me when they go. I'm so thankful we still have some of their music. Thanks for posting these images and for the stories as well. Steve
ratherfish wrote:
Absolutely wonderful images Peter. They feel like you captured part of his soul. They're that good. And what a musician he was. They're slipping away. More of them every year and it feels like I'm losing part of me when they go. I'm so thankful we still have some of their music. Thanks for posting these images and for the stories as well. Steve
Thanks Steve. That Covid took him and Prine is just criminal. As my friend Dan Forte, the music writer who did the interview of George Harrison for Guitar Player (and hired me off these photos) said, Lindley was the single best musician he ever met. '87 was a good year for photos for me as it went from Bonnie Raitt to David Lindley to George Harrison. Seems like an impossible dream looking back on it now.
For anyone who is not familiar, here's an amazing YouTube clip of David Lindley and El Rayo X that appears to be from Scandinavia, maybe Norway that will leave you with a smile on your face, a tear in your eye and totally in awe.
