As follow-up to Terjes posting earlier of a photo I took of Emmy in 1975, I wanted to show a different version of it, and add some storyline to what that day meant, pretty much for her and also for me. Here is the cropped photo and my full, though poorly scanned, version of it. It was taken on the afternoon of Oct. 25, 1975, when Emmylou and the Hot Band opened for Elton John at Dodger Stadium. It was the first concert the Dodgers allowed at the stadium since a British band played there in 1964. Since she was the opening act (Joe Walsh and the James Gang were the other act before Elton John), that made Emmylou Harris the first singer to play Dodger Stadium since the Beatles. And yes, we knew the special meaning of the show at the time. She also would play the next day. As I was told, Elton saw Emmy play several weeks earlier at the Shrine Auditorium and was in the wings when she was on stage. He was apparently having a good time, but then came out of his shoes when James Burton started a solo. One of the roadies said he had to literally block Elton from going on stage to get closer to James. After the show, Elton John told Emmy that he wanted her and the Hot Band to open his Dodger Stadium shows. By this time, Emmy and the band were used to having me around, so I was invited to go and take photos as a member of her small group. That meant I was backstage with them the whole two days and had the run of the perimeter of the stage when she was on. I was allowed to go anywhere I wanted, except between the band members. When Elton John went on stage, the area in front his piano, which was on risers, was cleared off. When she was on stage, the piano was hidden by a curtain. I asked if I could climb on the riser and poke my camera lens through the curtain, and they said yes. So thats how I got the photo, and many, many versions of it. On this one, her back is turned from the audience because the song they are doing is her country-rock version of Smokey Robinsons Shop Around. It was a showcase for James Burton. Up to that point, the audience was somewhat sedate with her choice of songs. But the crowd erupted when James cranked it up. Fifty thousand people were on their feet. Im sure she made tens of thousands of new fans that day. I made dozens of copies of the photo, including numerous large copies that were framed. One of the smaller copies obviously found its way to Terje. Mary Martin, Emmys A&E rep at Warner Brothers and her close friend, personally asked for a large copy for her New York office. So I knew I had shot something special. However, it did take me a few years to sell it, and then for an album songbook. But I finally did get it sold. (As an added note, Im sad to say that Emmy stopped doing Shop Around in her shows after the Captain and Teneille did their pop version of it.)
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:15:12 +0000
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