Bob Gruen

 Bob Gruen is a photographer, best known for is photographs of eminent rock and roll artists.

Gruen was born in New York on October 23, 1945. His mother gave him a Brownie camera when he was 8 years old. 

After dropping out of college and quitting a job in a photo booth at the 1964 New York World's Fair, Gruen borrowed a Minolta from his father and bluffed his way into the Newport Folk Festival. He took photographs of Bob Dylan performing with an electric guitar - an insult to many in the folk music world. The photos became iconic-seven years later-when Gruen finally understood how the business of rock & roll photography worked and was able to get them published.

Gruen credits Ike Turner with jumpstarting his more than fifty year career. He had taken some photos of Ike and Tina at a concert at Madison Square Garden during the Rolling Stones’ American tour in 1969. He wanted to finish his roll of film, and took a stunning picture of Tina dancing across the stage lit by flashing strobe lights. Two nights later, he was at another Ike and Tina concert and, serendipitously, ran into Ike. He showed him the photo, was hired to take more photos of the Turners and was introduced to more artists who wanted to hire him.

He became John Lennon’s personal photographer in 1971, while Lennon lived in New York. He became friends with both Lennon and Yoko Ono. His photos of John Lennon in New York have become iconic. He has also potographed Chuck Berry, the New York Dolls, the Clash, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Patti Smith Group, Sonny & Cher, Blondie, Led Zeppelin, the Who, David Bowie, Elton John, Aerosmith, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Courtney Love, Green Day and many others. 

His works are included in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle and have been shown at MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum and other major venues.

Gruen was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2010. His documentary film Ike & Tina On The Road: 1971–72 won the Living Blues Award for Best Blues DVD of 2013. His autobiography, Right Place, Right Time: The Life of a Rock & Roll Photographer was published in 2020.

Gruen was married and divorced from Nadya Beck. The couple has a son, musician Kris Gruen, who has an organic farm in Worcester, Vermont. Gruen has been married to Elizabeth Gregroy since 1995. He lives and works in New York.

References:

Michelle Willens. A Life of Chronicling Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. Chelsea News. March 17, 2021.

Bob Gruen. Right Place, Right Time: The life of a Rock & Roll Photographer. Abrams, Inc. 2020. 

Brent Hallenbeck. How musician Kris Gruen went from New York City punk clubs to a Vermont organic farm. Burlington Free Press. December 27, 2018.

Sam Whiting. Bob Gruen recalls the time the Clash got stoned driving down Mount Tamalpais. Datebook. November 9, 2020.