(Except that I was about 50 years too late. When you see the actual location, you'll see that I wasn't far off. In order to try to visualize what the the building might have looked like, I lengthened the brick wall next to Dylan using Photoshop. By the end, they were shivering, and thus the blurry image.
#Bob dylan blonde on blonde album covers series
Jerry Schatzberg said that on the freezing cold day of the shoot, they just jumped out of the car along the street and took a series of shots. This picture, like the eventual cover shot, is blurry. The clear sky in the background indicated that this was a low building and not surrounded by skyscrapers. In most of the outtakes Dylan has an unlit cigarette cupped in his right hand. The air vent hole just beyond Dylan's right knee would be an important piece in confirming the location. On this particular shot, Dylan is standing on a Christmas tree stand.
#Bob dylan blonde on blonde album covers windows
Here are three that give a feel for the background: a multicolored brick wall, and a series of large windows protected by thick iron gates. There are about 13 known outtakes from the session. Unlike most albums, the name of the album and Dylan's name are not on the front or back cover they are only printed on the "spine." The Colombia Records logo is the only "writing" on the front or back cover.) Here's the album cover, when opened, and turned 90 degrees.īlonde on Blonde, released in June of 1966, was rock's first double album, with Frank Zappa's double album Freak Out! released one week later. (Photo by Jerry Schatzberg album cover courtesy of Sony Music) Before I show you the location, I'd like to give a few picture of background information to put the location photo in context. And a final thank you to other readers who have sent in thoughts and ideas about the cover over the years.) Thanks, too, to Jerry Schatzberg, the album cover's photographer, for his interest and for showing me the original slides for any clues. Thanks also to Marie Fotini, Chief European corespondent for PopSpots and Jim Egan, author and historian, for their extensive research over the last few years in looking for the location. (PopSpots gives special thanks to Bill Jobson, PopSpots reader and contributor, and photo sleuth for finding the 2 aerial photos that solved the riddle of the location of the cover shoot of Blonde on Blonde.
To be notified of new PopSpots entries, follow PopSpotsNYC on Twitter:įor questions or comments you can email me (Bob)īob Dylan's BLONDE ON BLONDE (1966) cover photo by Jerry Schatzberg.Īlbum cover location: 375 West Street at Morton Street, Greenwich Village, New York City.