Advertisement

Memories of shooting stars

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Lana Lam

He helped Bob Dylan sell millions of records by taking the photograph for the Grammy award-winning cover for his Greatest Hits album, but when Rowland Scherman met the folk singer, he didn't even get a thank you.

Scherman is in Hong Kong this week because he donated two prints to the new Hard Rock Cafe in Lan Kwai Fong, one of the Dylan image.

At 74, he has come to accept the cool reception he received from Dylan, tempered by dozens of fond memories during his career as a photojournalist in the 1960s.

Advertisement

The New York native was just 27 when he took the picture of Dylan at a concert in Washington that would win him a Grammy in 1968 for best album cover.

'Me and the wife had great seats but I could see the light was coming from a different direction and it looked more interesting from the reverse angle.

Advertisement

'The back light was hitting his hair and it was so simple and perfect, it took me just moments to do it. I took them up to New York to Columbia Records and the art director said 'that's the next cover'.'

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x