Legendary Photographer Robert Knight - "One Of The Ways You Stay Friends With LED ZEPPELIN Is You Keep Your Mouth Shut"

April 6, 2009, 15 years ago

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Jerry McCulley from www.gibson.com is reporting:

Legendary rock photographer Robert Knight has long been one of rock’s most acclaimed photographers, a master lens man whose four decades of stunning musical portraits and concert photography are now chronicled by Insight Editions’ lavish Rock Gods book, which also features insightful commentary by the veteran rock image maker.

A few excerpts from McCulley's chat with Knight read as follows:

Gibson.com: Legend has it you were also present at some of LED ZEPPELIN’s more colorful tour adventures. That must put a photographer in an interesting position.

"I think Robert and Jimmy would get stuff going and then sit back and laugh their heads off, because it was usually other crazies that would get the party going. Most photographers would have shot everything they saw, and I think that the reason Led Zeppelin gave me such access was 1) I was there from day one and showed an interest when nobody else did, and 2) I knew when not to take the camera out of the bag. They have a very tight circle and don’t like it when people in it open their mouths. One of the ways you stay friends with them is you keep your mouth shut. So I am still part of that camp in a weird way."

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Gibson.com: You’ve also freely mixed your interest in music with what most people would label the ‘paranormal.’

"The first day I walked into Guitar Center [with whom he’s had a two-decade relationship] was the first RockWalk induction, with EDDIE VAN HALEN. Synchronicity is really the key to my life. When I see a lot of synchronicity happening in a situation, I know it’s something I should be involved in. You’d be surprised how many rock people enjoy doing a photo shoot with me because they get a UFO update. They’re the people who are most receptive to other forms of consciousness. They’re wide open. When Dave Grohl calls his band the FOO FIGHTERS, and they’re on Roswell Records and they premiere the record in Roswell, New Mexico, you know something’s going on! Jimmy Page has always been interested in UFOs, and JIMI HENDRIX was driven by UFO ideas."

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Gibson.com: You were also the last one to photograph STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, just minutes before his tragic accident.

"I wouldn’t let any of those pictures out for over two years. People would call and say, 'You know what these pictures would do for your career?!' But I wasn’t interested in that. Stevie and I had been talking about the positive changes in his life for days before. It broke my heart."

Read the entire interview here.

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