By: Elliott Landy
Bob Dylan (Nashville Skyline album cover) – Photo credit: Elliott Landy
In early 1969 Bob Dylan called and asked me to take a picture for the back of his new album, Nashville Skyline. He had the front cover already picked out—a picture of the skyline of Nashville, where he had recorded the album.
One afternoon, I went over to his place. As we left the house, he grabbed a hat, and asked, “Do you think we could use this?” I had no idea if it would be good or not, so I told him “Take it, and we’ll see.” We walked around through the woods behind his house looking for a good spot. It had just been raining, we had boots on, and he was carrying this hat.
He paused for a moment, apparently inspired, and said, “What about taking one from down there?“, pointing to the ground. As I started kneeling, I saw that it was muddy, but kept going.
”Do you think I should wear this?“ he asked, starting to put on his hat, smiling because it was kind of a goof, and he was having fun visualizing himself in this silly-looking traditional hat.
”I don’t know,“ I said as I snapped the shutter. It all happened so fast. If I had had any resistance in me, I would have missed the photograph that became the front cover. It is best to be open to life.
Some days later, we met to select the photo to be used. We projected the slides onto a 12×12 inch white board, so we could see exactly what the photos would look like on an album cover. We easily agreed this was the photo to use and decided it looked best when filling the entire cover, so we cropped off the bottom of the image. We also decided it should not have any text over it, something which Columbia Records had never done before, and was not too happy about.
During those days in Woodstock he was really open and in a good mood. It was sunny out and we just followed our instincts. It was the first picture of him smiling on any of his albums and, in my opinion, reflects the inner spirit, the loving essence of the man behind all the inspiring music he has given us.
Someone told me that the reason people like it so much is that it makes them happy. Every review of the album mentioned his smile on the cover. No one talked about the photograph itself. For me that is requisite for a good photograph. The medium should be invisible. It shouldn’t make you look at it and think, “What a great photograph this is,” but rather should make you focus on what is in the photograph: “Look at that child, look at the flower, look at that person, how fantastic.”
Bob Dylan – Full photo (uncropped) used for Dylan’s Nashville Skyline album – Photo credit: Elliott Landy
Nearly everyone of my generation knows the photograph, and many have acknowledged it as an image that has had great meaning to them. Perhaps it reflects the love we were all seeking to find through making the world a better place.
And so this was a magical picture for all of us. It certainly assured my reputation as a photographer. My bill for the shoot, which in addition to my fee, included an array of items such as gas, tolls, film, etcetera, came to exactly $777. In metaphysics, 777 is the number of mystical manifestation, the magical number representing mysteries, the occult, clairvoyance, magic, the seven principles of man, the universe, and also the notes on a musical scale.
I was awed by this incredible coincidence. It strengthened my feeling that everything is interconnected in ways which the logical mind cannot explain: We are all one.
My photograph of Bob Dylan taken with Infra Red Film in 1968 – Elliott Landy
THIS FINE ART PRINT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE HERE!
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Purchase Fine Art Print the entire uncropped photo HERE!
Purchase Fine Art Print: As used on the cover of the Nashville Skyline album HERE!
