Diltz’s famous photo of David Cassidy.
Noted Rock ‘n’ Roll photographer Henry Diltz gave a slideshow presentation at the West Orange Elks Club as part of the David Cassidy tribute weekend in West Orange.
The renowned music photographer shot more than 250 album covers in the 1960s and 1970s. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Life Magazine. He’s also one of a select few who has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Grammys, The Lucie, and the International Photography Hall of Fame.
He’s captured iconic moments in musical history from musical artists such as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Jerry Garcia, and David Cassidy.
His slideshow of David Cassidy was part of the two-day tribute celebrated in West Orange, along with the historical marker and street dedication.
“This has been amazing, the past two days,” Mayor Susan McCartney said. “We welcome you to West Orange to celebrate David Cassidy.”
Diltz began his presentation talking about being a folk singer and taking photos of his musician friends.
“I picked up a camera in ’66,” he said.
He never went to photography school. He liked to shoot in color so he could show slides to his friends.
“If it was in black and white, I couldn’t show it,” he said. But publicity photos had to be shot in black and white because newspapers didn’t use color back then.
Tiger Beat magazine hired Diltz to shoot The Monkees and he got to be really good friends with them. And in 1971 he was sent to the filming of “The Partridge Family.” Diltz said, “A lot of the crew were older professionals. I had long hair. I looked like a musician. David [Cassidy] walked right up to me.”
Diltz traveled on a world tour with Cassidy.
“Star magazine wanted lots of pictures of David,” he said. “He was such a great showman. When he was on stage, he was in another world. He gets into it so much he becomes another person on stage. I got to play harmonica with him. David was an Aries. They get what they want—full speed ahead. We laughed about everything. I never saw him sad or mad. He loved the girls, and they loved him.”
He continued to share stories about being on the road with Cassidy, like writing postcards from their hotel suite; being in the same hotel as Elton John in New Zealand; and at the big concerts, the Red Cross being there with stretchers because girls passed out. “It was very emotional,” said Diltz.
The slide show also featured more poignant times with Cassidy alone with his dogs and horses; and cast photos of The Partridge Family.
Following the David Cassidy slide show, Diltz took a short break and returned to show captivating photos of Woodstock and tell more mesmerizing stories. There were more than 100 people in attendance.
Pop culture historian Johnny Ray Miller was also there, autographing copies of his book, “When We’re Singing: The Partridge Family & Their Music.“
To learn more about Henry Diltz, visit: https://henrydiltz.com/
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