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I’ve Spent Years Tracking Down Historical Music Photography Locations, Here Are 30 Of The Best Pics (30 Pics)
I have been recreating music history by photographing the original images of musicians and bands in the exact location where they were photographed many years or even decades before. The project started in 2010 with old family photos, and since then, I've transitioned over to music photography having covered over 500 music locations mainly sharing my work on Instagram.
I compose each shot to include the original image in my hand, lined up (as best as I can) with the background as it appears today. I've enjoyed walking in the footsteps of some of my favorite musicians all while learning more about music history along the way. I like to challenge myself to find every location, so I scour through interviews, research the photographers, and investigate the timeline of the musicians during specific periods. I also comb through Google Maps, sometimes going street-by-street, exploring locations, and trying to match them to the original images.
More info: Instagram
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#1
Madonna. Taken By Richard Corman In 1983 NYC
Final score:
98points
LittleWombat 4 years ago
I can't help but think how crazy it is that there was a time that these huge stars were just hopeful young people. Here's this young woman, no way to guess that she'd become successful at all, much less a music icon. There's no social media stardom at the time so fame is more elusive. Just kinda wild to think about!!
RELATED:
#2
Nirvana, August 17th 1991 At Gmt Studios On A Break From Filming Their Music Video For Smells Like Teen Spirit. Photo By Kevin Estrada
Final score:
97points
#3
John Sebastian At Woodstock, 1969. Taken By Henry Diltz
Final score:
95points
#4
Prince For The Cover Of His Album Purple Rain, 1984. Original Photo By Rob Slenzak
Final score:
93points
#5
LED Zeppelin's Cover For Their 1975 Album Physical Graffiti. Cover Art Designed By Peter Corriston. Original Photo By Elliot Erwitt
Final score:
88points
#6
John Lennon And Yoko Ono, 1973, NYC. This Photo Is A Block From The Dakota, Where John Would Later Be Shot. Taken By Bob Gruen
Final score:
85points
#7
Green Day In NYC, June 29th 1994. Possibly The Same Day They Played David Letterman
Final score:
77points
#8
This Is One Of My Favorite Images Of Bob Dylan Taken On February 10th, 1965 In NYC By Richard Avedon
Final score:
76points
#9
Debbie Harry Standing On The F/M Platform At 14th Street, NYC. Taken By Chris Stein
Final score:
73points
Jason Leaf 4 years ago
How is it she and her band never released an album entitled, Blonde on Blondie?
#10
Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here Album Cover. Taken By Aubrey "Po" Powell
Final score:
73points
#11
Kurt Cobain And Courtney Love With Frances Bean In 1992 At Their Hollywood Heights Home. Taken By Stephen Sweet
Final score:
72points
#12
Guns N' Roses Shot In West Hollywood For Rolling Stone Magazine, 1988. Taken By Timothy White
Final score:
70points
#13
Nirvana At The East River Park Amphitheater 1989. Taken By Steve Double
Final score:
69points
#14
The Beatles Visiting Washington, D.c. For Their First American Concert In February, 1964 Right After Playing The Ed Sullivan Show
Final score:
63points
Jason Leaf 4 years ago
I bet this location was chosen to benefit their record label at the time.
#15
Beastie Boys, 1991, Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica Ca. Taken By Glen E. Friedman
Final score:
61points
#16
Simon And Garfunkel, 1972, Central Park Reservoir NYC. Taken By William Silano
Final score:
60points
LittleWombat 4 years ago
This is the first album my dad ever gave to me. I was just a little girl but I loved every song and that picture is part of my childhood memories ❤❤❤
#17
Radiohead’s Cover For Their Album Ok Computer. Taken From The “Radiohead” Suite At The Hilton Hartford In Connecticut
Final score:
58points
#18
Snoop Dogg, 1993. Taken By The Late Great Chi Modu
Final score:
57points
#19
Eminem By Jeremy Deputat. He’s Standing In Front Of His Childhood Home Which Was Featured On The Marshall Mathers Ep
Final score:
57points
KvotheBloodless 4 years ago
It's kind of hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like none of those houses exist anymore. It makes an already "sad in tone" photograph even more sad.
#20
The Who, Morningside Park In New York City, 1968. Taken By Art Kane
Final score:
57points
#21
Woody Guthrie, 1943 At Mcsorley's Old Ale House For Life Magazine. Original Photo By Eric Schaal
Final score:
56points
#22
The Doors On The Venice Beach Boardwalk. Taken By Henry Diltz
Final score:
56points
#23
Eminem And Mister Cartoon Outside Hollywood Bob And Charlie Robert’s Spotlight Tattoo. Taken By Gregory Bojorquez
Final score:
55points
#24
Britney Spears, April 9th, 1999, Paradise Cove In Malibu, Ca. Still From The “Sometimes” Video. Taken By Danny Hastings (I Think)
Final score:
54points
#25
Joan Jett In Front Of The Old Pussy Cat Theatre Located At 6656 Hollywood Blvd, 1977. Taken By Brad Elterman
Final score:
54points
#26
LED Zeppelin's Robert Plant In 1975 Overlooking Sunset Boulevard. Original Photo By Peter Simon
Final score:
53points
#27
Here David Bowie Is Outside Of Tea And Sympathy In NYC, January 10th, 1997. Taken By Kevin Cummins
Final score:
52points
#28
Madonna, 1983, NYC. Taken By Richard Corman
Final score:
49points
#29
Bob Dylan And Suze Rotolo, February 1963 On Jones Street And West 4th NYC. Original Photo By Don Hunstein
Final score:
48points
#30
Michael Jackson For The Cover Of His 1979 Album Off The Wall
Final score:
40points
Kookamunga 4 years ago
This album was so great, I was 10 and skating to this at the roller rink, Rock with You, Working Day and Night, etc. Then Thriller came out and I was even more blown away. Say what you like about his personal life - the music will forever stand on its own.
#31
Amy In 2007 In NYC. Taken By Patrick Morgan
Final score:
19points
#32
Minor Threat, 1983 In Front Of Dischord House In Arlington Virginia. Original Photo By Glen E. Friedman
Final score:
18points
#33
Still From Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” Music Video, 1983. Shot By John Landis
Final score:
18points
#34
Nick Cave, Central Park, 1983. Taken By Anton Corbijn
Final score:
17points
#35
Here Elvis Presley Is Outside The Cbs-TV Studio 50 Stage Door, NYC, March 17th 1956
Final score:
17points
#36
The Ramones And Black Flag Marquee Outside The Hollywood Palladium, November 17th 1984. Original Photo By Gary Leonard
Final score:
16points
#37
The Rolling Stones, 1966, 124 East 24th Street NYC. Image Was Taken For Their Single “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” By Jerry Schatzberg
Final score:
16points
#38
Lemmy, Dave Grohl And Wiley Hodgden Take A Break From The Filming Of Foo Fighters' 2011 Music Video For “White Limo”
Final score:
16points
#39
Photograph Of Tupac And Treach On The Set Of Juice In 1991. Taken By Peter Frankfurt
Final score:
16points
#40
Avril Lavigne In 2002 For The Cover Of Her Album Let Go. Original Photo By John Arsenault
Final score:
15points
#41
Billy Joel, Cover For The Album An Innocent Man, NYC 1983. Taken By Gilles Larrain
Final score:
15points
Kookamunga 4 years ago
You know in the movie Stepbrothers - that scene where the guy yells "Billy Joel doo-wop sucks!" This album is where it started. I kinda agree.
#42
The White Stripes, 2001, Hotel Yorba Cover. Taken By Pat Pantano
Final score:
15points
#43
Dj Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, 1990, In The Opening Credits For The Television Show The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
Final score:
15points
#44
Bob Marley. This Picture Was Taken On September 20th, 1980, Outside Of The Essex House During The Uprising Tour
Final score:
15points
#45
Nirvana's In Utero Liner Artwork. Original Photo Taken In 1992 By Kurt Cobain
Final score:
14points
#46
The Ramones, 1977 For The Cover Of Their Album Rocket To Russia. Original Photo By Danny Fields
Final score:
14points
#47
Kurt Cobain In His Los Angeles Home In 1992. Original Photo By Guzman
Final score:
14points
#48
Bob Seger, May 1980, In Front Of The Orpheus Fountain At The Cranbrook Academy Of Art In Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Taken By Michael Marks
Final score:
14points
#49
The Ramones, 1985, At Playmates Arch In Central Park NYC. Taken By George Dubose For The Cover Image Of Their Album “Too Tough To Die”
Final score:
14points
#50
Notorious B.i.g, Summer 1994, Brooklyn NY. Original Photo By David Mcintyre
Final score:
13points
#51
The Grateful Dead, May 5th 1968 At The Bandshell In Central Park. Original Photo By Joe Sia
Final score:
13points
#52
Outtake Image For The Cover Of Elliott Smith's Figure 8 Album, 2000. Original Photo By Autumn De Wilde
Final score:
13points
#53
Public Enemy In New York City. Original Photo By Glen E. Friedman
Final score:
12points
#54
Pj Harvey, Times Square, 2000. Cover For Her Album Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. Taken By Maria Mochnacz
Final score:
12points
#55
Slash Hanging Outside The Sunset Marquis Hotel, Los Angeles. Taken By Ross Halfin
Final score:
12points
#56
Kurt Cobain And Courtney Love, For The “Family Values” Session, Photographed For Spin Magazine In 1992. Taken By Guzman
Final score:
12points
#57
Gerard Way Of My Chemical Romance In 2004 At The Tick Tock Diner In New Jersey. Original Photo By Justin Borucki
Final score:
11points
#58
The Notorious B.i.g, January 24th, 1997, Cypress Hills Cemetery In Queens. Taken By Michael Lavine
Final score:
11points
#59
Ozzy Osbourne At Strawberry Fields In Central Park NYC 2010. Taken By Bob Gruen
Final score:
11points
#60
Late Night Tunes. Lana Del Rey, September 3rd, 2014, NYC
Final score:
11points
#61
Kurt Vile, Philadelphia. Mural By Espo's Art World. Photograph Was Taken By Shawn Brackbill And Doug Seymour
Final score:
10points
#62
My Chemical Romance In The Music Video For Their Song “Helena” Filmed In 2005. By Marc Webb
Final score:
10points
The Fabulous Killjoy 4 years ago
Amazing pictures!!! Why are there candles all over the ground?
#63
Axl Rose Of Guns N’ Roses Outside The Sunset Grill In 1988. Taken By Mark Weiss
Final score:
10points
#64
Here’s The Foo Fighters Back In July Of 2001 In NYC. Taken By David Corio
Final score:
10points
#65
Billie Eilish In Her 2019 Video For “Bad Guy” Off Her Album When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Shot By Dave Meyers
Final score:
10points
#66
The Strokes In 2001 On The Corner Of Lafayette And Bond Street. Taken By Pennie Smith
Final score:
9points
#67
Gerard Way Of My Chemical Romance Hanging Out On Lexington Ave In Front Of The Park Avenue Armory. Possibly Taken In 1997
Final score:
8points
#68
Nas Is At Queensbridge Houses, 1993. Taken By Danny Clinch
Final score:
8points
#70
Dj Khaled On Orchard Street, 2016, NYC. Taken By Clay Patrick Mcbride
Final score:
7points
#71
Post Malone, 2019, 33rd And Park Ave NYC. Taken By Rich Fury
Final score:
7points
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The Fabulous Killjoy 4 years ago
This is awesome! Lots of time and though probably had to go into this
The Fabulous Killjoy 4 years ago
This is awesome! Lots of time and though probably had to go into this
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