Flagstaff photographer Mike Frankel has had experiences that most any rock ‘n’ roll fan would envy. As a 15-year-old he shot the Beatles during their first U.S. tour at the Philadelphia Civic Center on Sept. 2, 1964. In the years following, he turned his lens on legends like the Who, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, and David Bowie, among many others, using a vivid style he developed to depict the motion and energy of his subjects. Now Frankel has compiled dozens of never-before-seen images into a book called “Hurricanes of Color.”
Ryan Heinsius: It's hard to believe, but your first major experience shooting rock bands was the Beatles on their 1964 tour. Famously, it was a total circus. Was there a sense at the time that you were witnessing a watershed historical moment?
Mike Frankel: Well, I was a huge Beatle fan to begin with, so I believed that immediately, even before they were on Ed Sullivan. I had seen them on the CBS Evening News shortly after the Kennedy assassination and then the Jack Parr Show. It just struck something. I had been born a rock ‘n’ roll fan.
I think the scene needed to be shaken up and they certainly did. I was a huge fan, and I knew that, like you said, it was a watershed moment because nothing like this had ever happened. I mean, things like Sinatra, Elvis, but this was something different. They're in the book shown for the first time, literally, and now in almost 61 years. And I think it's a highlight of the book and it certainly opens it very well.
RH: Did you feel overwhelmed by it all? Were you just, like, just along for the ride and let's see where this goes?
MF: Yeah. I never felt overwhelmed. I don't know. It felt very natural. I had been studying photography on my own since I was about 8 years old and this was a chance to do something big, really, you know? And I just jumped on the opportunity.
And then a couple of years later I connected with Jefferson Airplane. And again, that seemed very normal too. It was a totally different time.
And they wound up coming to my hometown, and they were just so nice. And they noticed the camera and said, "Did you take pictures of us?" And I said, "Yeah." And they encouraged me, and they asked me to come to more concerts and more concerts. It was just a friend thing, you know? Everybody was friendly back then. And obviously, it culminated with being invited to Woodstock to photograph them.
It was just a total mind-bending weekend. It was quite the scene, you know, meeting Janis Joplin there. Pigpen from the Grateful Dead was passed out on the ground on the stage. People were tripping over him. It was an amazing adventure for sure.
But I got to see so many bands, and there's so many historic pictures in the book—the first time Led Zeppelin played in New York City in the end of January 1969. The first time the Who did Tommy in May of 1969. I photographed all that—first time Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played in New York. First time Neil Young played in New York.
I was very lucky when I was younger to be around the scene and able to document it as I did in my own special way. And then I got lucky again finally after 55 years of trying to get the book out. I just want the record to be there. I'm so proud of it.
RH: Mike, congratulations on this book, and thank you so much for talking with me today.
MF: Oh, it's been more than a pleasure, Ryan. Thank you so very much.
