Head Out on the Highway
March 5, 2015 12:36 PM   Subscribe

Rock Stars On Motorcycles Just what it claims to be. Photos of Bo. Bob. Jimi. Keith. Mick. Elvis. Jerry Lee. etc. (via Nitro-Retro)
posted by LeLiLo (17 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Does what it says on the tin, though I wish a) the photos could be embiggened a bit more and b) it said who was in the photos.

There's one there of the Everly Brothers (and a third?) on two bikes with acoustic guitars strung over their backs. When I was a little kid I remember looking at the cover of one of my dad's Everly Brothers records (the closest thing we had in the house to rock and/or roll) and seeing that photo. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, these badasses who ride around on motorcycles with guitars on their backs. Now I look at those pictures and I notice two things:

1) The kickstands are down; they are not actually going anywhere.
2) GOOD GOD they're going to scratch those guitars don't they have cases? What the hell are they thinking?

Sucks to get old and lose that sense of awe.
posted by bondcliff at 1:17 PM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]


When I was a little kid I remember looking at the cover of one of my dad's Everly Brothers records

The photo used on the album was from a slightly higher angle, so you couldn't see the kickstand.
posted by yoink at 1:23 PM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


Speaking of "noticing things"--I was struck that the photo of Janis Joplin on a bike that's used on her greatest hits album wasn't in the mix. I was googling around for the original image and found it's a terrific example to use of the power of cropping (and doctoring) an image. The original is a pretty shitty little photo, with, among other problems, the classic head-being-impaled-by-sign-post-in-background effect. Editing that out and cropping it tight on Janis and the bike makes it a classic album cover.
posted by yoink at 1:28 PM on March 5, 2015 [3 favorites]


Is this Jerry Lee Lewis and the 13-year old cousin he married?
posted by telstar at 1:34 PM on March 5, 2015


Is this Jerry Lee Lewis and the 13-year old cousin he married?

According to this site, yep.
posted by yoink at 1:38 PM on March 5, 2015


Can anyone fill in the blanks and/or correct me if I'm wrong? From top to bottom:

?
?
Sid Vicious
Duane Allman?
Jimi Hendrix
Steven Tyler
Bo Diddley
Ted Nugent
?
Ann-Margaret
?
Bob Dillon
Billy Joel
Bob Dillon
Bob Dillon
Bob Dillon
Miller Bros?
Gene Simmons
David Crosby
Michael Jackson
Elvis Presley
Everly Bros
?
?
Glen Campbell?
Jerry Garcia (in the sidecar)
Jimi Hendrix
?
Robert Plant
?
?
?
?
?
?
Julian Lennon?
Paul McCartney
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Elvis Presley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Ozzy Osbourne
Sid & Johnny?
Paul & Linda
?
?
?
The Hondells
Roy Orbison
?
Bruce Springsteen
?
Bootsy Collins, maybe?
The Rolling Stones
Suzi Quatro
?
Betty Page
Sid Vicious
Frank Zappa
?
Elvis Presley
posted by spacely_sprocket at 2:44 PM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


If you hover over the photos, your browser's toolbar will show you the URL of the linked photo; most of them contain the name of the artists.
posted by monospace at 3:13 PM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


Fun collection, LeLiLo! I recently saw that Buddy Miles Harley - along with some great pics with Jimi - here: BUDDY MILES | THE BAND OF GYPSY’S FUNKY BADASS MOTHER DRUMMER
posted by madamjujujive at 4:35 PM on March 5, 2015


spacely_sprocket, next to the last one is Buddy Miles - see my post above. Above Betty Page I think is Brian Wilson.
posted by madamjujujive at 4:37 PM on March 5, 2015


He mentions that the first ones are Dick Dale, and the one after Sid Vicious is Lemmy Kilmister. I would find it jarring to see Duane Allman/Barry Oakley on their bike, but I am sure there are plenty of pics out there.
posted by TedW at 6:07 PM on March 5, 2015


I also see Gram Parsons (appropriately surrounded by Joshua trees) and a couple of Page, Plant, and Bonham.
posted by TedW at 6:17 PM on March 5, 2015


But despite the title there doesn't appear to be a picture of John Kay. Surprised there is no Prince on a purple Honda either.
posted by TedW at 6:23 PM on March 5, 2015


Can anyone fill in the blanks and/or correct me if I'm wrong?
As monospace says, most are identified if you mouse over for the URL

? Dick Dale
? Dick Dale
Sid Vicious
Duane Allman? (no, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead)
Jimi Hendrix
Steven Tyler
Bo Diddley
Ted Nugent (that's really him?)
? Alice Cooper
Ann-Margaret
? Arlo Guthrie
Bob Dillon (Dylan, but yeah)
Billy Joel
Bob Dillon
Bob Dillon
Bob Dillon
Miller Bros? (no, Buddy Holly and the Crickets)
Gene Simmons
David Crosby
Michael Jackson
Elvis Presley
Everly Bros
? French singer Francoise Hardy (my favorite photo of her on a bike is here)
? Gram Parsons
Glen Campbell? (no, Peter Noone, 'Herman' of Herman's Hermits)
Jerry Garcia (in the sidecar) (with promoter Bill Graham driving)
Jimi Hendrix
? John Fogerty of CCR
Robert Plant (no, Jimmy Page)
? The James Gang
? Keith Richards (!)
? Led Zeppelin
? Led Zeppelin again
? Lita Ford of The Runaways
? Lou Reed
? Marvin Gaye

Julian Lennon? (yes)
Paul McCartney
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Elvis Presley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Ozzy Osbourne
Sid & Johnny? (no, Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer of The Clash)
Paul & Linda
? Keith Moon
? Pete Quaife of The Kinks
? Pigpen of The Grateful Dead
Poison Ivy of The Cramps

The Hondells
The Hondells
Roy Orbison
? The Runaways
Bruce Springsteen
? Sly Stone
Bootsy Collins, maybe? (no, Sly Stone again)
The Rolling Stones
Suzi Quatro
? Brian Wilson
Betty Page
Sid Vicious
Frank Zappa
? Buddy Miles
Elvis Presley (with actress Barbara Stanwyck)
posted by LeLiLo at 7:03 PM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]


Bettie Page was a rock star too? Now I'm even more in awe of this amazing woman!
posted by Fuzzypumper at 7:43 PM on March 5, 2015


I never noticed before, but this is a picture of two Jimmy Pages: one on a motorcycle, and another visiting from the future.

It all makes sense now.
posted by swift at 8:04 PM on March 5, 2015


Surprised there is no Prince on a purple Honda either.

I was surprised to learn that Prince's purple motorcycle was a relatively small Honda CB400a, but then again Prince is not very big, so he doesn't need anything much larger.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:42 PM on March 5, 2015


Some cute little Honda's in there, and the Triumphs are nice too. Somehow it doesn't surprise me one bit to see Roy Orbison on a BWM, he seems to have been an old guy all his life.

It's spelled Bob Dylan, by the way.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:57 AM on March 6, 2015


« Older "Fishfucker turned out to be a really nice dude."   |   You Know Who Wears Sunglasses Inside? Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments