Herb Greene died at 82 – American photographer
Biography and cause of death of Herb Greene
Herb Greene American photographer Herb “Herbie” Greene was well-known for his images of counterculture bands and musicians from San Francisco throughout the ’60s and ’70s. He passed away on March 3, 2025. Numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, record labels, and books, featured his photographs. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, the Pointer Sisters, Carlos Santana, and Sly Stone are among the subjects that Greene has shot.
Herb Greene Origins of formal schooling
Although Herb Greene was born in Indio, Riverside County, California, on April 3, 1942, he spent his childhood in Medford, Oregon, tending to his father’s pear farm. His dad was a fruit vendor who went all over the West Coast. His artistic mother encouraged him to follow in her footsteps; she was a talented artist and housewife.
In Yuba City, California, Greene enrolled in a painting class at Yuba City High School after moving there with his family. After a tutor recommended photography as an alternative, Greene participated in a course and purchased his first camera, a 1959 Icon Contaflex, since he was having trouble with other subjects. In 1960, he completed his secondary education.
Before enrolling at San Francisco State University to study anthropology and communications, Greene attended City College of San Francisco in 1961 to take photography lessons.
Herb Greene During the 1960s, The city of San Francisco
Psychedelic rock performers of the ’60s and ’70s included Greene among their friends and acquaintances in the San Francisco art scene. Several album’ covers included his images, which are a renowned record of the time. These included 1967’s Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane, 1987’s In the Dark by the Grateful Dead, and Dylan & the Dead (1989).
Before enrolling at San Francisco State University to study anthropology and communications, Greene attended City College of San Francisco in 1961 to take photography lessons. The “Fox and Hound” bluegrass café was Jerry Garcia’s first stop after relocating to an apartment in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. After becoming friends, Greene landed his first client:
a photo shoot for Garcia’s band, The Warlocks (now called the Grateful Dead). Greene said the “scene was over” in 1967 after taking some of his most famous photographs in 1965 and 1966. Situated on the third story of his home studio at 828 Baker Street in San Francisco, he captured some important images there.
Herb Greene Ancient Egyptian mural
In Greene’s dining room was the renowned wall of hieroglyphics that served as the backdrop for the cover picture of Surrealistic Pillow and several other well-known photographs of San Francisco musicians from the late 1960s. Greene discovered the words “Happy New Year” scrawled on the wall when he peeled up the wallpaper in the room.
His roommate had drawn the hieroglyphics, which irritated him at first but later became a symbol of psychedelic music from San Francisco, before he could paint over them. The Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick recalled Greene’s dining room picture sessions in an interview with Rolling Stone from 2004: “Everybody used to go over there in front of Herbie’s wall.”
Herb Greene the ’70s
For the better part of the 1970s, Greene photographed both music and fashion. Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, Dr. Hook, The Pointer Sisters, and Chicago were all captured in his photographs. For his work as art director on the 1974 studio album That’s a Plenty by The Pointer Sisters, he was nominated for a Grammy Award.
He was one of many photographers whose work appeared in Shooting Stars: The Rolling Stones Book of Portraits (Straight Arrow Press, 1973), edited by Annie Leibovitz. Other photographers whose work was included were Nevis Cameron, Ed Caraeff, David Gahr, Bob Seidemann, Barry Feinstein, and Ethan Russell.
Rip Herb Greene
— kevin (@floatalong-fyl.bsky.social) 2025-03-07T01:49:20.755Z
Herb Greene the ’80s
Back in the ’80s, Greene’s collaborations with the Grateful Dead were huge. Cover art for their 1987 album In the Dark and their 1989 live album Dylan & the Dead, which included folk singer Bob Dylan, was both photographed by him during his time spent filming sessions with the band. In the ’90s, Greene’s body of work solidified his status as the Grateful Dead’s unofficial photographer.
Numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, Relix, Newsweek, and others, featured his photographs of the band and their peers from the 1960s. He was also the author of Sunshine Daydreams (1991), The Book of the Dead: Celebrating 25 Years with the Grateful Dead (1990), and Dead Days: A Grateful Dead Illustrated History (1996), among others. Following Garcia’s passing in August 1995, Greene continued to capture the remaining Grateful Dead members and their own bands, such as The Dead, Bob Weir and RatDog, and Further (including Bob Weir and Phil Lesh).
Herb Greene the year 2000
Greene relocated to Maynard, Massachusetts, a suburb west of Boston, in 1999. He had stopped photographing performers. The Cleveland, Ohio-based Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has several of his photographs.
After a protracted illness, Greene passed away at his home in Maynard, Massachusetts, on March 3, 2025, at the age of 82.
Herb Greene Works published
Herb Greene. In 1990, Delta Publishing published The Book of the Dead, which celebrated 25 years of the Grateful Dead.
Herb Greene. Chronicle Books, 1991. Sunshine Daydreams.
Herb Greene. Dead Days: An Illustrated History of the Grateful Dead, Acid Test Publishing, 1996.
Rod Stewart, 1968, by Herb Greene.
— Colin Smith (@colinsmith.bsky.social) 2024-12-11T18:26:30.352Z