Ah, the 70's. Neil Bogart threw quite a party that launched his Kiss goldmine. I don't think such a party would/could exist in the shambles that is today's "record" industry. From his stint at the delisted Cameo-Parkway, somehow Bogart just knew that there was gold in them hills. The movie "Casablanca" was the theme. Hugh Masekela came dressed as a Nazi, Iggy Stooge as himself! Now we normally don't associate Iggy Stooge in any way with Casablanca records. Yet his band did share the stage with Kiss (and BOC) just months earlier on New Years Eve 1973 at NYC's Academy of Music. Thanks to Lisa Robinson we have evidence of both Alice Cooper and Iggy checking out the scene/Kiss at the launch party of the weird label that was Casablanca. Again, we ponder who has Richard Creamer's negatives. I volunteer to edit the coffee table photo book for free. Even stranger for any Los Angelenos out there was the locale - the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City. At the Century Plaza hotel!! That hotel is the basecamp for political campaigns on election night and not for dressing in Nazi finery (even if was for Casablanca the movie). Now all we get at the Century Plaza is the stage where the likes of the Reagans, Andy Williams and foreign fundraisers are held. Wow, the 70's were weird and the money was crazy in the music biz and only about to get bigger for Casablanca. Beyond the weirdness of the photos, the hypocrisy of the costumes should not be lost on any Stooges historians out there. So, let me get this straight, Ron gets heat for wearing his, um WWII "collectibles," but Hugh gets a pass. Ron was ahead of his time on all fronts and fashion forward. I still try to emulate the guys style in 2010 to no avail.
At least the Coop came in a newsboy cap with beer in hand to see who would soon dethrone him in the teenage camp. Come on Alice "Muscle of Love" to "Welcome to My Nightmare"? Sorry dude, but I have to say the string of "Kiss," "Hotter Than Hell," Dressed to Kill," "Destroyer" "Alive" and "Rock and Roll Over" - in the span of two years - kinda trumps the dancers and cyclops. Bonus points are given for the great "Only Women Bleed." In my book the Coop's 1969-1973 run (earlier if you include the AZ singles) beats anything Batliz or the "Demon" scraped together. There was time when it was ok to like the Dictators, the Coop, early Kiss AND the Stooges. See what too much exposure to these folks courtesy of reality television can do to your place in the teen rock canon.
Pose for the camera Iggy.
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Lisa,
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to post some of the images you have from Richard's collection on his homage page.
Someone has Richard's negatives in his/her possession and has published many of this images as their own all over the internet, in books and in magazines. And the more images we can find of Richard's the more folks can see who actually shot those photos.
http://www.facebook.com/RichardCreamerPhotographer
Actually. the State of California had Richard's negatives destroyed after he passed away. He sold some of his archive to Michael Ochs Archive for 8K before he passed away. brad elterman
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