Photographer
Joel Brodsky was instrumental in shaping the enduring look and iconography of the psychedelic era, capturing landmark images for acts including
the Doors, Van Morrison, and
the MC5. Born in Brooklyn on October 7, 1939,
Brodsky first developed his interest in photography as a teen, and after graduating from Syracuse University he served in the U.S. Army before establishing his own New York City studio in 1966. As a favor to a friend,
Brodsky agreed to shoot the cover to
Eric Andersen's sophomore Vanguard release,
'Bout Changes & Things, and he quickly emerged as the label's go-to photographer, snapping covers for acts ranging from
Otis Spann to
Country Joe & the Fish. At year's end, new Elektra Records signing
the Doors arrived in New York, and
Brodsky was assigned to shoot photos for their forthcoming debut LP. While his group photography was alone superb, yielding the image that adorns the album jacket as well as the band's first advertising billboard, his solo shots of frontman
Jim Morrison proved even more significant.
Brodsky captured a shirtless, drunken
Morrison in all his youthful potency, and the session -- the so-called "Young Lion" photos -- would later the form the basis of the enduring cult following and mass merchandising that mushroomed around the singer in the wake of his 1971 death.
Brodsky later went on to shoot the Fellini-esque jacket of the Doors' follow-up disc, Strange Days, and virtually every Doors archival release or repackaging issued by Elektra in the decades since features one of his photos on its sleeve. Much of Brodsky's most seminal work was done under contract for Elektra, including his cover photos for the MC5's Kick Out the Jams and the Stooges' self-titled debut, two landmark 1969 LPs that together laid much of the groundwork for punk. For labels including Warner Bros. and Stax, he also snapped covers for Van Morrison's masterpiece Astral Weeks, Booker T. & the MG's' McLemore Avenue, and Isaac Hayes' Black Moses, which in its original vinyl incarnation unfolded to create a three-foot-by-four-foot cross, the biggest LP sleeve ever designed. Brodsky also earned significant attention for a series of absurdly erotic covers he shot for funk legends the Ohio Players before turning to advertising, where he directed commercials for brands including Avon, Revlon, and Bloomingdale's. Brodsky died of a sudden heart attack in Stamford, CT, on March 1, 2007; he was 67. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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