90 miles from Palm Springs, CA in the middle of the desolate wind blown Colorado Desert, a few of miles from Slab City (a whole different story) and near the beautifully awful Salton Sea lies Salvation Mountain. Salvation Mountain was created by local resident Leonard Knight (1931–2014) out of adobe, straw and paint – lots and lots and lots of paint (all toxic free btw). It encompasses numerous murals and areas painted with Christian sayings and Bible verses, – its philosophy built around the Sinners’ Prayer which is the focal point of the mountain captured in a large red heart.

The current Salvation Mountain is actually the second of its kind. Knight began the first Salvation Mountain in 1980, though it was incredibly unstable. The Mountain fell into a heap of rubble, though Knight was not discouraged; he rather saw it as God’s way of letting him know the Mountain was not safe. He began a second Salvation Mountain, the one currently standing, stating that he had the chance this time to “do it with more smarts”

The Folk Art Society of America declared it “a folk art site worthy of preservation and protection” in the year 2000. In an address to the US Congress California Senator Barbara Boxer described it as “a unique and visionary sculpture… a national treasure… profoundly strange and beautifully accessible, and worthy of the international acclaim it receives”

After close to 40 years of working on his vision Leonard Knight passed away in 2014 at the age of 83. Concern has been raised for the future of the site, which requires constant maintenance due to the harsh surrounding environment. Many visitors bring paint to donate to the project, and a group of volunteers has been working to protect and maintain the site. In 2012, a public charity, Salvation Mountain, Inc., was established to support the project.

Leonard Knight

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  Mark 16: 17-18

Well it says it in the bible so it must be true. The practice of snake handling was introduced by George Went Hensley in the early 1900’s and became part of the southern Holiness Movement. The idea being not to worship snakes but to handle them safely and fearlessly as a sign of salvation and God’s protection. If believers truly had the Holy Spirit within them, Hensley argued, they should be able to handle rattlesnakes and any number of other venomous serpents. They should also be able to drink poison and suffer no harm whatsoever. Snake handling as a test or demonstration of faith became popular wherever Hensley traveled and preached in the small towns of Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. Sister-churches later sprang up throughout the Appalachian region where it continues to this day.

S

Clarence Henry Reid aka Blow Fly (February 14, 1939 – January 17, 2016)                                                   Before he became Blow Fly he was simply Clarence Henry Reid born in Vienna Georgia on Valentines Day, 1939. During the 1960s and 1970s Reid wrote for and produced artists including Betty Wright, Sam & Dave, Bobby Byrd and KC and the Sunshine Band. During this period he was also a recording artist, cutting many of his own songs, including semi-hit “Nobody But You Babe”.

Reid would write sexually explicit lyrics to popular songs for his friends and to perform at parties (much like a dirty Weird Al). In 1971 he was persuaded – for better or worse – to record an LP of these beauties. Titled “The Weird World of Blow Fly”. He conceived a character of a low rent superhero to protect his identity and lucrative song writing career.

Having heard a couple of Blow Fly LPs let me tell you they are shit. Such titles as “If Eating You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want To Be Right”, “The First Time Ever You Sucked My Dick”, and “Ain’t No Head Like My Woman’s Head” tells you right away what your in for.

Reid would tour as Blow Fly sporadically for years. A 2010 documentary by Jonathan Furmanski would increase his popularity a bit but by that time he was in his 70’s and in poor health. Clarence Henry Reid passed away on Jan 17 from liver cancer.

Blow Fly Disco – LP Cover

The Weird World of Blowfly – LP

Self Titled LP

2001: A Sex Odyssey

Blow Fly Does XXX-Mas

Clarence Reid – Pre-Blowfly

Dancin’ With Nobody But You Babe – Clarence Reid

The Weird World of Blow Fly – Documentary 2010

While looking through bad album cover design (something I love to do) I noticed how some of the cover models must have thought how goddamn hot they looked or that the persona they chose for themselves was one of pure sex  and charisma and they just had to share it with the world. Some are just purely ill-conceived – what the monkey was Action Bronson trying to say w/ his LP Saab Stories? And goddamn it if I’m not tired of seeing Madonnas old crotch staring at me from the shelves. You just can’t say enough about former Dexy’s Midnight Runner front man and singer of 80’s staple “Come On Ilene – To Ra Aye” cross dressing LP My Beauty. Of course there’ll be LPs designed to shock “My Pussy Belongs to Daddy” and the wonderfully named Nigel Pepper Cock’s hit – Fresh White Reeboks Kicking Your Ass. PS – Vince Capretta is wearing underpants – I think.

Carlos

Vincent Capretta – Who’s Lookin’ Back

Gary – Getting Down to Business

Kevin Rowland – My Beauty (Ex- Dexy’s – “Come on Ilene”)

Gunther – Pleasure Man

Madonna – Hard Candy (Tired Old Madge)

My Pussy Belongs to Daddy

Martin Denny – Romantica

Nigel Pepper Cock – Fresh White Reeboks Kickin Your Ass

Barbara Markay – Give your Dick to Me

Porn Land – In The Nude

Butthole Surfers – Rembrandt Pussyhorse

Action Bronson – Saab Stories

Gepy & Gepy – Body to Body

Dan Grary – Lady’s Fancy

Randy Jack Wiggins

Oral Sex – Oral Sex (?)

Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, March 15, 1943) He was young, handsome, and hugely talented, had a killer afro and a huge drug problem, but Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to Sly. It’s hard to imagine just how popular and influential Sly and the Family Stone were in the late sixties. It’s also hard to imagine how groundbreaking it was to be a multiracial funk band at that time. Sly along with Parliment-Funkadelic led the charge in late sixties early seventies funk explosion. S & the FS hits would include Dance to the Music, Stand, Hot Fun in the Summertime and Everyday People (to name only a few).              more below

The young Sly and the Family Stone about 1967

Sly at Woodstock – 1969

Then came the drugs (cocaine & PCP) and the concert no-shows. Live bookings had steadily dropped since 1970, because promoters were afraid that Stone or one of the band members might miss the gig, refuse to play, or pass out on stage from drug use. At many of these gigs, concert goers rioted if the band failed to show up, or if Stone walked out before finishing his set.

The 80’s saw Sly release 4 LPs under his name and the Family Stone moniker but w/ no original members and to limited success. A collaboration w/ George Clinton of Parliment failed to bring any hits. And then he vanished – sort of. It wasn’t until the Grammy appearance in 2006 that anyone really saw what became of Sly Stone. Sporting an enormous blonde mohawk, thick sunglasses, a “Sly” beltbuckle and a silver lamé suit, he joined in on “I Want To Take You Higher.” Hunched over the keyboards, he wore a cast on his right hand (the result of a recent motorcycle mishap), and a hunched back caused him to look down through most of the performance. His voice, though strong, was barely audible over the production. Stone walked to the front of the stage toward the end of the performance, sang a verse and then with a wave to the audience, sauntered offstage before the song was over. And that’s pretty much, that. Sly has sense sued is former manager receiving $5 million but continues to live out of his van in the Crenshaw neighborhood of LA. He appears occasionally but can’t really seem to make it through more than a song or two.

Sly resurfaces at the 2006 Grammy Awards

Sly at home (his Ford Camper Van)

2014-15

2015 Back on stage

Pictured here are various Motorcycle Club jackets and patches. Everything on each jacket represents something to it’s owner and club; his standing, club politics, philosophy, chapter, etc.  I have no idea if these MC’s still exist or anything about their history. All I know for sure is you better not wear one of these patches if you’re not part of the club (We learned this from 6 seasons of Sons of Anarchy). Apologies to all the MC’s unrepresented here.

Forbidden Few – Flint, MI

Knight Riders – Washington DC

Stoned Riders – Santa Maria, CA

Drifters – Cleveland, OH

Hells Union – New Jersey

Roaches – Venice, CA

Heathen Angels – Straight Satans – Hellcats

Unknown – Detroit, MI

Mongols – Denver, CO

Zulus – Akron, Oh

White Knights – Wyoming

Aces & Eights – Jersey

Death Barons – Connecticut

Sinners

Spokesmen – Vermillion, OH

Vipers – Richmond, VA

A somewhat depressing post, granted. Looking up the work of King Curtis I found out that he had been murdered while trying to bust up a drug deal on his apartment steps. It made me wonder who else (beside the big 3 of Lennon, Shakur and BIGGY) had been killed. Turns out there are a few, gratefully not as many as I initially thought, but a bunch). Seems that the majority are black men that have been killed with guns. I guess times haven’t changed much.

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)  Shot to death in his home by his father Marvin Gay Sr.

Peter Tosh, (born Winston Hubert McIntosh; 19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987)  Original member of The Wailers (along w/ Bob Marley). Had huge crossover hit w/ “Walk and Don’t Look Back” w/ Mick Jagger. Shot to death in a home invasion in Jamaica

Jimmy Hughes Bell aka Orion (February 26, 1945 – December 12, 1998)  American singer whose voice was almost indistinguishable from Elvis Presley’s, a fact which he and his record company played upon, making some believe that some of his recordings were by Elvis, or even that Elvis had not died in 1977. Shot to death in his Alabama pawn shop.

Hasil Adkins (April 29, 1937 – April 26, 2005)  One man band, favorite of The Cramps and all Psychobilly punks everywhere. Developed a cult following and would tour bars for years on the back of the slimmest bit of fame. Norton Records released a bunch of Hasil (pronounced Hassel) Adkins LPs and championed him. On April 15, 2005, Adkins was deliberately run over in his front yard by a teenager on an ATV. Ten days later, on April 26, Adkins was found dead in his home.

Selena Quinatilla-Perez (April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995)  American born Tejano singer. Selena was shot in the back by her fan club president after accusations of embezzlement.

Curtis Ousley – aka King Curtis (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971) Jazz and Soul saxophone virtuoso who would go on to play w/ Aretha Franklin, The Coasters and in the band The Kingpins that opened for The Beatles at Shea Stadium. Curtis was was stabbed in the heart during an argument with a pair of drug dealers he discovered on the steps outside his NY apartment.

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. Legend has it that he sold his soul to the devil to gain his skills and fame. According to one theory, Johnson was murdered by the jealous husband of a woman. In an account by fellow blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson , Johnson had been flirting with a married woman at a dance, where she gave him a bottle of whiskey poisoned by her husband.

?  – Robert Gaston “Bobby” Fuller (October 22, 1942 – July 18, 1966) Texas rock and roller best known  his cover of “I Fought the Law”, recorded with his mid-1960s group, The Bobby Fuller Four. Within months of “I Fought the Law” becoming a top 10 hit, Fuller was found dead in an automobile with a can of gasoline in the front seat of asphyxiation. Originally listed as a suicide. Apparently Bobby showed some facial bruising and a broken hand. Though still officially a suicide it’s speculated that the woman Bobby was involved w/ was a Mafia girlfriend and was murdered by an angry mobster. And jesus, “A can of gasoline”?

Darrell “Dimebag” Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004) Guitarist w/ Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott was shot and killed by a gunman while on stage during a performance at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio.

Samuel “Sam” Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), Influential as both a singer and composer, he is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocals and importance within popular music. On December 11, 1964, at the age of 33, Cooke was shot and killed by Bertha Franklin, the manager of the Hacienda Motel in LA.

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) Fatally Shot in a drive-by in Las Vegas.

Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) The Notorious B.I.G. Victim of a drive-by in LA.

John Winston Ono Lennon, (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) Shot by Mark David Chapman outside The Dakota in NYC.

?  – Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969)  Rolling Stones guitarist found drowned in his own swimming pool (formally the estate of Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne). Originally thought to be “Death by Misadventure”. In 1993 it was reported that Jones was murdered by Frank Thorogood, who was doing some construction work on the property. He was the last person to see Jones alive. Thorogood allegedly confessed the murder to the Rolling Stones’ driver, Tom Keylock.

?  – Johnny Thunders (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), born John Anthony Genzale, Jr.  Lead guitarist of The New York Dolls and later The Heartbreakers. Johnny was such a hardcore heroin junkie that it was just a matter of time before he showed up OD’d in some NY alley. Instead it was a tatty hotel room in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Thinking it was a typical OD the police failed to notice that Johnny’s room had been ransacked, all his stuff stolen and Johnny cold and twisted like a pretzel dead under a table.  Officials reopened the case but it still stands as Death by Overdose (though apparently there wasn’t enough heroin in his body to kill him)

Mia Katherine Zapata (August 25, 1965 – July 7, 1993) Singer for up and coming Seattle band, The Gits. beaten and strangled on her way home. The murder wasn’t solved until 2003 when Jesus Mezquia was convicted and sentenced to 36 years.

Jason William Mizell – Jam Master Jay – (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002) DJ for Run DMC. Shot and killed in his studio in Queens NY. Still remains unsolved.

Osbourne Ruddock, – King Tubby (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989) King of the Jamaican Dub movement. King Tubby was shot and killed outside his home in Duhaney Park, Kingston, upon returning from a session at his Waterhouse studio

Nicholas Drain “Nick” Lowe (born 24 March 1949) Nick Lowe was a tad older than the rest of the guys in the class of ’77. He’d already gained some fame w/ British pub rockers Brinsley Schwartz and by 1976 was the in-house producer for new punk label STIFF – whose motto was “If it ain’t Stiff it ain’t worth a fuck”. Nick would release the first Stiff single “So it Goes” b/w “Heart of the City”. Lowe would go on to produce his friends Elvis Costello and Graham Parker and the Rumor, among others and have hits of his own, scoring a Top 40 Hit w/ “Cruel to be Kind” in the US and a Top 10 UK hit w/ “I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass”. He also wrote the single “What’s so Funny ’bout Peace Love and Understanding” for his friend Elvis Costello. *Side Note: In 1979 he became Johnny Cash’s son-in-law by marring his step-daughter, Carlene Carter. The marriage would ended in 1990 but they all stayed on good terms. Johnny would even go on to record a few of Nick’s songs on his American Music series LP’s. Nick continues to tour and record regularly, most recently with Los StraitJackets.

The Stiff Tour 1977 – Wreckless Eric, Nick, Elvis Costello, Larry Wallis & Ian Dury

“The Jesus of Cool” – Retitled in US to “Pure Pop for Now People”

Young Nick (or old Jody Foster?)

With Andy Williams (!?)

David Bowie released his LP “Low”. Nick Lowe promptly released a single called “Bowi”

Aging well – and a full head of hair

With old mate Elvis Costello

Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) He looked a bit like Burt Reynolds in his youth and a lot like Charles Bukowski in his old age. He did everything a country star of the 60’s was meant to do. He drank, he smoked and fought. He spent some time in San Quentin where he got in trouble for running a liquor and gambling operation. Had 6 or 7 kids and 5 wives. Along with Buck Owens (he married his former wife), Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield Sound (characterized by the twangy Fender Telecaster and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville recordings of the same era).

In 2006, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Haggard was also honored as a BMI Icon at the 54th annual BMI Pop Awards in 2006. During his songwriting career up to that time, Haggard had earned 48 BMI Country Awards, nine BMI Pop Awards, a BMI R&B Award, and 16 BMI “Million-Air” awards, all from a catalog of songs that added up to over 25 million performances.

He also had 38 number 1 hits on the CW charts, 4 Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor and all the CW awards there are. He was indeed the man.

Getting fitted for a Nudie suit

With Johnny Paycheck – a little worse for wear.

With Willie Nelson

Bukowski?

So Long

I’ve posted a number of these great photos over the years and it’s time to do it again. These are not your modern Dita Von Teese burlesque queens. These are the originators – great names, great hair, great bodies. Some became hugely famous in their time; Lili St, Cyr, Tempest Storm (recorded a single for Jack White a few years ago) and Blaze Starr. Some (most) faded into obscurity. All are beautiful.

Frosty Conners

Candy Hart

Dee Angela

Kupie Doll

Lili St. Cyr

Venus La Doll

Star Markee aka The Cherokee Flash

Sheena aka The Fantastic Savage

Angel Blue aka The Heavenly Body

Baby Jane aka The Original Doll

Jessica Rogers aka The WOW Girl

Blaze Starr aka Miss Spontaneous Combustion

Gia-Mo

Julie Gibson aka The Bashful Bride

Paula Fontane

Precious Diamond

Rita Alexander

Ernesto García “The Chango” Cabral (18 December 1890 – 8 August 1968)  Cabral first made his name as a caricaturist for newspapers and magazines during the Mexican Revolution of 1911, illustrating the exploits of Pancho Villa & Emiliano Zapata. From these drawings he was able to study in Paris for a short time on a grant from Mexico’s President Madero. For the next few years, Cabral would travel and worked in Madrid and Argentina before returning to Mexico in 1915. On his return he would start developing his recognized style of bright colors and exaggerated features, (working for many publications – it is said that he has over 25,000 published images). It is the movie posters from the 50’s though that have provided him his notoriety. Beautiful, bright and exciting, his work became synonymous with the burgeoning Mexican film industry of the early 1950’s.

Weegee – real name, Arthur Fellig was short and fat and took pictures of dead people on the streets of New York. He was a Tom Waits song waiting to be wrote. With his very graphic crime scene photos he became responsible for a new kind of journalistic photography as art.  Bettie Page was the top pin-up model of the 50’s – small, slim and gorgeous. Famous but troubled and hounded by anti pornography crusaders. They were also friends, living a few blocks from each other off of Times Square (Weegee on West 47th Street and Ms. Page on West 46th Street). Weegee didn’t take a lot of pictures of Bettie but the ones he did were funny and innocent. The photos below are all by Weegee, some for newspaper and magazines others (the Page shots) for his own pleasure. Having fun in a camera club setting w/ his good friend.

Arthur Fellig aka Weegee

Jimmy Armstrong

BETTIE PAGE

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Camera Club

Weegee/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Unless you’ve been living in a cave (or the midwest) you’ll know that vinyl records are back, and back big.  Right now vinyl is outselling all formats of recorded music. I guess people were just bored w/ stealing badly compressed music off the internet – hopefully so. In order to give the buyer a completely different experience record labels have upped their game by producing unusual and uniques pieces. It’s usually the smaller record companies like Jack White’s Third Man Records that will do the real cool stuff – You may find a pink vinyl copy of Madonnas new LP from a major label but you’re never gonna’ find one filled with her hair and urine (honest to god – see below). Most of the records don’t play that great but what the hell – they’re just so damn cool.

Liquid filled – Friday the 13th OST

Aliens OST – Alien Blood Version. Limited to 75 copies

X-ray

In the cold war era Soviet Union, bootleggers built homemade recording machines and ingeniously copied and pressed forbidden records by the state on discarded X-Rays which they clandestinely obtained from hospitals. They would etch a copy of a record into the X-Ray, cut it into a circle with scissors, and use a cigarette to burn a hole in the middle, allowing the record to be played on any record player.    http://coloredvinylrecords.com/blog/25-unusual-and-creative-records/

Glow in the dark by Man or Astroman?

String filled record by The Liars – LP – MESS

Multi hole, lathe cut

Bible Ash

Hellmouth burned an old German Bible from the late 1800s and pressed the ash into the ‘Bible Ash’ variant of their Gravestone Skylines album, which was limited to a total of 33 copies.

Ice Mold

Shout Out Louds, a band from Sweden managed to create a playable ice disk for their single ‘Blue Ice’ in collaboration with TBWA Stockholm. The track can be recreated on a record player but only a few people got the chance to use it. They sent a kit to ten select people along with a set of instructions on how to make the album, along with a mold and a bottle of water.  http://coloredvinylrecords.com/blog/25-unusual-and-creative-records/

Zoetrope

Zoetrope vinyl releases have printed or etched images on them that produce continuous moving pictures when spun on a record player.

Color combos

Glassjaw‘s Coloring Book has 120 unique color combinations using yellow, orange, green, red, blue and white. The vinyl separates into a 7″, 10″ ring and 12″ ring and comes framed with a hand-numbered sticker on the back of the frame.

Chocolate

French DJ and producer Breakbot had a limited pressing of 120 copies of his single cast in edible chocolate and was intended to be played only once and then eaten.

3 RPM

The world’s first 3 RPM record, given away for free at Third Man Records‘s Three Year Anniversary Party. It’s cut at the slowest speed yet it plays super fast (and needs to be spun by hand as no turntable can play it). It’s a compilation of 7 inch records but packaged like a 12 inch, containing every Blue Series single released.  http://coloredvinylrecords.com/blog/25-unusual-and-creative-records/

Asteroid Dust

Emperor Yes’s LP – An Island Called Earth had a limited pressing of 100 records, containing crushed meteorite dust.

Blood

Meredith Graves of Perfect Pussy had her blood mixed w/ clear vinyl for a limited release. The Flaming Lips went went step further for their LP Heady Fwends having the blood of Kesha, Nick Cave and Yoko Ono (among others) pressed into their LP.

Hair and Pee

Eohippus went even further with their single “Getting Your Hair Wet with Pee” single. That’s right yellow vinyl embedded w/ urine soaked hair.

Autumn Leaves

Barren Harvest‘s Subtle Cruelties clear vinyl edition was pressed with real autumn leaves inside and was limited to 100 copies.

Cremains

British company And Vinyly offers a unique service to their customers. They press your or your loved one’s ashes into a 12″ clear vinyl, containing music or any audio of your choice. All you have to do is to deliver the ashes to a pressing plant in London and pay the £3,000 for the ‘Basic Package’, which includes 30 copies of the record.

Platinum and Gold

Both LPs for The Great Gatsby soundtrack are set are blindingly reflective metallized discs. Disc one is platinum and disc two is gold. These are the first-ever commercially available records made using these precious metals via this process. Not stopping there, the records come housed in an entirely unique laser-cut wooden LP jacket riveted to aluminum spines. If you can find one it’ll set you back about $400.

Lazer Etched

Normally, laser etching is only done on a non-playable side of a vinyl record. However, with some tweaking, laser etching can be done also on the groove side of the record without affecting the playing grooves. If hit by a light, the etching reflects in polychromatic colors.

Thanks to      http://coloredvinylrecords.com

A bizarre German craze of posing for pictures alongside actors dressed up as polar bears has been unearthed in a series of photographs dating back to the 1920s. The pictures were found hunting through flea markets for the past 20 years by French collector Jean-Marie Donat and are currently being exhibited at the Arles Photography Festival in the south of France.
There is little in the way of explanation for the social phenomenon except to say that for whatever reason Germany has had a long and crazy fascination with polar bears.  Why men in polar bear suits posing w/ tourists at the beach? No one knows, but thats the thing w/ fads, here one day, gone the next. Though this particular fad lasted about 40 years (1920’s – 60’s) and an occasional polar bear imitator can still be found on the streets of Germany to this day.

*Please forgive the occasional swastika – it was Germany in the 30’s after all. 

Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985), born Mary Louise Brooks. She typified the Flapper era of the 1920’s but somehow managed to look completely different and modern by todays standards. She starred in just a few movies – 17 silents and 8 sound pictures, before retiring at the tender age of 32. She hated Hollywood with a passion and made her 3 most famous films in Europe; Pandora’s Box, Diary of a Lost Girl and Miss Europe, (the first 2 w/ director G.W. Pabst). She publicly danced nude, she had lesbian affairs (a one night stand w/ Greta Garbo), married a bunch of guys and made some bad decisions – what a woman!

Young Louise

With Richard Arlen 1970’s

Ringo Starr nee Richard Starkey – July 7, 1940

Rory Storm & the Hurricanes – Ringo far right

W/ Raquel Welch – The Magic Christian

Ringo at 76

My wife and I have been collectors and pickers for years. We’re opening up the new online version of our shop called Dear Wolf. Great, beautifully designed stuff from the 1930’s to the 90’s. Clothes, Accessories, Furnishings and Ephemera. Have a quick look. All the stuff here isn’t in the store yet, but should you want any of it message me through this blog for prices and availability. We’re at – http://dearwolfvintage.bigcartel.com/ https://twitter.com/DearWolfVintage and https://www.instagram.com/dear_wolf_vintage/

Vintage Hand Painted Levis Jacket – David Bowie

1956 Mexican Movie Poster – Pension de Artistas

1970’s Mayor Dailey Neighborhood Program T-Shirt, Chicago

Vintage Wood Theater Chairs – Set of 6

Old Animal Motif Indian Kantha

Vintage Leather Motorcycle Jacket – Hand Painted w/ 1920’s Russian Movie Poster

Cast Aluminum Deco Door Knocker Peephole

Blue and Brown Ladies Boots

Buddhist Church Drum And Bugle Corps Felt Banner – 11’x 3′

Antique Leather Dr.’s Bag

1930’s – 40’s Elaborate Steamer Trunk

Vintage Hand Painted Levi’s Jacket – Buxom

1970’s Scaasi Dress

Vintage Kids Wicker Rocking Chair

New York Dolls (The 1st LP) released in July of 1973 received widespread acclaim from critics when it was first released but sold poorly. The band toured the United States to promote the record, but they were difficult to market and developed a reputation for rock-star excesses. Despite its commercial failure, the album was an influential precursor to the 1970s punk movement and has since been named in various publications as one of the greatest debut records in rock and one of the greatest albums of all time. The photography by Toshi has become (somewhat) iconic. Many bands would emulate the Dolls style over the years (and still do) but no LP has really had the punch of seeing these 5 men in drag on an album released 43 years ago. It’s the outtakes that are even more interesting, somehow even glammier and more shocking. And who is kid in the back cover photos and where is he today?

Self Titled 1st LP

In order of appearance – #1 Arthur “Killer” Kane

Sylvain Sylvain

David Johansen

Johnny Thunders

Jerry Nolan

Back Cover – The Gem Spa, NYCNY

Jerry

Johnny

David

Arthur

Syl

Gem Spa today

I’ve posted a bunch of these before and they never fail to amaze me. The deal here is that primarily in Ghana and other parts of Africa there exist traveling cinemas that will roll into your village on a flat bed truck, throw up a makeshift screen and show movies for a small fee. These posters are their advertisement. Hand painted on canvas, board or anything they can get their hands on, they are weird, beautiful and total design genius. This group is mostly African films w/ a few bootleg US productions thrown in.