Herb Greene

Herb “Herbie” Greene (born April 3, 1942) is an American photographer best known for his portraits of The Grateful Dead, the iconic psychedelic rock band led by Jerry Garcia. Over 50 years, Greene’s photographs traced the band’s evolution from its roots in San Francisco’s psychedelic underground to global stardom.

His portraits of other rock and roll luminaries – including Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, The Pointer Sisters, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, and more – have been regularly featured in Rolling Stone magazine and several books documenting the music of the 1960s counterculture.

Known as “Herbie” by his friends, Greene won high praise for his ability to capture intimate portraits of the most revered figures in rock. That access was largely due to his relationships with the bands he photographed. Although he refers to himself as “just the guy with the long hair and the camera,” Greene lived in San Francisco during the 1960s rock revolution and was friends with renowned musicians, promoters, and artists.

In a 2004 Rolling Stone interview, Grace Slick, former front woman for the Jefferson Airplane, remembered Greene’s famous dining room photo sessions: “Everybody used to go over there in front of Herbie’s wall.”

Today, Greene lives outside of Boston with his wife. He sells his iconic photographs through his website and at art shows across the country, and many of his images are on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio

Born April 3, 1942, in Indio, California, Herb Greene grew up on his father’s pear orchard in Medford, Oregon. His father traveled the West Coast selling fruit, and his mother was a stay-at-home mom.

Greene’s mother could draw well, and she influenced him to pursue the arts. When the family moved to Yuba City, California, Greene took a drawing class at Yuba City High School. He struggled, so when a teacher suggested photography instead, Green enrolled in a class and bought his first camera, a 1959 Icon Contaflex.

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