Herb Greene
Biography
Herb Greene (April 3, 1942 – March 3, 2025) was one of the defining photographers of the San Francisco rock scene, and his connection to the poster catalog is as a photographer whose images were incorporated into poster art. On FD-67 (the Charlatans and the 13th Floor Elevators, Avalon Ballroom, June 1967), Greene supplied the photograph of the Charlatans in Edwardian/Western costume, which Rick Griffin built into the poster design. Greene's broader career is extensively documented: among his earliest sessions was a portrait shoot with the Warlocks (soon the Grateful Dead), and he went on to photograph the Charlatans, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin. His photographs became album covers, including Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow (1967), and he published several books. He died in 2025 at 82.
Why They Matter
A foundational documentarian of the San Francisco sound whose portraits shaped how the era was seen; within the poster catalog his role is the source photography behind Rick Griffin's FD-67 — a reminder that several "art" posters fused fine photography with psychedelic design.
Notable Works
- FD-67 — the Charlatans / 13th Floor Elevators, Avalon Ballroom, June 1967 — Charlatans photograph (poster art by Rick Griffin)
- Surrealistic Pillow album cover photography, Jefferson Airplane (1967)
- The Book of the Dead (1990)