Musician Photography

Musician Photographs by Watt M. Casey, Jr.

Watt began photographing musicians in the early 1970’s in Austin Texas at The Armadillo, the original Antone’s Home of the Blues, in numerous venues around Austin, San Antonio and worked for Showco Sound on Eric Clapton’s July 1974 USA tour. He photographed musicians in numerous clubs, arenas and stadiums beginning in the early 1970’s.

Many photographs were taken with the benefit of stage passes or access to the front/back of the stage. I photographed artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan/Double Trouble from the mid 1970’s thru April 1990 and Bruce Springsteen from 1978/2008. Countless musicians were photographed when they passed through Austin, Dallas, Houston or San Antonio.

Digital: Bruce Springsteen & E St. Band (2008 tour), Los Lonely Boys (2007), Gary Clark, Jr., Green River Ordinance* (Multiple years thru 2016), Red Steagall* (2005), Alison Krauss & Union Station (2012), Rod Stewart ( 2022 ), Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings (2015), Tedeschi Trucks Band (2012-2013-2014-2015), Dean Dillon* (2012-2014) , The Rolling Stones (2021& 2024) and the Steve Miller Band* (2012-2023) are digital (D) along with other musicians.

This list covers a wide spectrum of music. Most photographs are onstage black and white, some are color (look for a C) and a few are color only.  Offstage photographs indicated by *.  Hundreds of film images from the 1970’s on have been scanned and more are being scanned on a regular basis.

“My Guitar Is a Camera” w/200 photographs taken over 46 years, introduction by Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band and a large amount of great text by well known authors and people involved in the music business like Mark Seal, Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Bentley. Published by TAMU (Texas A & M Press) Nov. 1st, 2017.  Available from Watt ( I will personalize if wanted and mail ), Amazon and other locations.

Ronnie Wood Band’s Mr. Luck a tribute to Jimmy Reed Live at The Royal Albert Hall has an offstage photo of Eddie Taylor…. Released September 2021.

The Grammy Museum’s John Lee Hooker: Born to Boogie exhibit opened August 22nd, at the Grammy’s Cleveland Mississippi location. In 2018 the exhibit traveled west to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Stevie Ray Vaughan-Rise of a Texas Bluesman: 1954-1983 and Stevie Ray Vaughan-1984-1989: Lonestar have several on and offstage photographs in these DVD’s that were produced in England. The cover photo of Lonestar is mine.

In 2016 and 2017 Steve Miller had me photograph himself, Jimmie Vaughan and the fabulous musicians he had assembled in New York City in Rose Theater part of The Lincoln Center. This was for two special Jazz At Lincoln Center concerts. Steve called the 2016 concert T-Bone Walker A Bridge From Blues to Jazz and the 2017 concert The Blues Triangle when he had Charlie Musselwhite join in! 

Ernie Ball Music Man used images of Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Jr. Wells, Hubert Sumlin and B. B. King in their Buddy Guy documentary that aired on national television-March 2016.

The Grammy Museum’s Stevie Ray Vaughan exhibit opened March 31st, 2016 at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, OK using many of the 30 photographs they purchased for the exhibit.  The exhibit then travelled to the new Grammy Museum in Cleveland, MS.  The final stop was in Austin Texas at the Bob Bullock Museum where it opened March 10th, 2017.

Dean Dillon author/co-author of countless number one hits by George Strait and many others is using images on his website-2015.  Think The Chair, Ocean Front Property, Famous Last Words of a Fool…. And A Lot of Things Different sung by Kenny Chesney.

The film Sam Lay in Blues Land has photographs of Eddie Taylor and Muddy Waters w/Lou Ann Barton and Bob Margolin-2015.

Eric Clapton: Day By Day The Early Years 1963-1982 Marc Roberty in the UK-June 2013

Eric Clapton used a photograph of EC playing “Blackie” in San Francisco, CA at the Cow Palace July 21st 1974 in the second auction catalog for the Crossroads Centre Antigua.

Bob Dylan: Rolling Thunder Revue photographs in the Columbia release Bob Dylan Complete Album Collection Vol. 1-November 2013.

 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band “Darkness On the Edge of Town” box set has five photographs taken Dec. 7, 1978, in Austin-November 2010.

Bob Dylan: Rolling Thunder Revue photograph in the Columbia Legacy release “Dylan” a deluxe 3 CD box set-October 2007.

A photograph of Willie Nelson, Kenneth Threadgill and Leon Russell at Willie’s first Fourth of July Picnic 1973 in Dripping Springs in the Rhino release: “Willie Nelson” The Complete Atlantic Sessions-June 2006.

The only photograph in their new CD “the beauty of letting go” by former Virgin Records recording artists Green River Ordinance, a Fort Worth, Texas, band plus numerous images being used by in their web and publicity materials were shot in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 including opening for and with Bon Jovi in Dallas-January 2006.

Sony/Legacy used five photographs of Muddy Waters and assorted musicians in re-releases of the late Muddy Waters: “King Bee”, “I’m Ready” and “Hard Again”-2004. All photographs April 1976 at Antone’s Home of the Blues in Austin, Texas.

The 2004 documentary on “Antone’s Home of the Blues” features 30 of Watt’s black & white photographs of musicians such as Albert King, B. B. King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Band, Junior Wells, Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan and others who played Antone’s in Austin Texas in the mid-1970’s.

Sony/Legacy used two photographs in the CD “Stevie Ray Vaughan: Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues“-2003.

Back cover photograph on the CD “Life Lines” David Allen Hammond’s (songwriter with/for Jimmie Dale Gilmore and on his own)-2002.

Photographs are in the late Stevie Ray Vaughan Box Set “SRV”-2000, cover of Bruce Springsteen’s single “War”, and in the book that came with the “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live 1975-1985”,   Eric Johnson’s “Ah Via Musicom”, Freddie King video/DVD releases by Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop, Butch Hancock and the cover of Eddie Taylor’s CD and various Books, Publications, PR Packages & Songbooks have numerous photographs.

Stevie Ray Vaughan Cover of the Italian magazine “Chitarre”-February 2009.

  1. Brown wants to publish a coffee table book “Red Rocks” (Colorado) that will include photographs of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band taken in August 1981.

 Guitarist magazine, England, photograph of Stevie Ray Vaughan-April 2007.

Photographs of Bruce Springsteen & the E St. Band appear in “Bruce Springsteen On Tour: 1968-2005” by Dave Marsh-October 2006.

Photographs in “An American Journey The Oak Ridge Boys” a coffee table book -October 2004.

Guitar World: black-and-white and color photographs of Stevie Ray Vaughan in the Legends issue-October 2004.

Geffen Records: Publicity photographs of John Fogerty taken during his 2004 summer tour.

Fender Musical Instruments: Stevie Ray Vaughan photographs in Fender Frontline catalogs-2003 & 2004.

Guitar Player: Stevie Ray Vaughan cover photograph and inside-Feb. 2002.

Craig Hopkins “Day by Day, Night After Night” & “the essential Stevie Ray Vaughan” (published-summer 2000-updated version arrived 2007 with additional photographs from all stages of Stevie’s career) have numerous photographs on stage and off.

Delta Blues Museum acquired a set of prints of the blues masters through Benson and Hedges in 1990.

Takamini Guitar Co. used an outdoor photograph of country musician Mark Chestnutt in their advertising campaign for their Santa Fe guitars.

“The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll”, the Charles Cross book “Backstreets Springsteen the Man and His Music”, “Picture the Blues” by Susan Antone and others have numerous photographs.

In Bruce Springsteen/E St. Band’s “The River” songbook and Sony Music Posters for Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band Live 1975-1985.

The following used photographs: The Benson and Hedges Blues Tour press release and publicity packages, Rolling Stone magazine, Billboard magazine and numerous other magazines and newspapers.

Photographs of Eric Clapton, Steve Miller, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and the Tedeschi Trucks Band were done throughout the United States 1974-2023.

Online: www.WattCasey.com  email: Watt50@sbcglobal.net

Cell: 325.668.1373

B/W  &/or Color.  Color Indicated w/C.   Musicians Onstage & Musicians Offstage *

Blues:

Bobby Blue Bland
The Cobras (Paul Ray w/SRV on guitar) *
James Cotton * w/Steve Miller *
Gary Clark Jr.
Buddy Guy *
John Lee Hooker
Albert King *
B. B King * C
Freddie King C & FK w/Eric Clapton-Buffalo NY C
Little Milton
Taj Mahal *
Johnny Reno & the Sax Maniacs with Doyle Bramhall & Tom Reynolds
Otis Rush
Hubert Sumlin *
Hubert and Eddie Taylor *
Eddie Taylor *
Jimmie Vaughan *
the original Fabulous Thunderbirds *
Stevie Ray Vaughan * C
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble * C
Tedeschi Trucks Band D
Junior Wells *
Muddy Waters*/Junior Wells*/Buddy Guy *
Muddy Waters and Band *
Kim Wilson *

Jazz or Related:

Count Basie
George Benson
Gary Burton
Dizzy Gillespie
John Handy
Eddie Harris
Keith Jarrett
John Klemmer
Jean Luc Ponte
Jean-Luc Ponty/Vasaar Clements *
Flora Purim and Airto
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings D
Weather Report
Tom & Will Reynolds D

Country or Related:

Alison Krauss & Union Station D
John Anderson*C
Johnny Cash * C
June Carter Cash * C
Johnny & June Carter Cash w/John Anderson, Oak Ridge Boys & Marty Stuart D
Roy Clark
Vasaar Clements
Alvin Crow/Doug Sahm
Mark Chestnutt * C
Charlie Daniels *
Kinky Friedman * C
Johnnie Gimble
Merle Haggard
John Hartford
Bill & Bonnie Hearne
Chris Hillman
Billy Mata Band D
Carolyn Martin
Willie Nelson * C
Oak Ridge Boys * C
Gary P. Nunn D
Brad Paisley D
Red Steagall & the Boys In the Bunkhouse D
Kenneth Threadgill C
The Dirt Band
Jerry Jeff Walker
Rusty Weir *
Tammy Wynette

Performers At Willie’s First July Fourth 1973 Picnic In Dripping Springs, including Willie Nelson, Kenneth Threadgill, Leon Russell, Waylon Jennings, John Prine and Charlie Rich C

Rock/Pop/Folk/Soul- Black/White. Color or Digital As Noted (C or D)
Backstage/Off Stage Photos marked with an Asterisk.

Eric Clapton * C
Clapton & Carl Radle
Clapton & The Band
Commander Cody/Lost Planet Airmen *
Ry Cooder * (Ry & Flaco Jimenez *)
Elvis Costello
Fats Domino *
Les Dudek
Bob Dylan C
Bob Dylan & Joni Mitchell
Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue
The Eagles
Joe Ely C
Fleetwood Mac *
John Fogerty C
Jerry Garcia C
Lowell George C
Jimmie Dale Gilmore * C
Steve Goodman
Robert Gordon*
Grateful Dead
Green River Ordinance*C D
Stefan Grossman
Arlo Guthrie
John Hartford
David Hammond * C
Butch Hancock
George Harrison
Tish Hinojosa * C
Flaco Jimenez
Eric Johnson *
Robert Earl Keen
Leo Kotke
Arthur Lee of Love C
Little Feat (original)
Los Lonely Boys D
Lyle Lovett C
Delbert McClinton *C
Roger McGuinn
Steve Miller * C D
Joni Mitchell C
Van Morrison C
New Riders of the Purple Sage
Randy Newman
Graham Parker
Shawn Phillips * C
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Bonnie Raitt
Willis Allen Ramsey *
Leon Redbone
John Renbourn
Rod Stewart D
Peter Rowan
Leon Russell C
Doug Sahm & Augie Meyers
Carlos Santana* C
Boz Scaggs C
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings D
Spanky and Our Gang
John David Souther
Southside Johnny & Asbury Jukes
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band C D
Rod Stewart
Stephen Stills C
James Taylor * C
The Blasters
Tedeschi Trucks Band D
The Rolling Stones C Toots and the Maytalls
Jimmie Vaughan & the Fabulous Thunderbirds with Angela Strehli and Lou Ann Barton*
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble * C
Tom Waits
Junior Walker
Wet Willie
Jessie Winchester
Link Wray*
Stevie Wonder
Jesse Colin Young
Neil Young/Crazy Horse
Townes Van Zandt
Frank Zappa *

Austin Musicians 1970’s On

Alison Krauss & Union Station D
Arthur Lee C
Atlanta Rhythm Section
The Band * C
Jeff Beck *
Gary U. S. Bonds C
David Bromberg *
Bromberg & Doug Sahm *
Jackson Browne
Norton Buffalo *
Jimmy Buffet
T Bone Burnett * C
J.J. Cale C
Randy California
Ray Campi
Clifton Chenier
Christopher Cross C
Ain’t Misbehavin*
Balcones Fault
Herman Bennett D
Mike Cahill*
The Contenders
Delta
½ Chicken To Go
Hardin and Russell
Judy Price Band
Mark Lang
Just Lucky w/Mike Hearne-Mark Weberneck
Price/Paraffin Band
Pressure
Rank and File
Soundwave & the Starmen
Steam Heat /Extreme Heat
Uranium Savages