Jerry Schatzberg, the photographer behind the iconic image used for Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde artwork, has attempted to solve some of the mysteries surrounding the cover. Dylan released his seventh studio album Blonde On Blonde in 1966, with its front sleeve showing a blurred image of the singer-songwriter against a brick wall background. Speaking to rock critic Bob Egan, Schatzberg claimed that the blurriness of the image wasn’t intentional but was instead due to him shivering from the cold weather.
“It was pretty cold out,” Schatzberg said. “I know all the critics, everybody said ‘Oh, they were trying to do a drug shot.’ It’s not true. It was February, [Dylan] was wearing just that jacket, and I was wearing something similar, and the two of us were really cold.”
When the photos were developed, Schatzberg saw that 4-5 of them were a bit blurred. “I liked them a lot, but I figured the record company would never use a blurred picture in those days,” he said. “[But] when Bob saw them, he immediately went to that one and said, ‘That’s the one I like. Send that.’ And that was great. Because usually what Bobby wants, Bobby gets.”
Columbia Records assented, and the blurred portrait of Dylan, tousle-haired and freezing in a suede jacket, became the unforgettable cover of his double-LP opus, Blonde On Blonde.
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