Guess who -- and no, it's not the Guess Who
Today we initiate a new chapter in the ongoing RTH series “Scavenger Hunt.” As you know, the basic idea here is to use the awesome rock-nerd brainpower of the Hall to find images or other relevant media on the Internet that enlighten and entertain, according to the whim of the contest quizmaster, i.e., me. I set the category within which one must search, and today, it’s that old chestnut: unusually excellent and otherwise noteworthy photos or videos of famous rockers before they were famous. You may either identify the artist you’ve re-discovered by name, or add to the fun by asking the Hall to chime in with an ID. I’ll start the proceedings off with the band featured above, which I choose not to identify.
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
PS – Remember this helpful hint by tonyola, if you want to post a photo from a site that includes the artist’s name in the URL:
If you want to hide the url, download the picture then upload it to http://tinypic.com/
That’s the Band from the 50s-early 60s. I recognize Garth Hudson & Robbie Robinson at the end.
You are correct, sir!
Levon & the Hawks to be precise. That’s Levon with the blond hair in the middle. The guy on the far left, whose name escapes me right now, was an additional horn player they had in this period.
I just finished reading Levon’s memoir last week. As other’s have found, his bitterness towards Robbie Robertson in the last chapters is somewhat unpleasant, but I still recommend the book highly.
Aw, I was hoping the guy on the left was Moulty, and he was standing that way to hide his hook.
Can we add to Dylan’s resume–on this his 71st birthday–that he saved these guys from an at best dubious fate?
HVB, in terms of the guessing game aspect I’m not sure all know how to or are even able to post images within a comment. We can post links, but the URLs may give away the identity of the artist. I think this is a good excursion, but we’ll have to see how to best make it work. Thanks.
Here’s a video I ran across recently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YSG18yspuk
Also, I had posted an early photo of the Scorpions here a while back:
http://www.the-scorpions.com/images/history/history1965.jpg
Here’s one:
http://www.newvoices.org/tools/arts_and_culture/files/0020.jpg
The guy with the guitar…
And another:
http://www.blancmange.net/wp-content/uploads/yfz.jpg
Is that Jimmy Page?
Definitely not.
How about this go-getter?
Gary Busey as a young Buddy Holly!
Little Jimmie Morrison
Lou Reed?
Bingo!
Correct!
Who is this serious-looking guy?
http://i46.tinypic.com/1sjrzr.jpg
Frank Zappa!
That’s Roy Wood!
Oh, good one. Looks different without the facial hair, doesn’t he?
Our Minister of Fun and Games, hrrundivbakshi, has asked that I post this photo. The guy in the middle is the one we need to identify.
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/scavenger3.jpg
Yes, I was afraid no one could guess that. I should have known the folks we’re dealing with.
Ok try this one:
Bryan Ferry?
Wow, that makes sense…but innnncorrect!
Ray Cooper!
No, but good guess. Lemme know when you need a hint.
That smells English.
Another one from HVB:
This kid’s middle school yearbook must have read, “Most likely to grow up an Undertone.”
Eric Burdon?
Pete Townshend?
Can’t be with that modest nose. Pete has an imposing honker.
Who’s the guy on the right?
http://i46.tinypic.com/jharkj.jpg
I don’t think color photography had been invented when Eric was that young.
Who is on the right showing off his first guitar?
https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/398360_193011897488294_100003384547175_284993_908444629_n.jpg
Robert Plant?
Man, that face is so familiar. I’m going to kick myself if someone else gets it…
I won’t make anyone guess this one – it’s so apt:
http://assets.flavorwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/elton-john-childhood-photo.jpg
Nope, not him.
No, but he is British. His career, as you know it, began in the late-1960s.
I actually looked up the history of color photography before I made my guess, which has no bearing on the likeliness of my being incorrect anyway!
Clapton? I think it’s someone who’s done time in the presence of Ray Cooper. Was Clapton ever capable of smiling so enthusiastically?
This kid’s really bugging me. He looks like a kid I would have been friends with, like a kid who’s mom would have packed him extra orange wedges and peanut butter crackers, which he would share with other boys. But Joey Woodward never became a rock star, as far as I know.
How about this adorable boy?
Hamish Stuart!
That’s hilarious!
Another courtesy of HVB:
This comment may come back to haunt you.
I know, I fear it’s going to be Angus Young or, worse yet, one of your heroes from ZZ Top. Serves me right!
Not Eric Burdon — but I can see the resemblance. This kid is one of those “of COURSE that’s who that is” subjects.
This one should be easy, I think. He looked a lot like this all growed up, too.
Interesting guess, but it’s someone a little better known to rock fans.
Is it little Jimmy Page?
Muddy Waters?
How about the boy on the right side of this picture?
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/upload/yuiupload/1321855200.jpg
Jimi!
Yep.
Nope
Freddie Mercury?
Ian Hunter?
Oh, you’re good. That’s Ian all right.
Otis Redding?
Yes!
Hmm. No, I doubt it. Seems he had those outrageous choppers from boyhood: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPo9pOlY7Dw/Tvs5UdRjyXI/AAAAAAAAFXI/EyN8k-X7-48/s1600/Mercury+2.jpg
Good guess in that this rocker was not born in the US or UK.
Late 60s? So not Denny Laine?
Noddy Holder (sic)?
Oops, never mind.
Hint; he’s more famous as a producer than as an artist, being mostly a one-hit-wonder in the minds of most.
Another from hrrundivbakshi:
If it wasn’t for the non-US/UK disclaimer, I was going to say either Brian Johnson as a baby or Noddy Holder circa 2012.
And here’s one from me to you:
Oh! Joe Strummer!
Dig this enthusiastic high school yearbook photo!
http://1.media.tumblr.com/VR2KVUgkLjmj81x0cBArXlqwo1_500.jpg
Courtney Love?
I was about to take a wild guess of Phil Lynott.
James Hetfield?
I think I have it. Tom Waits?
No peeking at the full url when it appears in the link.
http://tinyurl.com/cbqqrmq
Funny you say that because as the years go on, I think that Hetfield is slowly poaching Waits’ Look
Ha! I just went looking for a childhood picture of this guys and this picture came up. I would not have guessed this.
Johnny Cash?
Yes, Got to be Cash
Hey, you are so right about that!
Correct!
Can I trust you guys not to look at the url in the link? If so, who’s this?
http://tinyurl.com/bmr2xwo
Here’s another clue for you all: this kid looks unusually happy and well-balanced in this shot.
To strange. I just did a search and was looking to post this exact photo. So, I’ll refrain from answering. The additional photo I found of him at about 4 or 5 years old is so clearly him…
If you want to hide the url, download the picture then upload it to http://tinypic.com/
Wild guess: Steve Marriott
Who’s this rocker? http://tinypic.com/r/25upswi/6
Nope. Think more f*cked up.
Gary Glitter!
Not Gary Glitter. You might say this guy lived the antithesis of the Gary Glitter persona. (By which I mean stage persona, not sexual deviant persona.)
I keep wanting to say Sid Vicious but that can’t be right….
DINGDINGDINGDING! That *is* right, Underthefloat!
Good, I got one right anyway. I thought of him earlier but didn’t pull the trigger…
Nope, it’s neither Strummer nor Lynott. The boy is with his mom. His mom is a fox. Clearly the boy must have inherited his looks from his father, although the adult version of this little angel is known for both is taste in women and make-up.
Yes. She even looks like bad news in a white dress with ruffles.
Waits it is!
David Lee Roth???
Nope.
Come on, guys — take a cloooose look at this young musical genius. I’m sure you’ll recognize him!
That’s your boy Prince, isn’t it?
Yes indeed!
Come on… you should know that I would know this one.
Not Page.
Ooh, that sure looks like him.
Can you identify: http://tinypic.com/r/rlcnlk/6
Gene Simmons?
We deserve a clue!
Billy Gibbons?
Indeed!
This is a mess, but she isnt –
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PKSEVqOgvoE/TlGNJ7tqoVI/AAAAAAAAXpE/1cavTGPcY4U/s1600/145949__yearbook_l.jpg
I won’t even bother to ask you to identify this one: http://twistedsifter.sifter.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/bruce-springsteen-high-school-younger-teenager-childhood-picture.jpg
Could she be a Pretender?
Here a rocker that everyone should know:
http://tinypic.com/r/2a4s2he/6
Mr. Moderator!
Oh, yes, she’s the great Pretender.
Now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this picture before. Your answer makes me think it’s someone else in that British Rock Guitar Royal Family, like Jeff Beck. I love how the kid and the young woman are both totally into their teenage superpowers to the point of being oblivious to each other.
GENE SIMMONS it is! underthefloat is on fire.
Here’s one:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkbezu2B5R1qeax82o1_500.png
You’re dead meat, cdm!
His band was huge in the 70s and is now a legacy act.
Thomas Dolby?
Is that also the Mod?
Come on, guy, I’m just messing around…
I know, I am too. I got a good laugh out of that. The “photo session” from which that shot derived is one of the many pathetic memories from my youth.
No, my thighs have never been that thin.
Good luck with this one:
This is absolutely my favorite discovery thus far. There’s something about the vast difference — and yet the striking congruity — between this yearbook shot and the rock star we all know that I love.
http://tinypic.com/r/qn4lzo/6
I thought Page was a good guess. This seems like a Brit Rock kid to me to…but my only guess is Steve Miller. Another out of left field guess…
Kid Rock?
No sir.
Dave Edmunds?
He is British. From that generation, but a different, proggier kind of guitar hero.
Fripp?
This picture is kind of freaking me out.
Greg Lake?
Rory Gallagher?
Personally I thought it was a mashup photo of Difford and Tillbrook
It is Fripp, and the girl is his sister, Patricia – a noted speaker and executive speaking coach. This might be the only picture of Robert playing the guitar standing up.
A clue: he’s not a guitarist and he’s never been seen before as the sensitive, thoughtful chap he seems to be in this photo.
Based on that clue and his specs, that’s the name that keeps coming to mind, but I barely know what Dolby looks like as an adult.
This one’s haunting me. I was just at dinner with my lovely wife for our 21st anniversary and out of the blue I started thinking about this photo.
If that’s Fripp, which I can see now that tonyola has stated it, that is the most AMAZING photo we’ve uncovered, even more amazing than I already thought it was. Good to know that’s his sister in a sexy pose that he’s ignoring.
Funny how some people look American while others look English. To me, this kid looks American. I can’t quite place him, though. He looks like he was listening to Grand Funk Railroad at the time of this picture.
What I like about this photo is how much the kid could pass for a brother of our beloved E. Pluribus Gergely:
Not Thomas Dolby, though this person’s big hit does have a loose connection to Dolby.
An easy one.
Who are the two young lads on the left in this pic?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=okzz8h&s=6
An easy one
Who are the two young lads on the left in this pic?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=okzz8h&s=6
Here’s another good one passed along by the man, the myth…HVB!
Ignore that post. It’s posted below.
Reverend Horton Heat?
That’s those Oasis brothers, no? So there’s a third kid in that family, a Jimmy Gallagher? Get him in one of their bands.
All visual clues point to Rod Stewart.
If it’s not the Gallagher boys it’s got to be the Brothers Finn. That’s a great shot!
I was going to say, Linda Blair’s stand in on the set of The Exorcist.
Mr. Royale thinks maybe Gene Vincent.
Who’s this hottie?
<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=rwhxs2"
Oops.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=rwhxs2&s=6
Yes it’s the brothers Gallagher. I thought Noel was the dead giveaway.
Nick Cave?
BONHAM??
DINGDINGDINGDING! Correct!
Who can recognize this babe magnet?
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/andwhoami.jpg
Nope nope
No sir! Your clue: he used his highland musical chops much later in life in a searing indictment of the rock music lifestyle.
That has to be Simon LeBon of Duran Duran.
Yep.
Yesssss!
An easy one. Just imagine her in Keith Richards’ garb.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ugflao&s=6
That photo needs a little cropping, because it reveals the answer in both corners. I can see the resemblance now!
Patti.
I believe he was born and raised in California, and that’s where his career launched.
Correction: raised in California, not born there.
This one might be easy if you hone in on familar features that did not change.
http://tinypic.com/r/dm9z5w/6
One of my faves in his youth:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34zkg34&s=6
Ha! He’s always had to floss with a piece of rope, that Flea.
BRAVO!
Ah, I didn’t see the answer in the bottom left corner. I did think the “S” showing in the right corner might be a necessary clue. It’s Stevie Nicks. The look in someone’s eyes never changes, but I realized I never spent much time looking at her eyes. It was hard for me to see any resemblance without flowing skirts and feathered roach clips involved.
I’m thinking it’s your near-Holy Trinity-worthy hero Bon Scott.
HINT: Imagine this guy in Patti Smith’s garb.
Cdm wins the no-prize.
But Fripp thought his rock&roll kick looked lame, and the embarrassment caused him to resolve to play sitting down for the rest of his life.
He certainly doesn’t look Jewish.
From HVB to you, Who’s the second guy from the RIGHT?
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/image-326.jpg
Thurston?
Jeff Lynne?
Yup!
Howsabout this lad with his dad?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=xcuc5c&s=6
Another hint, please.
Ray Manzarek?
English?
Well, the dad looks like Tom Jones…So the son is a mashup of Tom and Sgt. Pepper.
Weird, it looks a little like a teenage Pete Townshend with a late-’70s Keith Moon as his dad.
YES! The Trinity is complete.
Keef!
You of all people should recognize him!
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=ekl4cp&s=6
To me, this one is easy cuz he still has that stare.
Martin Chambers?
Correct.
Usually seen growling from under a hat.
Andy Partridge!
Yeahhhh
It also looks like Dave Alvin, though based on the clues it’s probably not.
Is it Mark E. Smith?
Elvis Costello, now I think about it.
Nope. When this was taken, he went by the name Gillis.
Relax.
Yes it is.
Trevor Horn?
Yes, sir!
Henry Rollins?
Ding!
Jerry Penfound
Jack White
O went by the red hair and the early 60’s look of the era.
Lemmy?
Who is our rockin’ hero on the right side of this photo?
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/whoamIthistime.jpg
Leonard Nimoy!
Correct, Godzilla.
No!
I’m thinkin’ Anthony Keidis…but no.
Richard thompson
If I could play like this kid, I’d be this happy too!
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=f1yzyq&s=6
Billy Zoom?
Hah! Billy Zoom does kinda grapple with the guitar like that, doesn’t he?
Holy Hell! He looks like a normal kid!!!
OutSTANDing!!!!
aloha
LD
RT went to school with, and was in a band with, Hugh Corrnwell of the Stranglers. I wonder if that’s him on the left. Looks like him.
Looks like a child of one of the “Eight is Enough” kids
aloha
LD
Strange trivia: He once roomed with then-unknown Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
He sure gave his hairdo a makeover!
RT is correct, as you seem to know anyway…
Page!
This!
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/guessmenow.jpg
And this!
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/guessmetoo.jpg
I already posted that, complete with a URL exposing the artist’s name. I thought it was too perfect to hide:)
Charlie Watts, no doubt.
Yeah!
I have the feeling this performer hates that this photo exists
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=deto90&s=6
Is that Michael Stipe on a bender?
Who’s this puppy lover?
D’oh, hard to keep it all straight, don’t know how I missed it.
Too easy?
Not for me – I was wondering if I should guess Yoko Ono!
Here’s another fine young man:
Alice Cooper?
Iggy!
No, this is a singer who, at the time, was publishing books on the New York Dolls and James Dean.
Definitely before he was famous:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=23u96x0&s=6
Yep – hope he didn’t eat that puppy.
You’re good at this, my friend.
Thom Yorke!
This wouldn’t fool anyone, but I love this shot of a footloose-and-fancy-free David Thomas:
http://www.tangents.co.uk/tangents/main/graphics/davidthomas.jpg
Thanks Mod. I really enjoy this… good fun.
An extra from “Rent”?
Gosh, I thought it was Janis Joplin.
A young Morrissey?
No, but he did feed it to his boa constrictor.
My first reaction was Morrissey or Robyn Hitchcock. Stipe’s long hair was waaaay too curly for this.
OK, another clue. He’s no longer with us. His main instrument is piano.
Who did this cute widdle baby girl grow up to be?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2n71lli&s=6
Or this lad (the two have a connection)?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=254wwg8&s=6
Keith Godcheaux?
Warren Zevon
Correct, and heaven knows he’s miserable now.
…in his Whitesnake phase.
At the time this musician was photographed, he and I were the DJ’s in a punk dive bar in Port Chester, NY.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=16hta9v&s=6
Patrick Carney? I’m going with the glasses and the Akron shirt.
Correct, Tony!
I think I know this story, so I can’t answer. Love that photo!
Holy crap, is that Moby with hair?!
I wanna know who dis?
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/whodis.jpg
Yes indeed.
Voluminous hair, I’d call it.
This is when he went from the premier Joy Division fan to House music maven.
I’m thinkin’ the connection is Ohio, which would make this….Poison Ivy!!
He looks like he’s auditioning for the lead role in the Poughkeepsie-in-the-Park production of Hamlet.
Looks like Geddy Lee to me.
Bingo!
Nope….a *closer* connection to Ivy (She’s from Sacramento, CA., btw.)
Well, might as well give this one up. Here they both are in a more familiar setting: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=x5yr8n&s=6
I wonder if the school janitor was featured in the high school yearbook from whence this photo came.
Cue Nelson Muntz laugh.
Ok, last one: Name this now all-grown-up superstar:
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/whocouldIbe.jpg
Cue Nelson Muntz laugh, but even louder.
Is this Tom Waits?
More like his Jackie Rogers Jr. phase.
It’s just a wild guess, but I’m gonna say…Seal?
David Johanson’s coat from the New York Doll’s era?
First answer is what I was going for, but I like the 2nd option too!
Mike Love?
NO! This guy is extremely NOT Tom Waits.
Come on, people! Take a look at those eyes, and imagine them glowering over a mic atop a short tripod stand. Imagine this man, directing his band with whoops, hollers, and the occasionally well-timed whistle. He may look like a Gemini astronaut here, but this guy was a genuine workin’ man’s workin’ man!
This went unanswered above but I’ve changed the link to remove the artist’s name. (Thanks to tonyola for the tip about tinypics)
http://tinypic.com/r/ogcv7n/6
This was the first of many Looks for this chap.
Marc Bolan.
Ronnie Van Zandt?
nope
Yes, indeedy! Isn’t that high school shot great? I hope he started growing his hair before he started going bald.
Great photo. I’ve read that he was a real ball busting taskmaster with the band, and you can get a sense from this photo that he was going to get top quality results from his team, whether that team was a band or the South East Sales and Marketing Division for Amalgamated Plumbing Supplies.
Now that I understand the clue, I shall reward your efforts to help us out with a Pince Nez: The band was named for the gym teacher, not the janitor.
Ex-ACT-ly.
He would have rated pretty highly if he were in that “Who Would You Hire” poll from a few years ago.
That these two were in a band together is very interesting to me……
Baby Bowie…right after one of his diaper ch-ch-ch-changes.
Sorry — I really wanted this thread to die peacefully, but I’ve happened upon a startling cache of portraits I simply must share. Who, for example, is this?
http://tinypic.com/r/xmr3pd/6
Totally diggin’ this rocker’s flowing 70s mane!
http://tinypic.com/r/25tw5c2/6
Lastly, there’s this one. Question: would you have been buds with this kid? He looks pretty deece to me; coulda counted on him to make a beer run with his older brother’s ID.
http://tinypic.com/r/2s1n4hd/6
This kid, in contrast, was obviously a total dickhead:
http://tinypic.com/r/rtp8iw/6
Correct, Mr Bittman. BTW, I went you an email about the gbv mix. Do you own anything by them? Let me know and I’ll tailor the mix accordingly.
Slash?
James Hetfield
Hetfield!
Ha! I had him saved and forgot to post it. I won’t say anything.
Axel?
Here’s a good one:
This one is bugging me.
You’ve got it!
I like his teenage anti-Hitler mustache.
This one’s interesting:
http://tinypic.com/r/2rqeh79/6
An extra from “Dazed and Confused.” Looks like half my high school class.
Yoko?
Charlie Watts?
Nah, just kidding.
Bjork.
Chris Cornell?
Tommy Lee?
They do have some similarities. Call me crazy.
Who’s this winner?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=qxqf0h&s=6
Freddie Prinz!
Bjork?
Beck!
Recognize this cute, cuddly widdle baby?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=24o61eb&s=6
Young and innocent days…
http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2009/07/01/put-up-your-dukes-frank-black-vs-the-pixies/
This kid’s got his shit together!
Ha! No dice.
I looked and looked at this picture, then finally the eyebrows hit me – bingo! Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart.
Kirk Hammet?
Got it!
Absolutement
Correctamundo
You’re both correct — but you haven’t answered my question. Would you have hung with the dude or not?
Gotta be Bjork.
I could have hung out with him a bit because I interacted with all cliques (stoners, jocks, new wave kids, D&D dorks) but wouldn’t commit to anyone in particular. But ultimately, his intensity and his abysmal taste in music would have kept me from hanging out with him too long for any given a period of time.
Looking through some of the high school age photos, I’m thinking I could have hung out with Slash.
My distaste for this guy is delightfully vindicated by this horrendous and embarrassing pic:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=359jsz5&s=6
Eminem
Yucky, ain’t he?
How about the guitarist on the right?
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=mjpopi&s=6
Here’s a link to a web page with 50 photos of interest, some of which have already been posted here:
http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/05/30/50-metal-hard-rock-musicians-yearbook-photos/
If Mr. Mod (or somebody) wants to delete this post and start adding these photos to the game, maybe that’s an option too. Or just take a look and be entertained.
Thread killer! 🙂
I’m joking. This has been a very fun thread, and it won’t surprise me if it finds a way to keep chugging.
Nope. This guy’s been seen with lots of stuff on his face, but I’ve never seen him with a ‘stache and killer sideburns before.
Holy Hell. Hetfield and James Young were separated at birth?!
aloha
LD
Name this future guitar slinger: http://tinypic.com/r/eq9hyc/6
Uh…Buckethead. Am I missing something?