Band Photos

The names and some photos of other popular bands and vocalists not pictured above are noted below.  These entertainers’ names were taken from the flyers and posters of that time. The photos on this page also capture simple and visual narratives using the photography medium available at the time. The medium used was primarily black-and-white photography recorded on film. Unlike modern digital cameras, where countless photos can be captured on cell phones, film “rolls” capture 24 or 36 photos. The rolls of film were purchased primarily through camera shops and then loaded into the camera by threading the leading front end of the film inside a canister onto the spools inside the camera. Once all 24 or 36 photos had been taken, the roll of film was removed from the camera and taken to a local camera shop. There, the film was exposed, revealing the negatives of each photo. The negatives were then printed onto photo paper, and the photos were ready to be picked up by the photographer within a week or two. This long process was neither inexpensive nor available to all families. So, the historical photographic images on this page have many limitations in terms of their quantity and quality. Even though some of the photos are grainy and faded as the memories of someone who has walked through a lifetime of experiences, joy and sadness, triumphs, and disappointments, they still convey moments in time that captured the spirit and the excitement of that era along with a visual narrative of the performers and audience members who were there to witness musical glory. For the viewer of this page, is worth noting how young these talented musicians were. Some were in junior high school, and most were high school students. Both performers and audience members participated in the first Golden Era of the East Los Angeles Music Experience.