© Baron Wolman, 1967

The Grateful Dead, 710 Ashbury Street, San Francisco, CA. October, 1967.

Liner Notes: My first story for Rolling Stone was the Grateful Dead bust. The cops came into the band’s house and arrested several of them. The entire band wasn’t at home at the time so the cops couldn’t bust them all or they would have. And that bust was one of the lead stories in the first issue of Rolling Stone. After the press conference, Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone, asked me to get a group shot of the band on the steps of their house. I suggested they pose for me outside. They asked me, “Who are you?” I said, “I’m Baron from Rolling Stone.” They replied, “What’s Rolling Stone?” The band members didn’t know what Rolling Stone was, the first issue had yet to be published, so it was really hard to get them to cooperate; at that point I think most of them didn’t even know who I was. When they came out, they wouldn’t settle down, pointed their guns this way and that, flipped me the bird, threatened to kill me. It was all great fun for them but at the moment not for me. In the end I did get one great shot. I call it “Dead On The Steps." And so ended my first real assignment for Rolling Stone. —Baron Wolman

Specifics: Nikon F camera, 35mm format, Tri-X film.