David Gahr was born on September 18, 1922, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Russian immigrant parents.
[1] His photographic output includes more than five decades covering musicians like Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Sonny Terry, John Lennon and Pete Seeger, among others.
His book, The Face of Folk Music (Citadel Press, 1968) with writer Robert Shelton captured the exploding American folk music scene, with hundreds of images including Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Odetta, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Mary Travers and Johnny Cash, among others.
He also photographed many of the leading post war artists including the very private Joseph Cornell with whom he was a personal friend.
Dozens of Wikipedia pages include reference to Gahr's photographs, like those of The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, His Band and the Street Choir, Love, God, Murder, The Fugs First Album, Doc Watson and Son, Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City, Stages: The Lost Album, The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, and others.