CLEVELAND (CelebrityAccess) — Cleveland International Images, a newly formed division of Cleveland International Records, announced acquisition of the photo collection of the legendary Cleveland-based rock photographer George Shuba.
For more than a decade, Shuba, thanks to his connection with local media outlets, including the nationally syndicated Upbeat Show, had access to some of the biggest names in music of the era and assembled a trove of more than 8,000 images of documenting the national and international artists.
Those images include The Beatles arrival at Hopkins International Airport on September 13, 1964, The Who’s Keith Moon launching his drum kit off the stage at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium, the very last professional photos taken of Otis Redding, before his untimely death including a duet with Mitch Ryder, and images of Simon and Garfunkel’s first-ever TV appearance documenting their performance on Upbeat.
The archive also includes images of hundreds of name artists including the Rolling Stones, James Brown, the Yardbirds, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Sonny and Cher, B.B. King, the Doors, Smokey Robinson, Dizzy Gillespie, the Monkees, Wilson Pickett and many more.
“We’re expanding beyond our long-established role as a groundbreaking indie record label in which we’ve made our mark with releases from Meat Loaf, Ellen Foley, Ronnie Spector & the E-Street Band, Slim Whitman, Jim Steinman, Frank Yankovic, Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Jim Steinman, David Allan Coe, Brave Combo, Georgia Satellites, B.J. Thomas and others. As the new home for the George Shuba Collection we’re underscoring the fact — this time in a visual sense — that Cleveland is the rock ‘n’ roll capital of the world,” said Cleveland International C.E.O. Steve Popovich, Jr.
The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
