Hands in the air: Photographer snaps stars for a cause
Dave Clements worked in human resources for 35 years at ExxonMobil here in Houston. In his spare time, he was a freelance photographer, taking photos of performers at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Revention Music Center and other local concert venues. He is the staff photographer at the Dosey Doe in The Woodlands.
Along the way, Clements met and became buddies with Kevin Black, one of the singing Black brothers with Clint and Brian. Kevin shared the heartbreaking story of his first-born child, a girl named Cortney, whoo developed Rett syndromee and died in 2003 just afterer turning 16.
Rett syndrome is a neurological disorder that usually strikes young girls when they’re e between 6 and 18 monthss old. These children stop developing normally. They lose speech, and their bodies stop growing, in some cases regressing. They live in silence, in need of 24hour care. About 1 in 10,000 baby girls will be afflicted with Rett syndrome.
Since Cortney’s death, Kevin Black has worked constantly to bring awareness of Rett syndrome and raise money to support research toward a cure.
Clements decided right ht away to get involved.
“I had all these photos. Ironically, my favorite was of Kevin performing at a fundraiser for flood victims at Minute Maid Park. While he was singing ‘God Bless the U.S.A,’ he raised his arm. It was a very moving gesture. I grew up in Virginia, and when somebody raises their arm in Virginia, it means they want to help. So that photo of Kevin raising his arm gave me an idea,” Clements said.
He began searching his photo collection for singers raising their arms. From then on, whenever he was shooting photos at a concert, he would wait for performers to raise their arm and capture the moment.
“Other photographers started realizing what I was doing. They knew, whenever the performers raised their hands, don’t mess with me because I was clicking away as fast as I could,” Clements said.
Ten years and 208 photos later, Clements and Black have published a stunning photo book called “Raising a Hand: A Photographic Music Festival With A Cause,” packed with powerful, never-before-seen photos of some of the biggest names in music.
The photos are reproduced on heavy stock, glossy paper in the hardback edition. “Raising a Hand” is available for $35 at raisingahand.com. The profits will be donated to Rett syndrome research.
“Every one of the artists in the book happily gave me permission to take their photo. They all picked which photo they wanted me to use. With only a couple of exceptions, the photos were taken during a concert, and nothing was rehearsed. They all raised their hands naturally, and they all do it differently,” Clements said.
The photos are black and white and very emotional, especially one of Don Henley and the late Glenn Frey fist-bumping during an Eagles concert at Toyota Center.
“I wanted the photos to be about the historical perspective, not about glitter. I wanted to present the artists at their rawest level,” Clements said.
Most of the photos were taken at Houston venues. In some cases, Clements traveled to Cincinnati for Jimmy Buffett, to San Diego fofor Lyle Lovett and to Baltimore for Pat Benatar.
Some performers took more persuading and sweet-talking than others.
“Paul McCartney has a person who handles all of his charity requests. I contacted him. He told me that he would be meeting with Paul in a few days and he’d get back to me. A few days later, I got an email: ‘Paul is all in.’ I took the photo at Paul’s concert at Minute Maid Park. I was one of only six photographers who were allowed to shoot photos — on his entire tour,” Clements said.
All of the artists are pictured front and center, facing forward, raising ththeir arms — except one: Stevie Nicks. She has her back to the camera. Her choice.
Clements made sure to include artists from varied genres. He’s got pop/rock stars such as Bob Seger (one of Clements’ favorite singers), Jackson Browne, the late Dan Fogelberg, ZZ Top, Kid Rock, Ringo Star and the Jonas Brothers.
Country performers include George Strait, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Clay Walker, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith and Jerry Jeff Walker.
Oldies artists include theth Temptations, the Zombies, Peter Noone, Percy Sledge, Dionne Warwick, Gary Puckett, theth Turtles, the Association and Chubby Checker.
“Jackson Browne was special, and one of the few who asked me to take the photo at sound check before the show. This was at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. After he heard the reason why I was taking his photo, he said, ‘Wait, let me go shave and change clothes.’ I thought he would give me a couple of minutes at most, but he was in no rush. I took photos of him with his guitar and at the piano. He picked a photo with a guitar,” Clements said.
The book is dominated by stark, moody photos, but it’s also a fun read. Clements, Black and a team of volunteers wrote a short bio plus trivia facts for each artist. For example, Checker’s “The Twist” is the only record to hit No. 1 in two different years: 1960 and 1962.
If “Raising a Hand” is a hit, Clements said he has enough photos for two or three more books.