The best rock concerts in Houston 40 years ago

The Who plays the Summit, Nov. 1, 1975. The Who plays the Summit, Nov. 1, 1975. Photo: Bruce Kessler / Rockin' Houston Photo: Bruce Kessler / Rockin' Houston Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close The best rock concerts in Houston 40 years ago 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

Rockin’ Houston is a website dedicated to the work of four rock photographers based in Houston that saw every major rock show worth seeing from the mid-‘60s and into the early ‘00s in Texas.

Larry Lent, Ray Fetterman, James Townsend, and Bruce Kessler’s work is one part “Almost Famous” and one part “This Is Spinal Tap” with plenty of nostalgia thrown in to make you wish you would have snuck out more during high school. Kessler is the last man standing from the group and maintains the site.

Lent’s work can be seen on the site from 1967 until about 1974 when the others take over. Fetterman shot for the Houston Post among others, and Townsend excelled in capturing acts in even the most dimly-lit (and characteristically smoky) of locations.

Kessler stopped shooting shows full-time in 2006 but has been known to come out of retirement from time to time.

Any time you need to see what say, a Led Zeppelin or Prince show looked like in 1975 or 1983 here in Houston, Kessler’s site is a great resource.

Kessler served as the house photographer for the Agora Ballroom off Richmond and later become the house photographer for the Summit, now Lakewood Church. He captured some ribald revelry at the after party for The Who’s 1975 visit to the Summit, the first rock at the venue. Keith Moon, groupies, and lots of alcohol. You do the math.

He was also the staff photographer for Pace Concerts and its later incarnations, meaning he’s rubbed shoulders with anyone and everyone.

In those days, Kessler has said, photographers didn’t just have the standard first three songs to get their shots, sometimes they had the whole show to shoot. Venues and artists back then also didn’t get bothered by amateur photogs bringing in cameras to shows. These days everyone with an iPhone fancies themselves an artist.

Only the greats like Kessler and his running buddies got the most cherry of locations to shoot from.

Classic-rock fans in Houston have a lot on their plates in 2015, with seemingly every big vintage act scheduling shows in the area. Fleetwood Mac, Alice Cooper, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Seger have already played Houston venues in the first four months of the year. Shows from Van Halen, Steely Dan, Elton John, The Who, ZZ Top, Bob Dylan, Rush, and Billy Joel are all on Houston’s concert calendar. You can photos of every single one of those acts on the Rockin’ Houston site going back decades. (See Houston's full upcoming concert guide.)

It’s especially entertaining witnessing Elton John’s stage change with each visit to Houston. Or watching Billy and Dusty’s trademark ZZ Top beards grow in size and legend.

Some venues no longer exist in physical form, like the Sam Houston Coliseum, Liberty Hall, the Agora Ballroom, or the Southern Star Amphitheater.

Kessler shots from Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic in 1974, held at the Texas World Speedway. were featured on the Texican blog a few weeks back. Kessler captured photos of the fans and the musical acts that performed over the three-day festival. The speedway will soon be closed to make way for new development on the site.