Rick Henson: The Burton Wilson of the Broken Spoke
"Making pictures" of country greats for 45 years started with Elvis' final Austin concert
Temple native Rick Henson was working at Texas Camera in Austin with dreams of one day being a full-time photographer, when a concert by Elvis Presley, four months before he passed, set that career path into motion. His friend had an extra ticket to the sold out show at Municipal Auditorium (later Palmer) on March 28, 1977, and Henson could have it if he brought his camera and gave her some pictures. Only problem was the seats were too far from the stage to get any good photos of “the King.”
A long break after comedian opener Jackie Kahane gave Henson a chance for an upgrade, and he ran into his buddy Jerry Green of KVET, who invited him to squeeze in with him and wife Dawn in the sixth row. “Security was very strict,” said Henson, whose small stature let him fit in. “You couldn’t get up in the aisle until the very end, when the women rushed the stage for scarves.” Henson joined the feminine flow, which got him within six feet of Elvis, and that’s how he got his money shot, quite literally. A beauty shop in Highland Mall put Henson’s 8 x 10 glossies of Elvis in the window and sold a couple hundred at $10 a piece.
What set Henson apart from the other 4,999 in the sellout crowd was the professional-quality 35mm Olympus camera that was not an Instamatic. Elvis didn’t need a strobe light when he opened with “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” (theme from 2001: A Space Oddity) because the flash bulbs did it for him.
The Elvis photos got Henson his first wedding gig, then a job doing corporate headshots, but more significantly his little photography business was becoming known to James White of the Broken Spoke, George Weems of the Silver Dollar and Willie Nelson’s stage manager Poodie Locke. “I didn’t have to pay to get in anymore,” laughs Henson, 71, who is now retired. Sam Allred of KVET made sure Henson was on hand to shoot concerts sponsored by the radio station. James White gave him tips on any upcoming jams
The personable Henson became friends with most the acts, who relaxed around the camera he practically wore as a body part. He met a young singer from San Marcos, whose Ace in the Hole Band played the Spoke once a month, and shot the front cover of his third album Right Or Wrong. Henson ended up doing the next three George Strait LP covers as well. “Those covers (at $2,000- $3,000 each) bought me a truck,” he says.
Rick Henson is one of the featured photographers in my book on the history of the Austin music scene. We’ll save those photos, including the infamous one of Jerry Jeff and Joe Ely jamming with Ernest Tubb (who had no idea who they were), for the book. Henson also has several photos in the companion book to the five-part Willie Nelson and Family documentary that debuted at Sundance in January and is currently looking for a distributor.
MORE PHOTOS BY Rick Henson
Is that Doug Sahm with Willie in the last photo?
I've been forever spoiled by the small clubs with great musicians.