670: Annie Leibovitz becomes a legendary rock photographer
Born in 1949 in Waterbury, Conn., Annie Leibovitz enrolled in the San Francisco Art Institute intent on studying painting. It wasn’t until she traveled to Japan with her mother that she discovered her interest in photography. When she returned to San Francisco that fall, she began taking night classes in photography. In 1970 Leibovitz approached Jann Wenner, founding editor of Rolling Stone, which he’d recently launched and was operating out of San Francisco. Impressed with her portfolio, Wenner gave Leibovitz her first assignment: shoot John Lennon. Leibovitz’s black-and-white portrait of the shaggy-looking Beatle graced the cover of the January 21, 1971 issue. Two years later she was named Rolling Stone chief photographer.
NPR’s interview with Leibovitz, All Things Considered, October 3, 2006