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TSY is honored and excited to contribute to the October Issue of GQ Italy— particularly when it’s a piece on Hollywood’s King of Cool, Steve McQueen. Check your international news stands now for their October issue and see a collection of never before seen photographs of McQueen taken by John Dominis in 1963 for LIFE magazine. Ciao!
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Steve McQueen –image by John Dominis
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Steve McQueen –image by John Dominis
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Although Carroll Shelby’s Cobra was handily beating all comers in SCCA A/Production competition, he knew that it was not equipped to matchup with the advanced, lightweight mid-engined race cars that were set to dominate in the new upcoming ’63 Fall Series. With little time, his answer was to try and repeat history by bolting proven American horsepower into a willing and able European mid-engined sportscar.
So he headed off to Europe and came back with two engine-less Cooper Monacos– and set out to retrofit the very capable racers with his signature formula of good ol’ fashioned Texas testosterone. His crew had just one month, a welder, and a pile of old Cobra parts to turn the Coopers into Shelby’s new lean & mean King Cobra. Get ‘er done.
There are two stories here, intertwined. There’s the story of Shelby and his attempt to dominate racing through sheer power and will with the King Cobra— and the story of his driver, Dave MacDonald, who through his love of the sport became a legend, and how his fate was forever changed when he made the difficult decision to leave Shelby and race for Mickey Thompson and Chevy at the ’64 Indy 500.
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Carroll Shelby (left in his signature striped coveralls) and Phil Hill at the 12 Hours of Sebring, 1963. Shelby entered four Cobras, driven by Dan Gurney and Phil Hill, two of which have new rack-and-pinion steering. Hill succeeds in setting the fastest GT lap, but Shelby-American ultimately came up short, and Ferrari took the win.
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Before he went electric in 1965 — and drew jeers from legions of (arguably small-minded) fans in the process — Bob Dylan epitomized the hard-traveling folk troubadour, and he established this image largely on a vintage Gibson “Nick Lucas” model flat-top guitar. The young Dylan had played other Martin and Gibson models in the late ’50s and early ’60s, but in those final years of his acoustic era, before a “blonde on blonde” Fender Telecaster ushered in a whole new folk-rock sound, the “Nick Lucas” was his instrument of choice. He played this guitar in the studio and on tour from 1963 to ’66, and used it for the legendary albums Another Side of Bob Dylan and Bringing it All Back Home. And, although it didn’t appear on the covers of either of these, it is frequently seen in the many live performance tapes from the day, including broadcasts of the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and ’65, and Dylan’s famous appearances on BBC TV in England in 1965. While, in hindsight, this Gibson “Nick Lucas” seems “just right” for the young Dylan, and has become an iconic folk guitar as a result, the model’s origins show that it is perhaps an unlikely choice for a scruffy young folky. Via
Bob Dylan At Piano During Recording Session, 1965. Bob Dylan in a contemplative mood, lost in thought behind his Ray-Bans, pausing for a break between takes at the upright piano at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios in New York City during the sessions for “Highway 61 Revisited” in June 1965, a mere month before his electric set at the Newport Folk Festival would send Folk and Rock and Pop music into a whole new direction. –Photo by Jerry Schatzberg, Via
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By the summer of ’65, Dylan’s stardom surpassed that of the Folk traditionalists at the Newport Folk Festival. Hundreds of adoring fans overwhelm Dylan’s car, as he basks in the attention, smiling and stating, “They’re all my friends.” But there is wave of rebellion beginning to well-up against Dylan among the so-called Folk purist fans. They see him as already being a sell-out, having moved over to the side of the establishment. In their eyes, Dylan is now just another cog in the wheel. The stage is now set for the epic event that will forever be remembered as– When Dylan Went Electric. So what inspired Dylan to go electric in the first place? Some say Dylan was inspired (or challenged perhaps) by an exchange he had with John Lennon. Dylan slammed Lennon, essentially dismissing The Beatles lyrically– “you guys have nothing to say”, was the message. Lennon’s counter was to enlighten Dylan of the fact that– he had no sound, man. Whether or not it resulted in Dylan going electric, or The Beatles writing more introspective lyrics, who knows– but it’s a helluva story.
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Steve Mcqueen is an icon– and I still don’t think we appreciate this guy enough for all that he did in his lifetime. McQueen personified the “anti-hero”. A true man’s man who raced cars and motorcycles, and had a very enviable collection of both. He even flew his own plane, for cryin’ out loud. What a life this guy had. He ran away from home at 14- joined the circus- joined the U.S.M.C.- went AWOL- was eventually honorably discharged- worked in a brothel- on an oil rigger- and was even a lumberjack. Later he was an avid martial artist and friends with Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. It was McQueen that convinced Norris to take acting lessons, which could be considered a somewhat dubious distinction, but one that I’m sure Chuck greatly appreciates to this day.
As seen above, McQueen was no stranger to the workout room and had an exercise regimen of two hours a day, everyday. I love this shot for two reasons- McQueen of course, and his irrepressible charm- but also for it’s statement on simplicity. It reminds me of life when things were simpler, and in my humble opinion- better. To workout all you needed was an exercise bike, free-weights, jumprope, a chin-up bar and of course- a rope hanging from the ceiling.
I remember when this was a part of phys. ed. class. All of us anxiously lined-up in our tube socks, waiting our turn to try to pull ourselves up that rope. If you could, you were the man, and if you couldn’t, well… And look at what else- he’s wearing simple, classic grey sweatpants and they fit. No fancy– wicking, moisture management, antimicrobial blah, blah, blah. Cotton was the original, and still the best performance fabric.
Steve McQueen was, and still is the one that every guy wants to be, and that every gal wants to be with. Sometimes you just can’t improve upon the classics.
The Selvedge Yard 