Finding Aid for Della Perrone Photographs, 1945-2015 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Scott Schwartz

[Printer Friendly] | [ Email us about these papers]

Collection Overview

Title: Della Perrone Photographs, 1945-2015

ID: 12/9/140

Extent: 3.5 cubic feet

Arrangement: Organized in three series: Series 1, Music Photography, which is organized in two subseries: Sub-series 1: Studio Photography and Promotional Work, and Sub-series 2, Stage and Candid Photography; Series 2, Family Photography; and Series 3, Audiovisual Materials.

Date Acquired: 12/22/2014. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Music, Popular Music--Illinois--Urbana-Champaign, Rock Music, Rock musicians United States

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of photographs, negatives, and film slides documenting Della Perrone's candid and studio photography with several Champaign-Urbana musicians in the 1980s, such as Adrian Belew, The Bears, The Rave, The Martyrs, Steps, Nick Rudd and Turning Curious, Nix 86, and The Elvis Brothers, as well as national acts including The Ramones, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and U2. Outside her studio, Perrone captured performances at local venues including Mabel's, University of Illinois Auditorium, Virginia Theatre, Chico's, Panama Red's and the Aragon Ballroom. A selection of these photographs were displayed during the exhibition "Live from the Crossroads: A Snapshot of Urbana-Champaign's Local Music Scene 1981-1986" that was held at the University of Illinois' Sousa Archives and Center for American Music between 2013 and 2014. The collection also includes audiovisual recordings from the 1980s, and family photographs and negatives from the 1920s-1940s.

Biographical Note

Della Perrone's career as a photographer is closely tied to the Urbana-Champaign community where she grew up, and is tied closely to its vital local music scene. Perrone's maternal grandparents, mother, father, and two uncles were photography enthusiasts for decades and made frequent use of their cameras to capture family events and other activities within their community. When Della was in her early 20's she purchased her first camera in the summer of 1980, a CanonAT1, and continued the family's photographic legacy. Perrone first photographed the Elvis Brothers at Chico's on September 26, 1981, and the members of the band immediately felt that her photographs captured the essence of their music ensemble at the time. According to Perrone, her photographic approach was a match to the band. The following month, the Elvis Brothers asked her to take promotional photos of them, and on October 22, Della set up her first studio shoot in her home. Between 1981 and 1989, Perrone photographed live concerts of local bands and national acts performing in such Urbana-Champaign venues as Chico's, Mabel's, and the University Auditorium, as well as other performance spaces throughout the Midwest. The musicians and music groups she photographed included Adrian Belew and the Bears, John Kellogg and Combo Audio, Captain Rat, George Faber, The Rave/Invaders, Smokehouse, Mystery Dots, B-Lovers, the Vertebrats, Nix 86, U2, the Ramones, Jason & the Scorchers, Robin Trower, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Brian Setzer, and Wendy O. Williams. Throughout these years, Perrone's photographs artfully capture the on-stage, and sometimes back-stage, and off-stage exploits of these groups' performances and provide a vivid illustration of Urbana-Champaign's dynamic music scene.

Subject/Index Terms

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: Additional items were acquired on January 23, 2015; March 13, 2015; October 5, 2016; and March 7, 2019.

Acquisition Source: Della Perrone

Acquisition Method: Gift

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Professional Photography],
[Series 2: Family Photography],
[Series 3: Audiovisual Materials],
[All]

Series 1: Professional Photography

Sub-Series 1: Studio Photography and Promotional Work

Box 3

Folder 1: The Bears mounted studio photographs, 1980s
Folder 2: The Bears studio photographs and promotional materials, 1986
Folder 3: The Elvis Brothers studio photographs, 1980s
Folder 4: The Elvis Brothers mounted studio photographs
Folder 5: The Martyrs mounted studio photographs, 1980s
Folder 6: Nix 86 studio photographs, 1980s
Folder 7: The Rave studio photographs, 1980s
Folder 8: Nick Rudd and the Big Maybe studio photographs and promo materials, 1986-1988
Folder 9: Schoolyard Truce studio photographs and poster, 1980s
Folder 10: Smokehouse studio photographs, undated
Folder 11: Steps studio photographs, 1980s
Folder 12: Della Perrone self-portrait, ca. 1980s
Folder 13: Strange Parade studio photographs, ca. 1980s

Box 4

Folder 1: Anvil Chorus mounted studio photographs, ca. 1980s
Folder 2: Andy Baylor, A Clockwork Orange session, ca. 1980s
Folder 5: Elvis Brothers promotional materials, ca. 1980s: Includes newsclippings, handwritten notes, and a button.
Folder 9: Matt Brandabur and Chris Courtney from The Shells, with Della, ca. 1980s: Includes Matt Brandabur, formerly of The Vertebrats.
Folder 11: Newsclippings and promotional materials, 1981-1987: Includes clippings and articles for Adrian Belew and The Bears, Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets, Nix 86, The Rave, Stiff Kitty, and The Vertebrats.

Box 5

Folder 2: The Bears contact sheets and negatives, 1985
Folder 3: Nick Rudd photographs and negative, ca. 1986
Folder 4: Mark Rubel photographs and negatives, ca. 1981
Folder 5: John Richardson photographs and negatives, ca. 1980s
Folder 6: The Rave photographs, contact sheets, and negatives, 1981
Folder 7: Turning Curious studio photographs, ca. 1980s

Box 6

Folder 1: The Elvis Brothers mounted photographs, undated
Folder 2: The Bears matted photographs, undated
Folder 3: The Elvis Brothers mounted poster, authographed, ca. 1980s
Folder 4: The Martyrs poster, ca. 1980s
Folder 5: Nix 86 mounted photographs, ca. 1980s
Folder 6: The Rave mounted photograph, ca. 1980s
Folder 7: Turning Curious matted photograph, ca. 1980s

Box 7

Folder 1: Studio/Promotional Negatives, ca. 1980s: Includes negatives of: Combo Audio, Cyclorama, 1/26-27/1982; Combo Audio, 1/1982; EB's Outdoor-night, 11/6/1985; Turing Curious, ca. 1980s; Elvis Brother Video Shoot, Afternoon Session, ca. 1980s; Elvis Brothers, Studio 4 and 5, 5/18/82; The Birds, ca. 1980s
Folder 2: Elvis Brothers Studio Slides, 1981
Folder 10: Elvis Brothers negatives and contact sheets, studio, May 18, 1982
Folder 13: Elvis Brothers contact sheets, studio, ca. 1980s
Folder 14: Elvis Brothers contact sheets, Virginia Theater, ca. 1980s: Studio work shot in the lobby of the Virginia Theater.

Box 14

Folder 1: Studio photographs, ca. 1980s: Includes images of Turning Curious, The Bears, and The Elvis Brothers.
Folder 2: Studio negatives, ca. 1980s: Includes negatives of The Elvis Brothers.
Folder 3: The Elvis Brothers at the train station - matted photo, ca. 1980s
Folder 4: Color slides - Elvis Brothers at Urbana Cinema, March 31, 1982

Sub-Series 2: Stage and Candid Photography

Box 1, folders 1 through 18 contain photographs that were on display during the exhibition "Live from the Crossroads: A Snapshot of Urbana-Champaign's Local Music Scene 1981-1986" that was held at the University of Illinois' Sousa Archives and Center for American Music between 2013 and 2014.

Box 1

Folder 1: Adrian Belew's Volleyball Game, 1985: 2 prints
Folder 2: Adrian Belew, Indianapolis, 2011
Folder 3: Adrian Belew, Mabel's, 1985
Folder 4: U2, University Auditorium, 1982
Folder 5: The Bears, Mabel's, 1986
Folder 6: Tom Broeske, University Auditorium, 1982
Folder 7: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Virginia Theatre, 1986
Folder 8: Joey Ramone, University Auditorium, 1981
Folder 9: Ramones crowd, University Auditorium, 1981
Folder 10: Dee Dee Ramone, University Auditorium, 1981
Folder 11: The Elvis Brothers, Chico's, 1981
Folder 12: Rob and Brad Elvis, Studio One, 1981
Folder 13: The Elvis Brothers, promotional photographs, 1981: Two prints
Folder 14: Graham Elvis and friend, Cinema Theater, 1982
Folder 15: Brad Elvis, Panama Red's, 1982
Folder 16: Elvis Brothers, Aragon Ballroom, 1982
Folder 17: The Elvis Brothers, Virginia Theater, 1982
Folder 18: The Elvis Brothers with Tom and Frank Merlo, Chico's, 1985
Folder 19: Faith Scarbrough of Seventeen Sisters at the High Dive, 2013
Folder 20: Kathy Harden performing with the Impalas at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival, 2013
Folder 21: Brandon Washington with Beat Kitchen at the High Dive, 2014
Folder 22: Kelly McMorris of Sun Stereo at the Canopy Club, 2014
Folder 23: Christine Marie Janak of Sun Stereo at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival, 2014
Folder 24: Brad Elvis performing with the Romantics at US Cellular Coliseum, 2015
Folder 25: Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes at the Virginia Theater, 2015

Box 2

Folder 1: The Bears stage and candid photographs, undated
Folder 2: Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets stage photographs, undated
Folder 3: The Clash stage photographs, 1982
Folder 4: The Elvis Brothers stage and candid photographs, negatives, and contact sheets, 1982-1984: Includes shows at Mabel's in Champaign, IL and at Confetti's in Peoria, IL.
Folder 5: The Elvis Brothers mounted stage photographs, ca. 1980s
Folder 6: Fabulous Thunderbirds stage photographs, undated
Folder 7: Fabulous Thunderbirds mounted stage photographs, undated
Folder 8: The Ramones stage photographs, ca. 1980s
Folder 9: The Rave stage photographs, undated
Folder 10: Brian Setzer stage photographs, undated
Folder 11: Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Double Trouble at the Virginia, ca. 1980s
Folder 12: U2 stage photographs, ca. 1980s

Box 4

Folder 3: Combo Audio/Tom Broeske stage and candid photographs, ca. 1980s
Folder 4: The Edge stage photographs, ca. 1980s: The Edge included Dody Cosmedy, TIm Donaldson, and Tim Frazier.
Folder 6: J. Geils Band/Peter Wolf mounted stage photographs, ca. 1980s
Folder 7: Nix 86 record label showcase, Chicago, ca. 1980s
Folder 8: Rich Denhart, sound engineer, ca. 1980s: Includes black and white 8x10, sound board at Mabel's; black and white photo, sound board at Private Audio; black and white 3x5, backstage at The Clash.
Folder 10: Turning Curious and The dB's, candid photograph, ca. 1980s

Box 5

Folder 1: Adrian Belew, Twang Bar Tour, Mabel's, August 29, 1983

Box 7

Folder 3: Stage/Candid Negatives (1 of 2), ca. 1980s: Includes negatives of: Faber, Culmination, 10/5/81; WPGU, Faber, Combo Audio AGFA 400, 8/30/81; WPGU, Captain Rat, the Rivettes, George Faber, Iford 400, 8/30/81; George Faber (Mabel's), AGFA 400, 10/5/81; George Faber (Mabel's)/Elvis Brothers (Rafaelle's), HP5 800, 10/15/81; George Faber (Mabel's), HD5 1250, 10/5/81; George Faber (Mabel's), HP5 1250, 10/5/81; George Faber, Culmination; WPGU, Captain Rat, Faber, Combo Audio, AGFA 400, 8/30/81; Captain Rat, HP5 7600, 12/81; Faber (Mabel's), Faber/Elvis Brothers, 10/18/81
Folder 4: Stage/Candid Negatives (2 of 2), ca. 1980s: Includes negatives of Mrs. Gates B-Day, Volleyball, Tod, 9/3-11/1985; Adrian Belew, 8/29/1983; Belew, Mabel's, 8/29/1983; Georgia Satellites/King, 2/2/1982; Georgia Satellites, Mabel's, 1982; Elvis Brothers, The Clash, Aragon, 8/12/1982; Mystery Dots, 12/23/1983; Jason & the Scorchers, ca. 1980s; Wendy O' Williams, ca. 1980s; Wendy O'Williams, Robin Traver, Mabel's, ca. 1980s; Robin Traver, ca. 1980s; Champaign, Bradley's, 1985; Chicos, 7/4/1982; Combo Audio, infrared, undiluted, 4/1982; Stevie Ray, Virginia, Bears, 2/1986
Folder 5: Elvis Brothers Stage Slides, ca. 1980s
Folder 6: Contact Sheets, ca. 1980s
Folder 7: Smokehouse Stage Slides, 1987
Folder 8: Elvis Brothers negatives and contact sheets, Mabel's, Feb. 12, 1982
Folder 9: Elvis Brothers negatives and contact sheets, Mabel's, Feb. 28, 1982
Folder 11: Elvis Brothers negatives and contact sheet, Pia's, March 1984
Folder 12: Elvis Brothers contact sheets, stage, ca. 1980s
Folder 15: Candid negatives - West Side Park, Champaign, IL, ca. 1981: Includes negatives of Angus Thomas (bassist for Combo Audio), wife Shari Douglas and daughter Sunea; John Kellogg of Combo Audio (with baseball bat); Adrian Belew and oldest son Ernie; Rich Denhart; Phil Strang; and either Tim Vear or Cliff Mayhew.

Box 14

Folder 5: Preston Hubbard of The Fabulous Thunderbirds - matted photo, undated
Folder 6: Color slides, ca. 1980s: Includes Elvis Brothers, Della Perrone, and group shots.
Folder 7: Contact sheets, ca. 1980s: Includes The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Elvis Brothers, Della Perrone, and group shots.
Folder 8: Performance photos, ca. 1980s: Includes The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and The Elvis Brothers.
Folder 9: Performance negatives, ca. 1980s: Includes the Elvis Brothers, Combo Audio, The Bears, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Last Gentlemen, Brian Setzer, Adrian Belew, Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets, J. Geils Band, and The Ramones; and venues such as The Virginia Theater, Mabel's, Chico's, and Foellinger Auditorium.
Folder 10: Candid photographs and negatives - holiday parties, ca. 1980s

Series 2: Family Photography

Some identifications are tentative and are based on comments made by Della Perrone in 2015.

Box 9

Folder 1: Negatives, ca. 1920s-1930s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's maternal grandmother, great-aunts, mother, aunts, and uncles, in Europe (mainly Holland) and Indonesia.
Folder 2: Negatives, ca. 1920s-1930s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's great-grandmother, grandmother, great-aunts, mother, aunts, and uncles in Europe and Indonesia.
Folder 3: Negatives, ca. 1920s-1930s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's great-grandmother, grandmother, great-aunts, mother, aunts, and uncles in Europe and Indonesia.
Folder 4: Negatives, ca. 1920s-1930s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's great-grandmother, grandmother, great-aunts, mother, aunts, and uncles in Europe and Indonesia.
Folder 5: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's parents, aunts, uncles, family friends in wartime and postwar Europe. Also includes negatives from San Francisco, CA and surrounding areas during the mid to late 1940s.
Folder 6: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's parents, aunts, uncles, family friends in wartime and postwar Europe. Also includes negatives from San Francisco, CA and surrounding areas during the mid to late 1940s.
Folder 7: Negatives, ca. 1950-1955: Includes negatives of Della Perrone and her two sisters as children along with her parents in San Francisco, CA and surrounding areas.
Folder 8: Negatives, ca. 1955-1960s: Includes negatives of Della Perrone and her two sisters as children along with her parents in San Francisco, CA and Lancaster, CA.
Folder 9: Negatives, undated
Folder 10: Negative strips, sleeved, 1945-1953: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's parents in Europe at the end of the war, and of Della's parents and sisters in San Francisco, CA and surrounding areas in the early 1950s.
Folder 11: Negative strips, sleeved, 1945-1953: Includes negatives of Della Perrone's parents in Europe at the end of the war and of their wedding in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1945; and of Della's parents and sisters in San Francisco, CA and surrounding areas in the early 1950s.

Box 10

Item 1: Negatives, ca. 1930s: Della Perrone's maternal grandfather, mother, and uncle, possibly in Holland.
Item 2: Negatives, ca. 1930s: Della Perrone's mother, possibly in Holland.
Item 3: Negatives, ca. 1930s: Della Perrone's mother or aunt on bicycle, possibly in Holland.
Item 4: Negatives, ca. 1930s: Della Perrone's mother with tentatively identified maternal grandmother and great aunt. Also includes Perrone's maternal grandparents.
Item 5: Negatives, ca. 1930s: Della Perrone's mother with dog.
Item 6: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's mother in post-WWII Europe.
Item 7: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's parents on West Coast, USA, just after World War II.
Item 8: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's mother and others in Europe.
Item 9: Negatives, ca. 1940s
Item 10: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's mother, aunts, uncles, and maternal grandmother in Europe, probably shortly after Perrone's mother's wedding.
Item 11: Negatives, ca. 1940s
Item 12: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's father in uniform during World War II or just after; Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, Germany.
Item 13: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Windmills, likely in Holland. Overexposed film roll.
Item 14: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Europe, probably just post-World War II.

Box 11

Item 1: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's uncles in Holland, post World War II. Also includes pictures of Perrone's parents on a beach.
Item 2: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Possibly post-World War II Europe.
Item 3: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Portraits of Della Perrone's mother taken by her father, just post-WWII in Europe, and portraits of Perrone's father taken by her mother.
Item 4: Negatives, 1945: Della Perrone's parents with other military staff in Europe, April 1945.
Item 5: Negatives, 1945: Della Perrone's parents' wedding in Karlsruhe, Germany, September 30, 1945.
Item 6: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's mother with friend in Europe.
Item 7: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's parents with military friends, post-World War II. Germany or France.
Item 8: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Post-World War II Europe.
Item 9: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Wartime or post-WWII Europe, possibly France. U.S. flag and airplanes.
Item 10: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Football game in California, possibly the Rose Bowl. A sign in the stadium stands reads "Keep Pappy Happy." This refers to Coach Pappy Waldorf of the Cal Bears at UC Berkeley, who coached there from 1947-1956.
Item 11: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Point Joe, California. Della Perrone's parents and family friends.
Item 12: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Ships at a dock with "Welcome Home" banners and large crowds of Army men in uniform. Possibly New York, post-World War II.
Item 13: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's father and his Army friends at the Cliff House Bistro in San Francisco, CA.
Item 14: Negatives, ca. 1945-1946: Della Perrone's mother posing with car, San Francisco, CA.
Item 15: Negatives, ca. 1940s: California. Della Perrone's parents riding bicycles and feeding deer. Perrone's father is wearing a sweater handmade by her mother. Also includes pictures of a (possible) presidential parade.

Box 12

Item 1: Negatives, ca. 1940s
Item 2: Negatives, ca. 1940s
Item 3: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's mother and paternal grandmother, likely in Indiana. Also includes pictures of a California beach, probably Santa Barbara.
Item 4: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's parents with friends on the California coast.
Item 5: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's mother skiing, possibly in California; Perrone's Aunt Ria in various Bay Area locations: San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, and Tiburon or Sausalito.
Item 6: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's parents in Southern California. Pictures with Studebaker car; Perrone's father in bathing suit.
Item 7: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Skiing photographs, probably Squaw Valley, CA.
Item 8: Negatives, ca. 1940s: Della Perrone's parents in California shortly after moving. Pictures include sunbathing, rock-climbing, and friends.
Item 9: Negatives, ca. late 1940s: Della Perrone's parents in California.
Item 10: Negatives, ca. 1948-1952: Della Perrone's parents with friends at Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA.
Item 11: Negatives, ca. 1948-1952: Della Perrone's parents in San Francisco, CA, on cable car and at the Palace of Fine Arts.
Item 12: Negatives, ca. 1948-1952: Della Perrone's mother sunbathing in California.
Item 13: Negatives, ca. 1948-1952: Parade in California, possibly Long Beach. Also includes pictures in Santa Cruz.
Item 14: Negatives, ca. 1948-1952: Della Perrone's father in apron; pictures around San Francisco--Alioto's, Tarantino's, Fisherman's Wharf.
Item 15: Negatives, ca. 1948-1952: Della Perrone's parents' home in San Francisco, Christmas time.
Item 16: Negatives, ca. 1953: One of Della Perrone's two sisters as a baby, in California.

Box 13

Item 1: Negatives, 1951: Della Perrone's parents; travel in the Redwoods, CA.
Item 2: Negatives, 1951: Family friends with baby.
Item 3: Negatives, ca. 1953-1954: Travel in the redwoods, Trees of Mystery, CA; Della Perrone's sister Michelle as a baby.
Item 4: Negatives, ca. 1953: Della Perrone's sister Michelle as a baby; Perrone's maternal grandmother and uncle in San Francisco just after arriving from Holland.
Item 5: Negatives, ca. 1953-1954: Della Perrone's sister Michelle as baby, Christmas in San Francisco.
Item 6: Negatives, ca. 1960s: Ship in a harbor, possibly Della Perrone's father.
Item 7: Negatives, 1963: Holland, pictures possibly taken with Della Perrone's mother's Rollei camera.

Box 14

Folder 11: Color slides - family images, undated

Series 3: Audiovisual Materials

Box 8

Item 1: Elvis Brothers live at Chico's, cassette tape, 1981: Includes track listing.
Item 2: Elvis Brothers live at Chico's, cassette tape, 1981: Includes track listing.
Item 3: Combo Audio mini LP, cassette tape, 1983
Item 4: Combo Audio and Nix 86, cassette tape, 1983-84
Item 5: Don't Talk debut, cassette tape, 1984
Item 6: Elvis Brothers WPGU interview and "Movin Up" cassette tape, 1985
Item 7: The Truce, cassette tape, 1986
Item 8: Nick Rudd, "Strange World" cassette tape, 1988
Item 9: Combo Audio, cassette tape, undated
Item 10: Elvis Brothers interview and radio spots, cassette tape, undated
Item 11: Elvis Brothers, Billy Idol, Stray Cats, Split Enz cassette tape, undated
Item 12: George Faber, cassette tape, undated
Item 13: Mantia, George Faber, U-2 "Boy" cassette tape, undated
Item 14: Nick Rudd "Spine Trail" cassette tape, undated
Item 15: Nix 86 and Chicago Symphony Solti-Bolero, cassette tape, undated
Item 16: Stray Cats cassette tape, undated
Item 17: Elvis Brothers at Mabel's, video cassette, 1982-83

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Professional Photography],
[Series 2: Family Photography],
[Series 3: Audiovisual Materials],
[All]