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I can’t say enough great things about Ken Settle, Detroit photographer. He was brilliant, kind, and generous with his talent. Thanks to Ken Settle, WCSX has been able to share hundreds of concert photos and their stories with our audience.
A celebration of life is being held for Ken Settle at the Token Lounge in Westland on March 29th, at 4:30 pm, 2026. The full details are available on the Token’s event page.
Ken’s passing was a really tough blow. I loved talking with Ken and sharing his stories and photos. He was such a gracious, humble person with unbelievably detailed stories behind the moments he captured on film. A few years back, I interviewed Ken Settle. Here are some pieces from that conversation.
The Interview: Ken Settle, Detroit Photographer
Do you remember the first rock n’ roll picture you shot?
KS: My very, very first rock’n’roll photo was in May of 1971. The Bob Seger System was playing a baseball game in Southfield against the staff of the brand new WRIF-FM. Somehow, my sisters and I talked my dad into taking us to see the ball game. I felt very bad that my mom couldn’t come too. She had to be home and make Mother’s Day dinner for my grandma. I took my mom’s Mother’s Day card with me in hopes of getting Bob Seger to sign it!
My dad let me use his decent camera to try to get photos. I spotted Seger walking back out onto the field–a pack of Marlboros in one hand and a ball glove in the other. I went up to him and shyly asked, “Bob…would you sign my mom’s Mother’s Day card”? “Sure,” he said with a friendly chuckle. “Let’s get this guy to sign it too,” he offered, pointing to Seger System drummer Pep Perrine. Pep signed the card and handed it back to me. I turned to Bob and said, “Let me get a photo!” I snapped one shot…which thankfully was in focus and properly exposed!
Photo courtesy of Ken Settle, Detroit Photographer: Bob Seger – 1971 Bob Seger and crew played a ballgame against the WRIF crew.
What is one of your all-time favorite concerts in Detroit, and why?
KS: There are so many magical moments. Some of my best memories of photographing live music are the times when I photographed Bob Seger around the Detroit area before his platinum success finally came to him in 1976. Photographing Bob playing at clubs like Uncle Sam’s in Redford in 1973, and The Rock’n’Roll Farm in Wayne in 1974 hold an incredibly special place in my archives as well as in my heart.
Chronicling Bob Seger in the early days gave me such a great look at the development of an iconic artist. I remember photographing one of the earliest Silver Bullet Band shows. It was at Cobo Arena in early October of 1973. Bob and the band were playing the annual ALSAC charity concert at Cobo and opening the show for Brownsville Station. Silver Bullet drummer Charlie Martin had to play on Brownsville Station drummer Henry Weck’s double bass drum kit. Complete with the Brownsville Station logo emblazoned across the bass drum heads! It was done in an effort to save time in striking the stage between bands!
Ken SettleBob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band – 1974 Photo credit: Ken Settle, Detroit Photographer
What’s one of the strangest concerts you ever photographed?
KS: Well…the king of strange concert experiences would have to be just about ANY Alice Cooper show! “Expect the unexpected” would have to be the operative motto! Alice’s management has always let me photograph Alice’s shows in their entirety from beginning to end, with no three-song limit, which has been the norm for many years now.
For Alice’s Halloween show at Joe Louis Arena in 1987, Alice had countless helium-filled balloons bouncing overhead in the stage area, and he was piercing them with his sword, sending a ton of confetti falling all over the stage, the photo pit, as well as the first several rows of the audience. What no one knew, though, was that a few of those balloons contained gallons of fake blood! There I was photographing Alice one minute, and the next, me, my cameras, and the first few rows of the audience were covered in gallons of sticky faux blood. I mean, I got NAILED! Covered from head to toe in the stuff! Since I had no other clothes to change into, I got a lot of strange looks driving home after the show.
Alice Cooper–Halloween 1987–Joe Louis Arena
More Ken Settle Stories
Ken Settle was the Detroit photographer who drove to an abandoned diner in Highland Park in the middle of the night to take this photo of Bono. (see full story: U2 Filmed a Video in Highland Park)
Ken SettleKen Settle, Detroit photographer. He captures a still of Bono at The Hi-Liter Diner when U2 filmed a video in Highland Park, Michigan.
Ken SettleJimmy Page during Page and Plant World Tour: Palace of Auburn Hills 1995
Ken Settle was behind the lens of so many moments in Detroit’s music history; it’s truly unfathomable. He leaves behind a legacy of photos and history spanning more than five decades.
Ken Settle Background
His drive to get photos at live shows began with sneaking into bars to get pictures of the live shows. One of Ken’s first rock and roll photos was a picture of Bob Seger playing baseball with WRIF. Ken caught a lot of Bob Seger’s early days playing high schools, colleges, and at The Rock and Roll Farm. Through the years, Ken’s photos have been published worldwide. Rolling Stone, the original Creem Magazine, People, Playboy, and England’s Kerrang! are just a few of the publications that have featured Ken’s photos.
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Donielle Flynn
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