iconic figures Steve Brooks was Willie Nelson’s graphic designer
t
he Lee Park Massacre launched Steve Brooks’ career. Brooks, who grew up in Oak Cliff and now lives in Kessler Park, was still a student at what is now the University of North Texas in April 1970 when he made a poster to commemorate the clash between “hippies” and police at an afternoon concert that resulted in dozens of arrests. His poster caught the attention of Jerry Schultz, the owner
of the Gas Pipe, who hired him to make art and advertising for his business. Not long after, a Dallas ad firm hired him as an art director. “I decided I didn’t need to be a student anymore since they made me an art director,” he says. “But that was shortlived because they went out of business a few months later.” He eventually finished his degree, but not before landing a job as an artist for Concerts West and launching his own
Story by RACHEL STONE | Art courtesy of STEVE BROOKS
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OCTOBER 2021
