Helluva job in a whale of an undertaking! Another idea for the next round: The 100 Greatest Johnny (and/or Edgar) Winter Album Cover Photographs of All Time.
I can never keep them straight. Which is the funny looking one again?
But seriously, The Edgar Winter Album features a hand colored portrait of a fur-wearing Edgar, and was photographed by Ken Robbins who was known for hand tinted photographs, and who has a ton of great covers to his name. A bunch for Sinatra, in particular.
Wow! that is an impressively well-researched and informative list. I often expect a headline like that to end up being just a list of the most famous cover photographs, and I appreciate the effort you've taken to come up with a broad range.
I'll mention a few that come to my mind -- I don't know whether these are the greatest cover photos, but ones I like -- focusing on folk or singer-songwriters as is my want.
One other note about the first photos I shared -- for that John Hartford cover that album more or less pioneered hippie bluegrass (and was a forerunner of the newgrass movement) and he does look like exactly the person you'd expect to be playing hippie bluegrass.
Thank you for this fabulous piece of work! A reminder of some of the most amazing photographers, whose album covers inspired my lifelong love of photography. Very glad to see Brian Griffin in there; and the inclusion of only one by Anton Corbijn just shows the strength of the others. Such a shame that the 12" album cover has almost disappeared as a medium.
I'm hopeful that as everything old becomes new again, we'll see a resurgence in this "attainable art for the masses" thing. My teen daughter has a few "vinyls" so maybe we're on our way.
Amazing research and info, thank you Bill! I didn't know that about The Clash's homage to Elvis. That is a whole other category of album art, the tribute cover. One of my favorite is Ween's "The Pod", a variation on Leonard Cohen's 1982 Greatest Hits album (with portrait by Giuseppe Pino)
Ooh, that's great! I have that greatest hits record, and it didn't even occur to me. You could make a strong case that it belongs here — or at least worthy of consideration.
The Francis Wolff jazz covers seem to have lots of homages to them in hip hop covers in particular. Ton Loc's "Loc'd After Dark" is the one that comes to mind immediately.
I was looking for the Nirvana Nevermind cover, but see you included another underwater album cover that was pretty incredible. Thanks for gathering and sharing all this info, I really enjoyed seeing which ones you liked and learning a little of the back stories and the photographers.
I was 13 when the album came out, so I think of it as one of the most famous album covers of my youth. Would be interested to know why you chose not to include it. But loved reading about the ones you did choose.
My goodness, what a project. Great stuff in here. We'll never all agree, but that's not really the point, is it? Still I'd like to add a vote for Elvis Costello's _This Year's Model_
Quite interesting! I've enjoyed going through this, and will link to it on my photography blog weekend round up this weekend. Often now, when I'm buying old albums, I'm always looking to see who shot the cover art. Of course, you have the usuals...Lynn Goldsmith, Mick Rock, etc. But I have a Blood, Sweat & Tears cover shot by Lee Friedlander. Who'd a thunk he shot album covers!
That was the most interesting part of this process. Seeing Friedlander (who shot the #69 entry on this list) and other icons of the medium doing so much of this work. W. Eugene Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Irving Penn... It's really this affordable, practical way to bring great visual art into our homes.
Excellent work. A wonderful collection. Thank you. A little bit of silliness might have put this over the top. Breakfast Can Wait or Special Beat Service. Hopefully they make your next collection!
That English Beat cover is pretty great; I was unfamiliar. But if I was gonna include a Prince cover — which I should've — it would have been Purple Rain.
You're right, though. It's a pretty earnest list that could've benefitted from some yuks.
I somehow seemed to have stopped noticing what was happening in music in the early 70s. When I emerged from grad school, I dropped in a record store and they had their top 50 albums lined up. I expected not to recognize any of them, but what I didn’t expect was that I didn’t recognize any of the artists, either.
The whole list is suspect based on one single omission — Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
Just holding the album lets you hear the sound of millions of prepubescent balls dropping.
An important album, surely.
Can’t say I agree with all your picks, but it is a superb piece. I do believe the jazz artists steal the show.
Yeah the jazz records have a very strong showing thru the years
Even more astounding when you realize how much of it is the work of two people.
Helluva job in a whale of an undertaking! Another idea for the next round: The 100 Greatest Johnny (and/or Edgar) Winter Album Cover Photographs of All Time.
I can never keep them straight. Which is the funny looking one again?
But seriously, The Edgar Winter Album features a hand colored portrait of a fur-wearing Edgar, and was photographed by Ken Robbins who was known for hand tinted photographs, and who has a ton of great covers to his name. A bunch for Sinatra, in particular.
Tutu is my favorite.
Wow! that is an impressively well-researched and informative list. I often expect a headline like that to end up being just a list of the most famous cover photographs, and I appreciate the effort you've taken to come up with a broad range.
I'll mention a few that come to my mind -- I don't know whether these are the greatest cover photos, but ones I like -- focusing on folk or singer-songwriters as is my want.
First, the cover for John Hartford's Aereo-Plane (1971) is iconic (at least within a small niche) -- https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81bSf2ZQ3+L._SL1404_.jpg
The cover of _Blues, Rags, & Hollers_ captures both their youth and serious intensity: https://store.compassrecords.com/cdn/shop/files/image_7f764098-3935-4d58-a964-abb3104358c3_1024x1024.jpg?v=1716307999
By contrast there's just something joyful (and serious) about the cover of Gil y Jorge: https://i.discogs.com/FGgfMuhJ7EnGOABc6Njao0JxlACwL211hz53xf-T7JU/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI1NTc0/MjMzLTE2NzIwNzI0/MjEtOTc3OS5qcGVn.jpeg
The photo of Trigger on the cover of Willie Nelson's _The Great Divide_ is amazing: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91oAtvBTm4L._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
Finally the story behind the photo used for _Blood On The Tracks_ is remarkable: https://www.flaggingdown.com/p/photographer-paul-till-tells-the
Hey, thanks. These are great. I love the shot of Willie's guitar. And the Blood on the Tracks story is great!
Yeah, I had no idea that the Blood On The Tracks cover was a photo until reading that.
A few more that I thought of. _Quiet Fire_ isn't just my favorite Roberta Flack album, it's also a great example of incorporating the photo into the graphic design -- with the title and her name -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet_Fire_%28Roberta_Flack_album%29#/media/File:Quiet_fire_(album_cover).jpg
The photo of Bobby Womack's hand on the cover of _Bravest Man In The Universe_ is quite striking: https://shopusa.xlrecordings.com/cdn/shop/files/bobby_womack_the_bravest_man_in_the_universe.jpg?v=1734436495&width=1220
One other note about the first photos I shared -- for that John Hartford cover that album more or less pioneered hippie bluegrass (and was a forerunner of the newgrass movement) and he does look like exactly the person you'd expect to be playing hippie bluegrass.
A painstaking task but one that is so worth it, I don’t agree with a lot of it but it would take me 3 years to curate an alternative list!
Great list and a fun read. I’ve always loved the Aerosmith Rocks album cover.
Not a lot of slick studio still life images are album covers. That's a good one.
Thank you for this fabulous piece of work! A reminder of some of the most amazing photographers, whose album covers inspired my lifelong love of photography. Very glad to see Brian Griffin in there; and the inclusion of only one by Anton Corbijn just shows the strength of the others. Such a shame that the 12" album cover has almost disappeared as a medium.
I'm hopeful that as everything old becomes new again, we'll see a resurgence in this "attainable art for the masses" thing. My teen daughter has a few "vinyls" so maybe we're on our way.
Amazing research and info, thank you Bill! I didn't know that about The Clash's homage to Elvis. That is a whole other category of album art, the tribute cover. One of my favorite is Ween's "The Pod", a variation on Leonard Cohen's 1982 Greatest Hits album (with portrait by Giuseppe Pino)
Ooh, that's great! I have that greatest hits record, and it didn't even occur to me. You could make a strong case that it belongs here — or at least worthy of consideration.
The Francis Wolff jazz covers seem to have lots of homages to them in hip hop covers in particular. Ton Loc's "Loc'd After Dark" is the one that comes to mind immediately.
I was looking for the Nirvana Nevermind cover, but see you included another underwater album cover that was pretty incredible. Thanks for gathering and sharing all this info, I really enjoyed seeing which ones you liked and learning a little of the back stories and the photographers.
I might do a follow up that explains the Nevermind omission, but rest assured it was briefly there before I decided to remove it.
I was 13 when the album came out, so I think of it as one of the most famous album covers of my youth. Would be interested to know why you chose not to include it. But loved reading about the ones you did choose.
Wow very impressive. Well done!
Thank you!
Great compilation! As a longtime Jackson Browne fan, I would add the cover photo from The Pretender
That is a good one!
Very interesting and many artists I’ve e never known
My goodness, what a project. Great stuff in here. We'll never all agree, but that's not really the point, is it? Still I'd like to add a vote for Elvis Costello's _This Year's Model_
Hard not to like the artist-as-photographer, poised over a Hassy.
Quite interesting! I've enjoyed going through this, and will link to it on my photography blog weekend round up this weekend. Often now, when I'm buying old albums, I'm always looking to see who shot the cover art. Of course, you have the usuals...Lynn Goldsmith, Mick Rock, etc. But I have a Blood, Sweat & Tears cover shot by Lee Friedlander. Who'd a thunk he shot album covers!
That was the most interesting part of this process. Seeing Friedlander (who shot the #69 entry on this list) and other icons of the medium doing so much of this work. W. Eugene Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Irving Penn... It's really this affordable, practical way to bring great visual art into our homes.
Excellent work. A wonderful collection. Thank you. A little bit of silliness might have put this over the top. Breakfast Can Wait or Special Beat Service. Hopefully they make your next collection!
That English Beat cover is pretty great; I was unfamiliar. But if I was gonna include a Prince cover — which I should've — it would have been Purple Rain.
You're right, though. It's a pretty earnest list that could've benefitted from some yuks.
I recognized nine of them. Is that a pass? Anyway, you missed one. Santana, Moonflower
Unfortunately no, you'll have to retake the class. But you get extra credit for Moonflower. That's outstanding!
I somehow seemed to have stopped noticing what was happening in music in the early 70s. When I emerged from grad school, I dropped in a record store and they had their top 50 albums lined up. I expected not to recognize any of them, but what I didn’t expect was that I didn’t recognize any of the artists, either.