History of Classic Rock Album Covers

8/2/2019 History of Classic Rock Album Covers

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Christopher R. Whittle

Professor Mary Newman

ART 211: History of Graphic Design

April 28, 2011

Outline forClassic Rock Album Covers 1960-2010

I. INTRODUCTION: What is Classic Rock?A. A radio station format of rock and roll music that mostly features artists of

the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

B. This format grew out of AOR (Album Oriented Rock) (Classic Rock101).

C. KMPX-FM in San Francisco started to play twenty-four hour rock music in1967 (Molon et al 252), mostly of a psychedelic sub-genre; disc jockey TomDonohue played songs longer than three minutes (Szatmary 159).

D. In 1981, WYSP in Philadelphia was the first radio station to call itselfClassic Rock (Hawkins).

E. WZLX-FM (Boston) signed on in 1985; forty percent of radioprogramming was classic rock or oldies by 1988 (Szatmary 280).

II. (SAMPLE) MUSICAL ARTISTS OF CLASSIC ROCKA. Bob Dylan has been performing folk music since his first performance at

the University of Minnesota in 1959 (Szatmary 91).B. Joan Baez made her debut at the 1959 Newport (Rhode Island) Folk

Festival (Szatmary 94).

C. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones began performing in the early 1960s.D. The Who (1965-2010) began as the first mainstream psychedelic band with

technological innovations; while Jefferson Airplane pioneered the

psychedelic style underground (Top 50: 1-25).

E. In 1965, the Doors were founded at the University of California at SantaBarbara (Szatmary 154); the Grateful Dead were established that same

year as part of the cloister (Szatmary 157) in the Haight-Ashbury Districtof San Francisco (Szatmary 153).

F. Jimmy Page invented heavy metal with the band Led Zeppelin(Szatmary 129).

G. Pink Floyd was founded in 1966 (Szatmary 161); since then they have soldover 200 million albums (Top 50: 1-25).


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H. The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Genesis, the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO),and Yes played classical music with rock and roll themes (Szatmary 202-

4).

I. Other groups include, but not limited to: Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles,Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Queen, the Talking Heads, ThePolice, U2, Van Halen, and AC/DC.

III.SELECTED ALBUM COVERS FOR PRESENTATIONA. TheBeach Boys Today by the Beach Boys

1. Album cover designed by John Engstead2. Released by Capitol Records in 19663. Picture of the five band members in a small frame, dressed within

Dick Clarks dress code forAmerican Bandstand (Szatmary 58).

4. All capital letters, bold Arial typeB.Flowers by the Rolling Stones1. Created by Guy Webster and Tom Wilkes2. Title in psychedelic format with bright colors3. Released by London Records

C. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Bandby the Beatles1. Released by Capitol Records in 19672. A collage of several influential people in history3. Format like a photo scene of a military or high school marching

band.D. The White Album by the Beatles

1. Concept by Richard Hamilton after consultation with PaulMcCartney (Molon et al 73).

2. Band name type in Helvetica onlyE. Through the Past, Darkly by the Rolling Stones

1. Hexagonal shape (e.g. stop sign)2. Big Hits album3. Picture of the band members looking at the viewer

F. Woodstock by Crosby, Stills and Nash1. Very futuristic, has elements of Art Deco2. Depicts a Star Trek scene or a Greek myth

G.Harvest Moon by Neil Young1. Simple Arts and Crafts Movement design by Tom Wilkes2. Released by Reprise Records in 1972

H. The Song Remains the Same by Led Zeppelin


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1. Soundtrack album cover designed by the firm Hipgnosis/Hardie2. Realistic architectural drawing of a run-down theatre


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I. Night Moves by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band1. Bob Seger pictured in front of a full moon at nighttime (Bert).2. Released by Capitol Records in 1976

J. Running on Empty by Jackson Browne1.

Art directed by Jimmy Wachtel

2. Drum set placed in the middle of the highway in the desert.3. Color is monotone with the extensive use of brown.

K. Boston Ride by Lilith1. All-female rock band from Boston2. Band black and white photograph by Susan Wilson3. Italicized text feels like a moving car

L. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac1. Victorian/Romantic band logo2.

Mick Fleetwood escorting Stevie Nicks, dressed in Shakespearianclothing.

3. Photograph by Hebert Worthington4. Designed by Desmond Strobel

M.Van Halen 1 by Van Halen is a picture of the four band members in actionin gird squares.

N.Enlightened Rouges by the Allman Brothers Band1. Gothic band logo2. Real stained-glass frame constructed by Sunshine Glass Works of

Los Angeles.O. Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen

1. Photo of Bruce Springsteens blue jeans by Annie Leibovitz2. Album released by Columbia Records in 1984

P. Frontiers by Journey1. Cover designed by Jim Welch of Artists and Friends2. A science fiction theme on the cover

Q. 1984 by Van Halen1. Album cover designed by Margo Zafer Nahas2. Use of light colors, naturalistic3. Cherub is smoking cigarettes

R. Our Time in Eden by 10,000 Maniacs shows Adam and Eve in the Gardenof Eden, depicted in an Arts & Crafts and Romantic style.


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S. Rock A Little by Stevie Nicks1. Stevie Nicks is pictured in her trademark black dress2. Stevies name is more important than the album title3. Modern image, but traditional4.

Art directed by Michael Hodgson

T. Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits1. Painting of Guitar Heaven by Thomas Steyer2. Complementary and contemporary colors3. Steel guitar is the bands trademark4. Released by Warner Bros. Records in 1985

U.Kick by INXS1. Collage of band members on white negative space2. Simple and legible3.

Nick Egan served as main art director

V. The Joshua Tree by U21. Designed by Steve Averill of the Creative Dept. in Dublin2. Band photograph is on one side, the desert is on the right side3. Pictured in grayscale

W.The Beatles 1 consists of the thirty number one hits the band recorded, inwhich Rick Ward designed a simple 1 in yellow on a red background.

X. Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac1. Hands 1991 photograph by Keith Carter shows Stevie Nicks

and Lindsey Buckingham lying on the wood floor (MickFleetwood and John McVie are cut-off on the edges of the cover

and are primarily lying on the back cover of the jacket).

2. Photo is in grayscale except for the band name, which is in white.3. Say You Will is pictured upside down in red.

Y. The Vicious Cycle Tour is a live album recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd in2004, released by Sanctuary Records. The band logo is a classic southern

style.

Z.Dj vu All Over Again by John Fogerty1. Brother Bob Fogerty took the cover photograph of John on the

motorcycle.

2. The cover is grayscale except for red and blue text.3. John and his wife Julie served as co-directors of art for the album.


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Works Cited

Beatles, The. White Album. Hollywood: Capitol Records, Inc., 1968: Cover. Phonograph.

Bert, Tom (photo.) Night Moves. Music by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.Hollywood: Capitol Records, Inc., 1976: Cover. Phonograph.

Carter, Keith. Hands 1991, Say You Will. Music by Fleetwood Mac, art dir. Stephen

Walker. New York: Reprise Records, 2003: Cover. CD.

Cooper, Sutton et al. Brothers in Arms. Music by Dire Straits. New York: Warner Bros.

Records, Inc., 1985: Cover. Phonograph.

Corbin, Anton and Averill, Steve, The Creative Dept., Dublin. The Joshua Tree. Music byU2. New York: Island Records, Inc., 1987: Cover. Phonograph.

Egan, Nick et al. (art dir.) Kick. Music by INXS. New York: Atlantic Recording

Corporation, 1987: Cover. Phonograph.

Engstead, John (photo.) The Beach Boys Today. Music by The Beach Boys. Hollywood:

Capitol Records, 1966: Cover. Phonograph.

Fogerty, Bob. Dj Vu All Over Again. Music by John Fogerty, art dir. Geoff Gans et al.Santa Monica: Geffen Records, 2004: Cover. CD.

Hawkins, Kathy. What is Classic Rock Music?, Wisegeek.com. 2011; Accessed

2/15/2011. HTML.

Hipgnosis/Hardie. The Song Remains the Same. Music by Led Zeppelin. New York: Swan

Song, Inc., 1976: Cover. Phonograph.

Hodgson, Michael (art dir). Rock a Little. Music by Stevie Nicks. Los Angeles: ModernRecords, Inc., 1985: Cover. Phonograph.

Kaylan, Diana Marie et al. Enlighten Rouges. Music by The Allman Brothers Band.

Macon: Capricorn Records, Inc., 1979: Cover. Phonograph.


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Klein, Andrea and Leibovitz, Annie. Born in the USA. Music by Bruce Springsteen. New

York: Columbia Records, 1984: Cover. Phonograph.

Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Vicious Cycle Tour. New York: Sanctuary Records Group, 2004:

Cover. CD.

MC Productions. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Music by The Beatles.

Hollywood: Capitol Records, Inc., 1967: Cover. Phonograph.

Molon, Dominic et al. Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967. New

Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. Print.

Nahas, Margo Zafer. 1984. Music by Van Halen, art dir. Pete Angelus et al. New York:

Warner Bros. Records, Inc., 1984: Cover. CD.

Rock. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. 4th ed.; ed. Randel, Don Michael. Cambridge:

The Belknap Press, 2003: 734-35. Print.

Russell, Ethan (photo.) Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2). Music by The Rolling

Stones. New York: London Records, 1970: Cover. Phonograph.

Strobel, Desmond and Worthington, Hebert. Rumours. Music by Fleetwood Mac.

Burbank: Warner Bros. Records, Inc., 1977: Cover. Phonograph.

Szatmary, David P. Rockin in Time: A Social History of Rock-and-Roll, 5th ed. Upper

Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, Inc., 2004. Print.

Wachtel, Jimmy et al. Running on Empty. Music by Jackson Browne. Los Angeles:

Elektra/Asylum Records, 1977: Cover. Phonograph.

Ward, Rick. Cover, The Beatles 1. Music by The Beatles. Hollywood: Capitol Records,

2000: Cover. CD.

Webster, Guy and Wilkes, Tom. Flowers. Music by The Rolling Stones. New York:

London Records, Inc., 196?: Cover. Phonograph.


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Welch, Jim. Frontiers. Music by Journey. New York: Columbia Records, 1983: Cover.

Phonograph.

White, Dave. Classic Rock 101: Who Put the Classic in Classic Rock?, About.com

Classic Rock. New York: The New York Times Co., 2011; Accessed2/15/2011. HTML.

-----. Top 50 Classic Rock Bands 1-25, About.com Classic Rock. New York: The New

York Times Co., 2011; Accessed 2/15/2011. HTML.

-----. Top 50 Classic Rock Bands 26-50, About.com Classic Rock. New York: The New

York Times Co., 2011: Accessed 2/15/2011. HTML.

Wilkes, Tom. Harvest. Music by Neil Young. New York: Reprise Records, 1972: Cover.Phonograph.

Wilson, Susan et al. Boston Ride. Music by Lilith. Type. Universal Typographics, Boston.

Woburn: Galaxia, 1978: Cover. Phonograph.

History of Classic Rock Album Covers

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