ALBUM ARTWORK: It s Influence Then and Now

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Mervyn Jefferson
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1 Sarah Gist Senior Project Mr. Jack ALBUM ARTWORK: It s Influence Then and Now

2 Created by During the 60s the Baby Boomers had one large influence, and that was music. They did not have TRL or Us Weekly to announce who was wearing what or dating who. It was the radio, record stores and Sunday nights at 8 o clock when the it music closed the end of Ed Sullivan s hit TV show. When Elvis Presley reached his peak, every little boy and young man greased their hair back with the duck tail in the front, when the Beatles owned the eye of the masses it was all about the bowl hair cut (also referred to as the mop top ) and then when the famous rock bands such as The Grateful Dead came around, the real cool kids had hair down past their shoulders (Betty Gist). The musicians along with their music are what influenced the Baby Boomers. But it was not just the idea that they were famous like how Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie began the fad of purse dogs and the phrase that s hot. It was what they expressed through the art of their music and it s packaging. Though most music is now digital, artists still continue to create covers for the album. So what makes our generation of music so different then the time of the baby boomers? Why has their album artwork seem to make an impression on the consumers of the time, and ours doesn t? The album cover was a powerful medium during this period. The elements of its design included avant-garde and provocative

3 photography, art, illustration, innovative fonts, vivid use of color and its subject matter. It was what influenced the baby boomer generation and continued well into the 90s as a vector for artistic expression. With technology growing from Vinyl's to tapes to CDs and now mp3s the size of your hand, packaging has gotten smaller and smaller along with the artwork surrounding it. CD and record sales have been on a downfall since the beginning of music downloads. According to the article Kids don't like CDs: itunes Store now #2 music retailer, 48% of US teens did not purchase a single CD in Yet Musicians have still continued to add artwork to the packaging. The new and updated Itunes and Ipods allow you to flip through your library by album covers allowing a visual for the artwork. But what does the artwork of today mean? The Baby Boomer generation was when the media realized how profitable the teen market was. In 2008, teens were reported as a partisan represented an $80 billion market (Teens, Money, Payment Cards and Financial Services in the U.S.). The Baby Boomer Generation was the largest population of consumers the US had seen. Boomers were coming of age with similar likes and dislikes. They were looking for change; intellectual, political and cultural. There was a great movement to break ties with tradition and old established ways

4 of doing things. This generation was ready for experimentation. It opened a door for revolution in the way art was experienced. And what better way to influence than music and the art that it contained? In the 1950s album production was in its infancy. Frank Sinatra was one of the first of his time to begin the evolution of Album covers from packaging to art. He was actively involved in the creative process and design of his album covers. Sinatra found it so important to be involved with his album designs that he gave up a large advance in pay in exchange for the complete control over the artistic aspects of his album design. In fact, Sinatra s first Grammy Award was not for his music but instead his involvement in his sleeve design (The Greatest Album Covers of All Time). His contributions paved the way for evolving art and design considerations given to album covers and helped open the doors for future musicians to take an active role in the design of their album sleeves. The Beatles had some of the most innovative album covers of their time and ours (The Greatest Album Covers of All Time). They were the number one selling rock band of their time with their album Sgt. Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club band selling over 11.7 million copies (Rolling Stone). According to Paige Newman, manager of Streetlight Records in San Jose, All the Beatles albums still need restocking on a regular basis. They re just one of those groups that will

5 never stop selling. Their influence over a generation of Boomers was significant and substantial. Their album covers were often collaboration between artist and musician and further more the Beatles themselves often came up with the idea for the album cover artwork. In fact, Paul McCartney himself based the Sleeve for Sgt. Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club off an original drawing. Their album covers were artist statements in and of themselves. Though the album artwork cannot solely be responsible for the top sales The Beatles received, they certainly influenced the masses. After the album came out, some of my brothers friends went out and bought military band jackets like the ones The Beatles were wearing in Sgt. Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club. I saw a few other people walking around in them too. It was just a statement, like I know what they have to say and I agree. (Jerry Gist) The popularity of the Beatles and their huge album sales helped promote contemporary art and innovative artistic expression in album covers. When asking Jerry how he thought album sales correlated with the music and artwork he responded with, I can t really say I ever bought an album solely for it s artwork, but if I knew the band and liked the artwork? It didn t really matter what songs were on it. Of course they were not the only ones to do so. The Rolling Stones were also notorious for their avant-garde covers along

6 with Black Sabbath, Sonic Youth and David Bowie. The trend of album artwork being experimental carried on well past the 60s and still continues today. With each new album released by any given band the album cover, its subject content and artistic value, was a significant part of that process. The consumer, the young generation, would evaluate and critique the album cover. It was during the 60 s that album covers morphed from packaging to art. The album cover was a showcase for new forms of expression and allowed the unknown artist as well as the established artist, such as Andy Warhol, to reach their audience. The first Beatles album cover, Meet the Beatles used stark black and white photography. Though this was only a small step towards the growth of album covers it still veered away from the standard head shot found on albums such as Nat King Coles s Love Songs or Elvis Presley s Elvis album. Other than Sinatra s albums, this was one of few attempts to use photography as an art form not merely as a means to identify the artist. As their popularity grew, the Beatles continued to push the boundaries of their music and album s sleeve. The first step the Beatles took to draw in their audience through their artwork was Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It took 129 days to create and has

7 been considered the most creative 129 days in the history of rock music ( One of the greatest things about this record, was it was the first album to ever have the lyrics enclosed in it. This is a trend that still continues on today. The focal point of the album cover is a photograph of the Beatles dressed in brightly colored military band jackets. In contrast, standing to the left, is another photo of the Beatles dressed in suits from their earlier days, as up and coming musicians. There is a collage of famous and influential people in the background, like W. C. Fields, Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allen Poe and Bob Dylan. During It s day, this album cover inspired conversation and speculation throughout college dorm rooms, teenagers and families regarding the who s who on the sleeve. This neighbor kid and I used to always argue over whether the blonde in the back was Marilyn Monroe or Mae West. He was right. It was Mae West. (Jerry Gist) This album cover was the beginning of a collective participation in a media event. There were many more music events that brought together this collective participation such as in the early 90s when Eiffel 65 came out with the song Blue and everyone had their own versions whether it was I m blue if I were green I would die, or if I were me I would die. The lyrics were actually I m blue Daba De Daba Di.

8 The Beatle s White Album (released in 1968) is an example of conceptual art, a concept that began in the 60s (the-artist.org) as the medium. The transition from creative, multicolored album covers to a stark white cover with only the embossed lettering of the band s name makes a minimalist statement. It was the only Beatles album that made it to true underground station (Why Don't We Do It in the Doll's House?: A Peek Inside the Beatles' White Album). Paul McCartney was a large part of the design of the White Album. When discussing the layout for the White Album, McCartney had the most input. If we emboss the word Beatles we ll get a shadow from the embossing, but it s white on white. It ll still be white. (The Greatest Album Covers of all Time). The album became a symbol of irony which would be a theme constantly used in album art to come, such as Black Sabbath s smoking angels on the cover of Heaven and Hell. Because Sgt. Peppers was so bizarre and over the top, McCartney and the album designer Richard Hamilton worked towards the opposite extreme. These 2 album covers, the overstated and the understated, are great examples of the artistic freedom allowed through the medium of the album cover and how much symbolism could be included. Though the 60s allowed for much artistic freedom, the government did its best to control a lot of what went out into the media, especially during the Vietnam War, a very controversial war.

9 Many music idols during this time were against the war and that was one of the many reasons they were so appealing to the Baby Boomers. It was an act of rebellion. When the Beatles came out with their album Yesterday and Today, the original cover had butchered and blood covered baby dolls sprawled across the smiling musicians. 750,000 copies were sold before Capitol Records forced the Beatles to create a new cover for the album. It was replaced with a somewhat dull cover of the four men sitting on suitcases. I remember my big brother Chris and I buying the album at Tower for about four bucks. We had to steam the cover of the album to peal off that suitcase cover and then we could see the butcher one underneath. I just remember feeling so cool looking at this forbidden and censored art. These were the nostalgic thoughts my father, Jerry Gist, when looking back on the years of album covers. According to a survey I took with 72% of the answers coming from teens between the ages of 12-18, a total of 74% think that album artwork is at least sometimes important. It s nice to know that in a society where Itunes is the #2 store retailer that album artwork can still be appreciated. But why are so few pieces of artwork that are found on albums recognized in this day? According to MTV s Most Popular Artist list, Britney Spears, with her latest album Circus, is at

10 number one, following with Little Wayne, whose latest album is The Carter III. As for the same reason I chose to single out The Beatles, I feel it s important to single out Britney Spears and Lil Wayne because they are currently at the top of our charts. Will Britney Spears and Lil Wayne go down in history the same way that The Beatles have? Probably not, but they are what currently appeal to the masses. We have already concluded that the album covers of The Beatles were not the only source of The Beatles top sales but they did have a strong influence. Why is it that Britney Spears and Lil Wayne don t have that same expectation in their album covers? Lil Wayne s album cover for Tha Carter III has a unique image that is very symbolic for rebirth. But the symbolism isn t directly about what is going on in the world or our culture; it s more significant to himself and his one life. The cover of Britney Spears album Circus, did not appear like it took too much thought but the title did. The idea of a circus is a parallel to the life style Britney Spears has been living under the eye of the paparazzi for the past few years. With music moving more and more towards the direction of technology there seems to be less room for visuals. itunes still offers album covers with song downloads and digital

11 booklets containing photos and lyrics but the tangible artwork is rarely taken advantage of. With all the new technology and resources such as MTV, You Tube and the Internet an artist s image is less based around the album artwork and now through their own personal image. For the artist, this seems like a more difficult way to go about. To the consumer, it lacks the intellectual value personal interpretation and perspective. Going back to the example of Britney Spears, and her album title Circus, she has her life put under a microscope to the public. Articles written by Us Magazine like Britney Spears first husband in Jail and Britney Spears Spends Night at Hotel With a Paparazzo, illustrates how these musicians don t always have a say in the way they are portrayed. So though album artwork has seemed to loss its influence, the artists have not stopped influencing the masses. The basis of their influence relies solely on their music and how media portrays them. Like the way The Beatles had to be innovative with their artwork to stand out, musicians now must be innovative with their sound. Myspace, You Tube and at home recording software has given the opportunity for so many more people to make music than what it was during the Baby Boomer generation. With the large variety of genres and musicians its difficult to decide who is the most influence and why. When I was going up there was really only two types of music. Rock

12 N Roll and Classical. There wasn t any of this in between stuff. (Betty Gist). Musicians have not lost their touch or their music; they are just morphing to their time period and being forced to keep up with technology. Whether album covers are a lost art is not really something one can prove. There will always be Beatle junkies spending an arm and a leg on the collector albums. There will always be those that prefer tangible music and art to the digital versions. It is not that we are forced to say goodbye to the world of album art covers. It is just that we must make room for what is next to come. Bibliography Primary Research: Album Cover Artwork. Survey interview. 12 Dec

13 n5eiwn2k84gbwehrdo%2fbz20tb6yq9u1%2f9aryhflyi%3d Gist, Betty Ann. Personal interview. 13 Dec Gist, Jerry Street. Personal interview. 13 Dec Secondary Research:. "Teens, Money, Payment Cards and Financial Services in the U.S." Market Research. 1 Jan Dec < display.asp?productid= &sid= >. Cheng, Jacqui. "Kids don't like CDs: itunes Store now #2 music retailer." Ars Technica: the art of technology. 26 Feb Dec < kids-dont-like-cds-itunes-store-now-2-musicretailer.html>. Lewisohn, Mark. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. 16 Dec < Unknown. "1) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-The Beatles." Rolling Stone. 1 Nov Rolling Stone Magazine. 18 Dec < 1_sgt_peppers_lonely_hearts_club_band>.

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