I came across two very interesting sites today, “PopSpots” and “Rock & Roll Roadmaps”. Several long play album covers were researched, and the location of the photo shoots were revealed (along with a bunch of other entertaining information).
(Click on images to visit sites)
Following are samples from each along with other LP’s shoot sessions located on-line. As would be expected, many LP cover photos come from locations in New York City and in California.
John Lennon – “Rock ‘n Roll” – 1975
Taken in Hamburg, Germany in 1961
John Lennon – “Watching the Wheels” – 1981
Taken outside of the Dakota building in NYC
John Lennon & Yoko Ono – “Milk & Honey” – 1984
Shoot taken at lake along Terrace Drive – NYC (back cover)
Jack E. Leonard – “Rock & Roll Music for Kids Over Sixteen” – 1956
Shot in NYC at 56th Street and 7th Avenue
The Ramsey Lewis Trio – “In Chicago” – 1960
Shot in downtown Chicago from the DuSable Bridge
The Lovin’ Spoonful – “Daydream” – 1966
Shot in the “Heckscher Playground” – NYC
The Lovin’ Spoonful (& others) – “What’s Shakin’: – 1966
Shot in NYC at Central Park South near the Heckscher Playground
The Lovin’ Spoonful – “You’re a Big Boy Now” (soundtrack – 1967
I came across two very interesting sites today, “PopSpots” and “Rock & Roll Roadmaps”. Several long play album covers were researched, and the location of the photo shoots were revealed (along with a bunch of other entertaining information).
(Click on images to visit sites)
Following are samples from each along with other LP’s shoot sessions located on-line. As would be expected, many LP cover photos come from locations in New York City and in California.
Elton John – “Tumbleweed Connection” – 1970
Shot in East Sussex in the UK at the Bluebell Railway Station
What I have here are listings of those songs which reached the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 which were not specifically targeted for the teen market – So we have pop songs which our older and dumber siblings were buying or perhaps our parents who still haven’t given up the ghost.
Then we have some country – perhaps folk – but no novelties because we – the enlightened teens of the day – quite often were champions of those zany discs. Now, I’m not implying that many of us, me included, didn’t often sneak out to the local record shop and pick up one of these recordings.
Some of these top songs were a bit difficult to put your thumb on. Were they a Pop Top or a Teen Tune? Probably a little of both. Also – there are some big gaps here due to the Teen Tunes holding onto those Top Spots, sometimes several weeks at a time.
But if you were like me, you had to be very careful, because if the Barnum Gang found out, I would certainly be pounded!
January 18th/25th/February 1st – 1960 – #1 – “Running Bear” – Johnny Preston
Nearest Teen Tune: “Why” Frankie Avalon (18th #2 – 25th #3) – Mark Dinning “Teen Angel” (Feb 1st #2)
February 22nd/29th/March 7th/14th/21st/28th/April 4th/11th/18th, 1960 – #1 – “Theme from a Summer Place” – Percy Faith
Nearest Teen Tune: “Teen Angel” Mark Dinning (#2 Feb 22) “Handy Man” Jimmy Jones (#2 Feb 29th – #3 Mar7th) “Wild One” Bobby Rydell (#3 Mar 14th/21st – #2 Mar 21st) “Puppy Love” – Paul Anka (#2 Apr 4th/11th – #3 Apr 18th
October 3rd, 1960 – #1 – “Mr. Custer” – Larry Verne
Nearest Teen Tune: “Chain Gang” Sam Cooke (#2 Oct 3)
November 14th, 1960 – #1 – “Georgia on My Mind” – Ray Charles
Nearest Teen Tune: “Poetry in Motion” -Johnny Tillotson – (#2 Nov 14th)
(Some would argue that this one is a “Teen Tune” but the Barnum Gang would tend to disagree)
Pop Tops 1961
January 9th/16th/23rd, 1961 – #1 -“Wonderland by Night” – Bert Kaempfert
Nearest Teen Tune: “Are You Lonesome Tonight” -Elvis Presley (#2 Jan 9th/16th) “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” The Shirelles (#4 Jan 23rd)
February 13th/20th, 1961 – “Calcutta” – Lawrence Welk – #1
Nearest Teen Tune: “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” The Shirelles (#2 Feb 13th) “Shop Around” The Miracles (#2 Feb 20th)
June 25th, 1961 – “Moody River” – Pat Boone – #1
Nearest Teen Tune: “Travelin’ Man” Ricky Nelson (#2 Jun 25th)
This is another hard one to call – But I have to tell you that my much older sister had many a Pat Boone record in her little collection – ’nuff said!
September 3rd, 1961 – “Wooden Heart” – Joe Dowell – #1
Nearest Tune Teen: “Tossin’ & Turnin'” Bobby Lewis (#2 Sep 3rd)
September 10th/17th, 1961 – “Michael” – The Highwaymen – #1
Nearest Teen Tune: “Tossin’ & Turnin'” Bobby Lewis (#3 Sep 10th) “Take Good Care of My Baby” Bobby Vee (#2 Sep 17th)
November 12th/19th/26th/December 3rd/10th, 1961 – “Big Bad John” – Jimmy Dean – #1
Nearest Teen Tune: “Runaround Sue” Dion (#2 Nov 12th/19th/26th – Dec 1st) “Please Mr. Postman” The Marvelettes (#2 Dec 10th)
May 26th, 1962 – “Stranger on the Shore” – Mr. Acker Bilk – #1
Nearest Teen Tune: “Soldier Boy” The Shirelles (May 26th)
June 2nd/9th/16th/23rd/30th, 1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You” Ray Charles
Nearest Teen Tune: “Soldier Boy” The Shirelles (Jun 2nd) “Lovers Who Wander” Dion (#3 Jun 9th) “It Keeps Right on a Hurtin’ Johnny Tillotson (#3 June16th) “Palisades Park” Freddy Cannon (#3 Jun 23rd/30th)
July 7th, 1962 – “The Stripper” David Rose – #1
Nearest Teen Tune: “Palisades Park” Freddy Cannon (#4 Jul 7th)
July 14th/21st/28th August 4th, 1962 – Roses Are Red” Bobby Vinton – #1
Nearest Teen Tune – “The Wah-Wah-Watusi” The Orlons (#4 Jul 14th – #2 Jul 21st – #Jul 28th) “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” Neil Sedaka (#2 Aug 4th)
I didn’t categorize Vinton’s “Roses” as “Teen worthy -although I suspect there was more than one teeny or teener who snuck out and bought a copy. I can promise you that nobody in the Barnum Gang was among them.
I came across two very interesting sites today, “PopSpots” and “Rock & Roll Roadmaps”. Several long play album covers were researched, and the location of the photo shoots were revealed (along with a bunch of other entertaining information).
(Click on images to visit sites)
Following are samples from each along with other LP’s shoot sessions located on-line. As would be expected, many LP cover photos come from locations in New York City and in California.
Dexter Gordon – “Doin’ Allright” – 1961
Taken in NYC at 59th and Fifth
The Grateful Dead – “Workingman’s Dead” – 1970
Shot outside San Francisco near Hunt’s Point in Bayview – Structure no longer there
Green Day – “Warning” – 2000
Shot in ‘Chinatown’ – San Francisco
John Hammond Jr. – “Big City Blues” – 1964
Shot in Brooklyn, NY adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge
Herman’s Hermits – “The Best of Herman’s Hermits” – 1965
Shot in NYC Central Park at the Naumberg Bandshell
The Impressions – “The Young Mods Forgotten Story” – 1969
Shot in NYC near Park Avenue and East 108th Street in Harlem
The James Gang – “Yer’ Album” – 1969
Shot at the Kent Dam Pool in Kent, Ohio
Jay & the Americans – “Livin’ Above Your Head” – 1966
Shot in NYC adjacent to the Riverview Terrace near Sutton Square and 58th Street
Selections follow from three Long Play listing sites: Huff Post – Udiscovermusic – & Boredpanda
I picked these LP covers out just because they either caught my attention or just because…..
HuffPost:
“Thinking back to some of the most mesmerizing album covers of the 1970’s, it’s hard to pick an elite list of art, and artists, that held our gaze the longest. But, let’s try anyway. For the sake of this list, let’s stick to original artist’s paintings:
Meat Loaf – “Bat Out of Hell” – 1977
“A guy that looks like Tarzan bursts out of Hell on a motorcycle, shooting out of the earth with explosive force in the middle of a graveyard…well, yes please.”
Elton John – “Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy” – 1975
“As for the album cover itself, it’s got a lot going on. There is a menagerie of fantastic looking creatures surrounding a tuxedo-wearing Elton atop a piano appearing to take flight. If you smoked a bowl and stared at the cover art, you could fill your afternoon schedule.”
Funkadelic – “One Nation Under a Groove” – 1978
(Artist Pedro) “Bell features black superheroes planting a R & B flag Iwo Jima style and another telling us we should be “…gettin’ down for the funk of it!” His artwork connected and gave a voice to the African-American culture of the 1970’s. “
Devo – “Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” – 1978
“The cover art was illustrated by Joe Heiner and was based on a picture of professional golfer Chi-Chi Rodriguez. By the time the band got permission to use his image on the album, the record company’s art department had already redesigned the picture so that it morphed the faces presidents of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, AND the original Chi-Chi image.”
Boston – “Boston” – 1976
“
Teenagers all over America would gaze at this square foot of fantasy and imagine an entire cityscape scooped up off the face of the planet to be saved from impending doom just in time. If you could frame every Boston issue to hang in your music room, you’d be winning at cool.”
Kansas – “Point of Know Return” – 1977
“The ancient sailing ship, with its bow bent towards impending doom, reminds us how nice it is to be on solid ground. Add the dragon image around the edges of the album and you have one of the best images in rock history.”
Yes – “Yessongs” – 1973
“In 2013, Dean sued filmmaker James Cameron for using his images as inspiration for Pandora in the movie, Avatar. The suit was dismissed, but you can judge for yourself.”
Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak” – 1976
“The cover’s image of a television monitor showing the members of the band running loose is actually a die-cut hole that reveals part of the gatefold’s inner scene. Open the album and you get to see Phil Lynott and company fleeing from a War of the Worlds-like alien attack.” (Back cover image is the UK issue)
Kiss – “Love Gun” – 1977
“And those women are quite shapely. And those women all have their faces painted like the band. And they all sit adoringly at the band’s feet. What teenage boy in the 70’s didn’t look at this album cover and wish they were in KISS? “
10cc – “Deceptive Bends” – 1977
“Two of the band’s three top 40 singles came from this record. But enough of all that…look at that album cover! The deep-sea diver carrying the shapely woman gives the album’s title a double entendre image.”
“Into the modern era and the glory days may have passed but there are still some classics as you will see from, our 100 Greatest Jazz album Covers. We’d love to hear from you, as to what are your most loved album covers within the jazz genre.”
Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie – “Bird and Diz Volume 2” – 1952
Bill Evans & Jim Hall – “Undercurrent” – 1962
The Modern Jazz Quartet – “Third Stream Music” – 1960
Charles Mingus – “The Clown” – 1957
Slim Gailliard – “Laughing in Rhythm: The Best of the Verve Years” – 1994
Shelly Manne – “2-3-4-” – 1962
Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie – “Roy and Diz” – 1954
Miles Davis Quintet – “Relaxin’ with The Miles Davis Quintet” – 1958
Oscar Peterson – “Plays Porgy & Bess” – 1958
Ornette Coleman – “Ornette!” – 1959
Oliver Nelson – “The Blues and the Abstract Truth” – 1961
“Some of the album covers were, in fact, happy accidents, while others caused serious accidents being made (we’re talking about you, Pink Floyd). So all you have to do now is scroll down below, check out the greatest album covers of all time, and vote for the ones you fancied the most. Just play fair and don’t base your votes on your music preference this time, but rather the artwork! Also, don’t forget to share this list of iconic album covers with your friends, as they too might like to learn the stories behind them.”
(Boredpanda’s selections are ranked 1 through whatever – I have chosen inclusions here as strikes my fancy!)
#2 – Queen – “Queen II” – 1974
“It’s fun to know that this iconic photo was inspired by a similar one of Marlene Dietrich, taken in 1932.”
#7 – Pink Floyd – “Animals” – 1977
“The shooting of the picture has quite a funny story to it – on the second day of the shooting, the helium-filled pig balloon broke free of its moorings (there was no marksman to shoot it down on that day) and disappeared out of view. The wind carried away this pig to the area of Heathrow airport, causing panic and delayed flights. After a while, the helium pig landed in Kent and was recovered by a farmer, who was furious about the massive swine scaring his cows.”
#8 – Fleetwood Mac – “Rumours” (1977)
Many listers are drawn to this one due to Mick Fleetwood’s dangling wooden balls – sigh….
#14 – Cream – “Disraeli Gears” – 1967
“Besides trying to capture the essence of Cream’s sound, the artwork was also inspired by Cambodian statues of deities, with ancient trees growing right on them. The association shows like this – band members’ faces with the music swirling right from their heads.”
#17 – King Crimson – “In the Court of the Crimson King” – 1969
“The painting used as this album’s cover was done by a computer programmer Barry Godber, and it is Barry’s own face. Sadly, Godber died shortly after the release of In The Court Of The Crimson King, making it his only album cover design.”
#20 – Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass – “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” – 1965
This is model Dolores Erickson
#22 – The Rolling Stones – “Let it Bleed” – 1969
“The picture that you see on the cover isn’t a collage or a superimposed image, but rather a surreal sculpture designed by Robert Brownjohn. Although Mick Jagger initially asked M. C. Escher to design the cover (who politely declined).”
#23 – Supertramp – “Breakfast in America” – 1979
“The center figure in the image is Kate Murtagh, an American actress and singer-comedian, dressed as a waitress mimicking the pose of Lady Liberty.”
#24 – Alice Cooper – “School’s Out” – 1972
“The vinyl inside was wrapped in a pair of panties, though it was later discontinued upon discovering that the paper garment was highly flammable.”
#28 – Dio – “Holy Diver” – 1983
“The cover artwork was painted by Randy Berrett and featured the band’s mascot, Murray, spinning heavy chains above waves where a priest or a minister is chained and floating.”
The late rock and roll historian/biographer/author left us with a very interesting rock ‘n’ roll chronology.
His listing begins in January of 1945 with the release of the Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers’ “Tell Me You’ll Wait for Me”. As was always the case for me growing up, we just didn’t ever get to hear those early rock ‘n’ roll/rhythm & blues singles in the Denver area.
There were some great little record shops in Denver who carried them and who had clientele who were more than familiar with those early singers and groups but for most of us, it just wasn’t meant to be until much later on when it would be ‘discovery time’! That, in itself, was not all that bad, because it provided some of us with a whole new future adventure.
And so, Nick takes us from 1945 up through 1955 – Exciting times whether we knew it or not out here in the West!
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marches On! 1951
Piney Brown – “How About Rocking with Me” – January
Various Artists LP – “Party After Hours” – January 1951
Tosches cites this LP as “the first great rock ‘n’ roll album” – This 10-inch LP has brought more than $4,300 at auction.
The Robins – “Rockin'” – March 1952
Amos Milburn – “Let’s Rock a While” – #3 R&B – March 1952
Milburn never managed a pop cross over recording
Chuck Norris – “Rockin’ After Hours” – March 1952
Jackie Brenston – “Rocket ’88’ – #1 R&B for 5 Weeks – April 1952
Jackie’s only charting single – It did not chart on the national pop chart
Lil’ Son Jackson – “Rockin’ & Rollin'” – April 1952
Jackson only had one single which managed to chart R&B: “Freedom Train Blues” – #7 R&B 1948
The Dominoes – “Sixty Minute Man” – #1 for 14 Weeks – May 1951
Bob Lamm – “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” – May 1951
Peppermint Harris with Maxwell Davis & His Allstars – “I Got Loaded” – #1 R&B for 2 Weeks – July 1951
Harmonica Frank – “Swamp Root” – July 1951
Little Richard – “Taxi Blues” – December 1951
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marches On! 1952
H-Bomb Ferguson – “Good Lovin” – January 1952
The Royals – “Every Bit of My Heart” – March 1952
The Royals debut recording – They would soon became the Midnighters – This song would later chart by Gladys Knight and the Pips – composed by Johnny Otis
Bill Haley with the Saddlemen – “Rock the Joint” – April 1952
Willis “Gaitor Tail” Jackson & His Orchestra – “Rock, Rock, Rock” – June 1952
The Treniers – “Rockin’ on Sunday Night” – August 1952
The Ravens – “Rock Me All Night Long” – #4 R&B – October 1952
The Ravens never placed a song on the national pop charts
Ray Charles & His Orchestra – “Roll with My Baby” – October 1952
Ray’s debut single with Atlantic Records
Luke McDaniels – “Whoa, Boy!” – October 1952
The Jackson Brothers & Billy Henderson- “We’re Gonna Rock this Joint” – October 1952
Jackie Boy & Little Walter – “Blues in My Condition” – November 1952
Sun Records’ debut single
Amos Milburn – “Rock, Rock, Rock” – November 1952
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marches On! 1953
Bill Haley with Haley’s Comets – “Real Rock Drive” – January 1953
Jimmy Heap – “Heartbreaker” – January 1953
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton – “Hound Dog” – #1 R&B for 7 Weeks – February 1953
Thornton’s only charting single
Rufus Thomas – “(The Answer to Hound Dog) Bear Cat” – #3 R&B – March 1953
This was an ‘answer’ song to Thorton’s “Hound Dog” – First issue indicated that fact but a threatened legal action required Sun to remove it
Bill Haley & His Comets – “Crazy, Man, Crazy” – April 1953
Lucky Joe Almond – “Rock Me” – June 1953
The Charms – “Heaven Only Knows” – August 1953
The Charms’ debut single
The Spaniels – “Baby It’s You” – #10 R&B – August 1953
The Spaniels’ debut single
Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters – “Money Honey” – #1 R&B for 11 Weeks – September 1953
The Drifters biggest hit single
Webb Pierce – “There Stands the Glass” – #1 Country for 12 Weeks – September 1953
Pierce scored 13 number 1 Country hits – none of which crossed over to the pop charts.
Otis Blackwell – “Daddy Rollin’ Stone” – October 1953
Johnny Otis – “Rock Me Baby” – October 1953
Otis scored 16 R&B hits up to 1952 then experience a six-year drought until 1958 – A bit oddly, Otis’s “Willie & the Hand Jive” failed to reach the R&B charts but was number 9 Hot 100. He would place three more songs on the Hot 100 none of which landed on the R&B charts.
Bobby Blue Bland – “No Blow, No Show” – October 1953
Bland would not have a chart hit until 1957 and then he would enjoy more than 60 with many crossing over to the Hot 100
Sam Butera – “Easy Rocking” – October 1953
Betty Hutton – “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad” – October 1953
Illinois Jacquet – “Sittin’ and Rockin’ – October 1953
Louis Prima – “Man, Dig that Crazy Chick” – November 1953
Little Junior’s Blue Flames – “Mystery Train” – November 1953
Sam Phillips would later take part composing credits when Myster Train was recorded on Sun by Elvis
Jimmy Coe and His Gay Cats of Rhythm – “Raid on the After Hour Joint” – November 1953
Billy Ward & the Dominoes – “My Baby’s 3-D” – December 1953
3-D movies were enjoying a great run the in the nation’s movie theaters at the time