On the record

For many of those who were into music from the 1950s through to the late ’80s, the album cover was an important physical social totem. This 12-inch square cardboard sleeve became a symbol that identified you with a genre of music, a style and the attitude of the artist. They became badges of coolness and, conversely, shame. If you walked into school or college in 1969 carrying Led Zeppelin’s first album – which used a 1937 photograph by Sam Shere, of the Hindenberg airship catching fire – you were one of the cool kids.

To the record companies, the cover was a visual advertising card designed to attract a specific segment of the market. In the 1950s classical and jazz music were considered highbrow and so they often presented the covers with esoteric contemporary artwork or photography. At the time popular music was considered to be frivolous and disposable, with little artistic or cultural value, and so it was presented in a more mainstream, simplistic way.

Record covers aimed at teenagers were often designed for parents who controlled the money and, to some degree, wanted to control what their kids listened to. Most were photographed and designed by in-house record company staff. The formula was simple – a positive, upbeat, ‘cheesy’ image of the artist and some lengthy ‘puff-piece’ about them on the back. Don’t