Album Art Spotlight

I’ve rounded up my favorite album covers that feature some form of cartoon art, although I use that term loosely. Unlike some of my other Album Art Spotlights, I actually own and love the music, as well the artwork, on each of these records. While I welcome (and even encourage) you to send in your favorite cartoonish covers, keep in mind that if I left something off the list, then I almost certainly don’t own it. Album art designers often don’t get the attention they deserve so I made sure to include that info as well. All of the artists featured here are immensely talented and many of them have pieces for sale on the web. Buy art, it’s good for the soul.

Presented chronologically. Enjoy!

Jefferson Airplane – After Bathing At Baxter’s

(Artist: Ron Cobb; 1967)

   ”Two Heads”

Ron Cobb is a self-taught cartoonist and film designer who got his start as an animation artist for Disney. He worked as a breakdown artist on the animation feature Sleeping Beauty in 1959, notable for being the last Disney film to have cels inked by hand. Cobb went on to contribute to the Los Angeles Free Press and became known as a preeminent political cartoonist during the 1960s, after which he worked as a production designer on such films as Star Wars Alien, and Conan the Barbarian.

Big Brother & the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills

(Artist: Robert Crumb; 1968)

   ”Ball and Chain”

Friends with Janis Joplin, artist Robert Crumb was hired to design the sleeve of Big Brother’s second album after the label refused to let the band pose naked in bed for the cover. The iconic illustration gracing Cheap Thrills was initially intended to be the back cover, but the band preferred it over Crumb’s original design for the front.

The Beatles – Yellow Submarine

(Artists: George Dunning, Heinz Edelmann & team; 1969)

   ”Hey Bulldog”

Often mistakenly attributed to Peter Max, Yellow Submarine’s psychedelic design (both in the film and on the album’s cover) was a collaboration between animation producer George Dunning (who directed the film), Heinz Edelmann (the film’s art director) and a team of animators that included Paul Driessen, Cam Ford, Anne Jolliffe, Tony Cuthbert, Geoff Collins, Jim Hiltz, Ron Campbell and Hester Coblenz.

Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention – Weasels Ripped My Flesh

(Artists: Neon Park; 1970)

   ”My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama”

According to Wikipedia, Frank Zappa recruited artist Neon Park to create a subversive image based on a cover story from the September 1956 issue of Man’s Life, a men’s adventure magazine. After showing Neon a copy of the magazine, Zappa inquired, “This is it. What can you do that’s worse than this?”

Herbie Hancock – Thrust

(Artist: Rob Springett; 1974)

   ”Palm Grease”

Springett also did a nice cover for Van Morrison’s Hard Nose the Highway, but I love his depiction of Herbie as a space cowboy. Perfect cover to go along with Hancock’s funky, futuristic space jazz.

Funkadelic – Standing on the Verge of Getting It On

(Artist: Corky McCoy; 1974)

   ”Red Hot Mama”

It was hard picking which Pedro Bell Funkadelic cover I was going to feature here as they are all mindblowing. I chose Standing on the Verge of Getting It On because it is one of my favorite albums by the band and features the funk masterpiece, “Red Hot Mama.” In addition to this one, Bell also shined with Cosmic Slop (1973), Let’s Take it to the Stage (1975), and Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (1976).

Miles Davis – Water Babies

(Artist: Corky McCoy; 1976)

   ”Dual Mr. Anthony Tillman Williams Process”

For his 1972 cosmic funk album, On the Corner, Miles asked former flatmate and cartoonist, Corky McCoy, to create an album cover that would appeal to hip young African American cats. The artist also drew the sleeves for In Concert (1972), Big Fun (1974) and (pictured here) the 1976 release, Water Babies, which collected unreleased material originally recorded in 1967-1968. Some critics were appalled by what they saw as racially sensitive depictions of African Americans.

Ramones – Road to Ruin

(Artist: John Holmstrom; 1978)

   ”I’m Against It”

Holmstrom is an underground cartoonist whose work became syonymous with the burgeoning punk rock scene in the late 1970s. In fact, Homstrom co-founded Punk magazine in 1975 with Ged Dunn and Legs McNeil.

Grateful Dead – Shakedown Street

(Artist: Gilbert Shelton; 1978)

   ”Shakedown Street”

Shelton is a Texas-born cartoonist and creator of underground comic book classics, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Wonder Wart-Hog and Not Quite Dead.

Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 – Original Suffer Head

(Artist: Lemi Ghariokwu; 1981)

   ”Original Suffer Head”

Like most of the sleeves he designed for Fela (including Confusion, Upside Down, Mister Follow Follow and Beast of No Nation) Lemi Ghariokwu’s cover for Original Suffer Head is incendiary, bold, and powerfully political The music within is tight, funky afrobeat that criticizes the lack of basic necessities for African citizens, despite the wealth from oil deposits.

Daniel Johnston – Hi, How Are You

(Artist: Daniel Johnston; 1983)

   ”Walking the Cow”

An iconic visionary artist and suprisingly accomplished songwriter, Daniel Johnston has released a handful of amazing songs and truckloads of quirky drawings. His music is revered and has been covered by the likes of Beck, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes and his original artwork has been shown in galleries around the world and featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial.

Talking Heads – Little Creatures

(Artist: Howard Finster; 1985)

   ”The Lady Don’t Mind”

Perhaps the best known visionary artist of all time, Howard Finster is a true legend in the art world. Finster created over 45,000 pieces of art from his home in Summerville, Georgia, all of which served to spread the gospel through Biblical imagery and text. Having designed the cover for R.E.M.’s Reckoning in 1984, David Byrne and his merry band of Talking Heads commissioned the artist to create an image for Little Creatures a year later.

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