The following is a 7" EP that had what I swore up and down was an actual Jim Flora-designed cover. But alas, no, it was only a copycat:
To see more Flora-copycats, check this page out.
One of my favorite vinyl finds is this Columbia Records collection of 45's I happened upon at the thrift store (setting me back a whopping $1.99). The simple line drawings of 1950's teens swinging to a cool beat wrap around from the front to the back of the cardboard case, making this an absolute joy to behold when fully open. I love how the kids are dancing over the blue silhouette of a pop bottle in the background. Very cool design. Simple and effective. Oh, and what's even better about this set are the artists featured: Robert Goulet, Jerry Vale, Kenny Rankin, and Tony Bennett. The records are in pristine condition. I guess no pop party ever took place with this particular set. 'Tis a shame. Here's the cover:
To view this larger, click HERE.
The following covers are actually two different sides to one 12" LP:
And lastly, here's a cover with some fun graphics by a W. Dugan (not sure I've heard of him/her) for a children's record. Bonus points for that neato redesign of the Columbia Records logo in the upper right-hand corner:
There are a couple more covers featured, so come on by and check 'em out: Fun Vinyl.
I have a number of these records and a few others that are all equally good. I think the graphics of the fifties were generally stunning, and these album covers display that well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting them. I love your site.
You want me to digitize any of that vinyl for you?
ReplyDeleteI've figured out how to do it ... and it's pretty good.
Let me know.
Good stuff, Wardlaw.
Did you do the painting on the southwest side of the Oz pizza building? It certainly reminded me of some of the vintage things you've posted on here lately.
ReplyDeleteMan,where do you keep FINDING these things? You lucky...oh, right, can't use the any words that make you sound like a bad guy or anything cause then I won't get the comment till you check it, ha ha.
ReplyDelete...goober, yeah..."You lucky goober".
WOW!! Where do you get all these amazing stuffs?! NEATO!
ReplyDeleteJulia, I have some of these up at work for inspiration, but the rest I'm thinking about putting up in my workspace at home.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michael-- I love your site as well.
Slim, I'll have to get back to you on that one. Some of these albums are kinda lame, musically.
anonymous, I did paint that wall behind Oz-- it's for Victory Vintage, which is in the same block of stores. I posted about the illustrations I used for the wall, and briefly mention the wall HERE. I also wrote about the wall HERE. It's almost finished, all I have to do is the lettering. Hopefully I'll find the time to work on it this summer!
forlackofbetter, ha! That's okay, I know it's you, so it's okay to say what you really wanted to say!
Alina, I just search in antique stores/malls, as well as thrift stores and yard sales. You'll be amazed by what people are willing to get rid of.
Thanks for checking out Fun Vinyl, guys! I'll post more soon.
Great stuff Ward! The South Pacific one is especially fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI posted a few record covers up on my blog a while back. Though some are more painterly than illustrative, the lost art of record covers fun to look at.
http://digitaldreammachine.blogspot.com/2005/05/raiders-of-lost-archive-vol-1.html
http://digitaldreammachine.blogspot.com/2005/06/raiders-of-lost-archive-vol-2.html
loving these!
ReplyDelete