We know the artists who create our favorite albums, but what about the art that goes with them? Here are some artists behind famous album cover art and packaging designs.

Boston

Boston first album cover design art by artist Paula Scher
Boston first album cover design art; Photo: Paula Scher

The debut album, which was released in 1978, went on to sell over 17 million copies. Part of how the album garnered so much attention is its cover art, which features a guitar-shaped spaceship carrying the city of Boston inside a clear dome.

The original spaceship was designed by artist Paula Scher in 1976, illustrated by Roger Huyssen, and lettered by Gerard Huerta. The artwork has become so indicative of the band itself that the same guitar-shaped spaceship has been featured on the cover of every Boston album.

For example, the second album features one spaceship hovering over a landscape that could be a new planet, while the third album features a spaceship traveling toward a larger spaceship. The band has also featured the spaceship as a giant prop during stage shows.

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico with cover art by Andy Warhol
The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico; Photo: Andy Warhol

Artist Andy Warhol designed the cover artwork for the album The Velvet Underground & Nico. This iconic figure in Pop Art is also famous for his works in photography, fashion, music, journalism, and motion pictures.

Not only was Warhol the artist behind the iconic banana artwork, but he was also the band’s manager and produced the famous album. He also created album cover art for artists like Diana Ross, John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, Liza Minnelli, and more.

Designers also got creative with the packaging as early versions of the album featured a “Peel slowly and see” tab, which allowed the listener to pull back a tab to peel the banana.

The Talking Heads

Speaking in Tongues by the Talking Heads, with limited-edition LP version by Robert Rauschenberg
Speaking in Tongues by the Talking Heads, with limited-edition LP version; Photo: Robert Rauschenberg

This band’s fifth album, Speaking Tongues, took three years to produce, in part due to its creative packaging design. Frontman David Byrne worked with artist Rober Rauschenberg and produced a transparent plastic case with artwork and credits printed on three 12″ circular transparent collages, one per primary color.

The packaging was designed so listeners could only see the three-color images included in the collage by rotating the LP and the separate plastic disc. Rauschenberg went on to win a Grammy for the design.

Jackie Gleason

Lonesome Echo by Jackie Gleason with cover art by Salvador Dali
Lonesome Echo by Jackie Gleason with cover art; Photo: Salvador Dali

Gleason featured a painting by Salvador Dali on his cover for the album titled Lonesome Echo. He stated why he chose this particular piece for the album: “The first effect is that of anguish, of space, and of solitude. Secondly, the fragility of the wings of a butterfly, projecting long shadows of late afternoon, reverberates in the landscape like an echo. The feminine element, distant and isolated, forms a perfect triangle with the musical instrument and its other echo, the shell.”