Nominees and Inductees

The initial list for the Freshman Class of Nominees for inclusion in the Album Cover Hall of Fame  includes the designers, illustrators and photographers who created the principal images used on record album covers released between the years of 1960 to 1975. We’ve also included nominees for other awards for singular achievements in the area, along with the record labels and musical acts that were strong proponents of the art of the album cover.

Finally, to help illustrate that the modern album cover came as the result of many years of development – in both the physical packaging and the artwork that adorned it – we thought that it would be important to honor those individuals whose influence early on left an indelible mark on album cover design and art going forward, and so we created the Early Influencers category to both introduce and honor these trend-setting efforts.

We’ve listed the nominees alphabetically and have included a short list of examples of their work, along with link to sources of additional information about the nominees’ backgrounds.

Please note – in most cases, the nominee’s portfolio of music industry-related work goes well beyond the samples listed next to his/her name and will usually include: a) works that were used elsewhere in/on a musical act’s record (back cover, inside gatefold, CD booklet, etc.), b) newspaper/magazine/book illustrations, and c) related uses (merchandise, gig posters, etc.). While a nominee’s work might be exceptional in any/all of those categories, we’re asking voters to stay focused on the nominee’s album cover works. We are not able to list all of a nominees works, as some have produced hundreds or thousands of examples, so if you’d like to view more of a nominee’s work in this area, we invite you to visit the links provided, or reference one of the many books and web sites used during the research phase of the ACHOF nominating process.

To learn more about each of the 2012 nominees in their respective categories, please follow the links below:

• Album Cover Photographers
• Album Cover Illustrators (inc. those specializing in logos and typography)
• Album Cover Designers/Art Directors
• Individual Achievement Awards (given to people who’ve stepped out of their regular areas of expertise to create a notable record cover).
• Early Influencers
• Record Labels (those that best promoted the art of the album cover)
• Musical Acts with a long-standing commitment to great Album Cover imagery