Why Bother With Bots? Album cover journalism in the age of Artificial Intelligence

An Album Cover Hall of Fame.com Special Report

Published December 22, 2022 by Mike Goldstein (or was it?)

While everyone who regularly visits the ACHOF site knows of my passion for research and writing related to the topics of album cover artists and the output of their efforts, what many of you might not know is that I’m an admitted techno-geek. Understanding that that disclosure might lead you to think that I’m inclined to spend most of my time these days lost in the nether regions of technology, I can assure you that most of those behavior traits are now long lost and while I can recall with great accuracy my time spent first as passionate-yet-greatly-underfunded stereophile (someday, we’ll swap stories about building several  Dynaco amplifier kits before trading up to a GAS Ampzilla) – before moving into careers in the cartoon animation/CD-ROM authoring/TV & Web content production business – I can say with much pleasure that, these days, checking my emails, doing research on the Web, editing images with Photoshop and then writing articles using MS Word is the extent of my regular relationship to technology (OK, I do use Google Maps when I’m in the car – don’t we all at this point?).

With all that said, I do still try and pay attention to the intersection of technology and entertainment and have followed with great interest the developments of streaming music/TV, blockchain technology/NFTs (as a basis for tracking ownership and/or licensing of digital assets) and, most recently, the capabilities of artificial (general) intelligence systems as they relate to the creation of content – research tools, text-defined images and, most-relevant to my efforts these days, writing assistants. While some early adopters have impressed me with some rather imaginative uses of AI/AGI tools to create newly-rendered versions of their favorite artwork (some of which I reported on earlier, such as one enterprising individual’s use of the “DallE2” AI image-making tool to reimagine some of our favorite album covers), much has been written – particularly in the fields of education and the media – about the upsides and downsides of using these tools, with some suggesting that a great percentage of what we’ll read, hear and see in the future will have been created by authors that simply input a list of requests for articles (images, videos, podcasts) based on a few select criteria and then share the output with the public. Will what we see/hear be “real”, or “factual” or are we simply too busy/lazy to care?

One system that’s been getting a lot of press lately (partly due to the fact that Mr. Musk is an early supporter/investor) is called ChatGPT, curated by the OpenAI group. ChatGPT is NOT connected to the internet and, therefore, its depth of knowledge is limited to the amount of data loaded into it which, according to the FAQs that accompany the app, is predominantly from before 2021. As they put it – “It has limited knowledge of world and events after 2021 and may also occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content. We’d recommend checking whether responses from the model are accurate or not. If you find an answer is incorrect, please provide that feedback by using the ‘Thumbs Down’ button”.

I do know that while there are also several other highly-touted tools that I can use for the same purpose, I decided to focus on this one as the starting point for my exploration into how/whether these tools – either now or in the near future – can produce articles and research materials of such quality so they might both pass “the smell test” (i.e., will a reader know whether articles on the subject were produced by a knowledgeable human being or not) and deliver articles of such quality that fans well-versed in the subject (i.e., you, my regular readers) will benefit from the info and editorial “opinions” they’ll find in these writings. Please note that when I refer to “editorial opinions”, what I’m referring to are the choices that these software applications make when choosing which bits of their research are appropriate for inclusion in the answers to questions posed on a particular topic.

Regular readers of postings here on the ACHOF site know that I have made it my habit to keep the expression of my editorial opinions to a minimum, beyond of course making the decisions each month as to what is included in my monthly news postings and who I’ll chase after for interviews. Other than sharing articles – at least the well-researched ones – that might represent the authors’ expressed opinions regarding the “best” or “worst” or “top 10 most-disturbing” album covers of the past year(s), I’ve been happy just to present the news that I find, along with supportive materials, in such a way that the reader is left to determine whether or not they agree with these authors’ features. And so, while I might not be brave enough to start arguments about what I believe are of a purely subjective nature, I’m more than happy to hide behind the research and writing of the soulless machines and databases that power today’s AI writing aids so, with that in mind, I decided to ask our silicon-powered interns to do a bit of work for me, answering several questions related to album cover art and the people/agencies that make it. I simply crafted several questions – ones that are often posed by journalists covering the topic, hit “enter” and waited patiently for the replies to appear on my monitor. Here’s a summary of what I’ve gathered thus far…

Question #1 – What are the 10 best album cover images ever produced and why are they the best?

Here’s the answer generated by ChatGPT –

It is difficult to definitively identify the “best” album cover images ever produced, as opinions on art are subjective and can vary widely. Here are 10 album covers that have been widely praised for their visual impact and creative design:

1. “The Velvet Underground & Nico” by The Velvet Underground – This album cover, featuring a banana designed by artist Andy Warhol, is one of the most iconic and recognizable in music history.
2. “Nevermind” by Nirvana – This album cover, featuring a baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishhook, has become synonymous with the grunge movement and has been widely imitated and parodied.
3. “The Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd – This album cover, featuring a prism refracting light into a rainbow, has become one of the most recognizable and influential designs in music history.
4. “Abbey Road” by The Beatles – This album cover, featuring the band walking across a zebra crossing, has become one of the most famous and imitated in music history.
5. “Horses” by Patti Smith – This album cover, featuring a photograph of Patti Smith by Robert Mapplethorpe, has become one of the most iconic images in rock music and has been widely imitated and parodied.
6. “London Calling” by The Clash – This album cover, featuring a photograph of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar on stage, has become one of the most iconic images in punk music and has been widely imitated and parodied.
7. “The Cover of Rolling Stone” by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show – This album cover, featuring a cartoon depiction of the band on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, has become one of the most iconic and humorous in music history.
8. “Thriller” by Michael Jackson – This album cover, featuring a close-up of Michael Jackson’s face with glowing eyes, has become one of the most iconic and influential in music history.
9. “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” by David Bowie – This album cover, featuring a photograph of David Bowie in character as Ziggy Stardust, has become one of the most iconic and influential in music history.
10. “Nevermind” by Nirvana – This album cover, featuring a photograph of a naked baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishhook, has become one of the most iconic and influential in music history.

After receiving this answer, I then provided feedback to the app via the thumbs up/down icon and text box that was supplied, noting that it had included a duplicate answer (Nevermind by Nirvana) and had left out Sgt. Pepper’s and Sticky Fingers, two album covers that typically are included in the “Top X” lists over the past 20 years or so. I was also a bit sad that many of the answers included some very trite justifications for the inclusion of a cover, such as the often-repeated phrase “X has become one of the most iconic and influential in music history” (what is it exactly that makes an image “iconic”, and how is an image’s influence measured?). Deciding to see if this was a “typical” answer, I then clicked the “Try Again” button to see what would happen, and my second attempt with the same question quickly produced a slightly-different but somewhat-better-supported list:

ChatGPT – It’s difficult to say definitively what the “best” album cover images are, as it is a matter of personal taste and cultural context. Here is a list of 10 album cover images that have made a significant impact and are often considered classics in the industry:

1. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles – This iconic cover, designed by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, features the band members dressed in elaborate costumes and surrounded by a collage of famous figures from history and popular culture. It is considered a masterpiece of album cover design and has been widely imitated.
2. “Nevermind” by Nirvana – The cover image for Nirvana’s breakthrough album, shot by photographer Kirk Weddle, features a baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishhook, symbolizing the corrupting influence of money. It became one of the most recognizable and influential images of the 1990s alternative rock scene.
3. “The Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd – The cover art for this album, designed by Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis, features a prism refracting light into a rainbow, which has become one of the most iconic images in rock music. The cover is meant to symbolize the album’s themes of mental illness and the complexities of the human experience.
4. “The Velvet Underground & Nico” by The Velvet Underground – This album cover, featuring a banana designed by artist Andy Warhol, has become one of the most famous and instantly recognizable images in rock music. The cover was meant to be interactive, with a peel-off sticker revealing a flesh-colored banana underneath.
5. “Abbey Road” by The Beatles – The cover image for this album, taken by photographer Iain Macmillan, features the band members walking across a crosswalk outside of Abbey Road Studios. It has become one of the most famous and frequently imitated images in rock music.
6. “Sticky Fingers” by The Rolling Stones – The cover art for this album, designed by artist Andy Warhol, features a close-up photograph of a man’s crotch with a working zipper. The cover caused controversy when it was released, but has since become one of the most iconic and memorable in rock music.
7. “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” by David Bowie – This album cover, designed by artist Keith MacMillan, features a photograph of Bowie as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, with his distinctive red hair and lightning bolt makeup. The cover helped to establish Bowie as a boundary-pushing and influential artist.
8. “Nevermind” by Nirvana – The cover image for this album, shot by photographer Kirk Weddle, features a baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishhook, symbolizing the corrupting influence of money. It became one of the most recognizable and influential images of the 1990s alternative rock scene.
9. “The Velvet Underground & Nico” by The Velvet Underground – This album cover, featuring a banana designed by artist Andy Warhol, has become one of the most famous and instantly recognizable images in rock music. The cover was meant to be interactive, with a peel-off sticker revealing a flesh-colored banana underneath.
10. “The Joshua Tree” by U2 – The cover art for this album, photographed by Anton Corbijn, features a black and white image of a Joshua tree in the desert. The cover has become one of the most iconic and recognizable in rock music, and the image has been widely imitated and parodied.

Once again, I submitted some more feedback, making note of the fact that, this time, I was provided two duplicate answers (Nevermind and The Velvet Underground & Nico), but at least it did include the two covers I’d suggested. After submitting this, I thought I’d give it one more try, just to see what changes might be included. The answer this third time was more straightforward in that it didn’t include an opening paragraph and went straight on into the following list:

1. The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – This album cover is iconic and has become a symbol of the psychedelic era. The use of bright colors and intricate details make it visually stunning and it has a strong cultural significance as well.
2. Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon – This album cover features a simple, yet powerful design with a triangle in the center and a beam of light shining through it. The cover has become synonymous with the album’s themes of mental illness and the human condition.
3. Led Zeppelin’s IV – This album cover features a mysterious, medieval-inspired image of a tree surrounded by ancient symbols. The cover perfectly captures the band’s heavy metal sound and has become one of their most recognizable logos.
4. Nirvana’s Nevermind – This album cover features a baby submerged in water, which has become an iconic image for the grunge movement. The cover reflects the album’s themes of youth and the search for identity.
5. Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. – This album cover features a collage of various images and symbols, including a photograph of a man’s face covered in sweat. The cover perfectly captures the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the album’s music.
6. David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – This album cover features a photograph of Bowie as his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, with bright red hair and a flashy jumpsuit. The cover perfectly captures the album’s themes of glam rock and androgyny.
7. The Who’s Tommy – This album cover features a photograph of a young Tommy, the protagonist of the album’s rock opera, with a dreamy, otherworldly look in his eyes. The cover perfectly captures the album’s themes of innocence and transformation.
8. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours – This album cover features a close-up photograph of a microphone with a wisp of smoke coming off it. The cover perfectly captures the album’s themes of love, heartbreak, and the creative process.
9. Prince’s Purple Rain – This album cover features a photograph of Prince standing in the rain with his guitar, surrounded by a purple haze. The cover perfectly captures the album’s themes of love and loss.
10. Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Legend – This album cover features a photograph of Bob Marley’s face surrounded by a halo of light. The cover perfectly captures the album’s themes of spirituality and unity.

After providing some positive feedback for having cleaned up the duplicates and presenting a list that I think is a better representation of the “Top 10 Best” lists I’ve seen over the years, I decided to follow a similar tact to see what the AI bot thought were the ten “worst” album covers ever made, and here’s what it first replied with:

1. Nickelback’s The State – This album cover features a photograph of the band standing in front of a wall with graffiti, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.
2. Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water – This album cover features a photograph of the band’s logo with a chocolate starfish and a hot dog shaped water droplet. The cover was widely criticized for its juvenile and crass imagery.
3. Linkin Park’s Reanimation – This album cover features a photograph of a robot’s head with wires coming out of it, which many critics found to be confusing and unappealing.
4. Papa Roach’s Infest – This album cover features a photograph of a swarm of insects crawling over a human face, which many critics found to be disturbing and off-putting.
5. Creed’s Weathered – This album cover features a photograph of a tree with the band’s logo carved into it, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.
6. Nickelback’s Silver Side Up – This album cover features a photograph of a silver coin with the band’s logo on it, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.
7. Limp Bizkit’s Significant Other – This album cover features a photograph of a hand holding a heart with the band’s logo on it, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.
8. Linkin Park’s Meteora – This album cover features a photograph of a rock formation, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.
9. Papa Roach’s Lovehatetragedy – This album cover features a photograph of a heart with the band’s logo on it, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.
10. Creed’s Human Clay – This album cover features a photograph of a clay figure with the band’s logo on it, which many critics found to be unoriginal and uninspired.

Frustrated with what I felt was a poorly-researched and presented answer to my query, I replied with a Thumbs-down and a comment about the fact that only five musical acts were represented in the answers and, since the reasons stated for why they were included were rather generic, I found the answer less-than-convincing. Clicking the “try again” button, here’s what they came back with the second time:

1. Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz – This album cover features a photograph of Miley Cyrus sticking her tongue out and wearing a suggestive outfit. The cover is perceived as being overly sexualized and lacking in artistic merit.
2. Nickelback’s Here and Now – This album cover features a photograph of the band members standing in front of a white background with their arms crossed. The cover is perceived as being generic and lacking in creativity.
3. Justin Bieber’s Purpose – This album cover features a photograph of Justin Bieber with his arms outstretched and a tattoo on his chest. The cover is perceived as being overly sexualized and lacking in artistic merit.
4. One Direction’s Up All Night – This album cover features a photograph of the band members standing in front of a white background with their arms crossed. The cover is perceived as being generic and lacking in creativity.
5. Lady Gaga’s Artpop – This album cover features a photograph of Lady Gaga standing in front of a colorful, geometric background. The cover is perceived as being overly busy and lacking in cohesive design.
6. Katy Perry’s Witness – This album cover features a photograph of Katy Perry with a blue and pink wig and a metallic, futuristic outfit. The cover is perceived as being overly sexualized and lacking in artistic merit.
7. Britney Spears’ Britney Jean – This album cover features a photograph of Britney Spears with a plain, white background. The cover is perceived as being generic and lacking in creativity.
8. Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience – This album cover features a photograph of Justin Timberlake with a plain, white background. The cover is perceived as being generic and lacking in creativity.
9. Madonna’s MDNA – This album cover features a photograph of Madonna with a plain, white background. The cover is perceived as being generic and lacking in creativity.
10. Avril Lavigne’s The Best Damn Thing – This album cover features a photograph of Avril Lavigne with a pink and purple background. The cover is perceived as being overly busy and lacking in cohesive design.

Rather than continuing down the “generic and lacking creativity” rabbit hole, I decided to switch things up a bit and ask Mr. AI Bot to present a list of the ten most-prolific album cover art directors who’ve worked on rock music album covers over the past 50 years (the exact query was “Who were the most-prolific rock music album cover art directors over the past 50 years?”), and here’s what he/she/they said:

Some of the most prolific rock music album cover art directors over the past 50 years include:

1. Storm Thorgerson – He is best known for his work with Pink Floyd and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.
2. Peter Saville – He is best known for his work with New Order and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Power, Corruption & Lies and Technique.
3. David Carson – He is best known for his work with the Beach Boys and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Pet Sounds and Smile.
4. Hipgnosis – This design studio is best known for its work with Led Zeppelin and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy.
5. Rosie Weinreb – She is best known for her work with the Beatles and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album.
6. Paul Whitehead – He is best known for his work with Genesis and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
7. Mick Rock – He is best known for his work with David Bowie and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane.
8. Peter Blake – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
9. Sir Peter Paul Rubens – He is best known for his work with the Who and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Who’s Next and Quadrophenia.
10. John Pasche – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.

Again, the machines seem to do slightly-less than OK on the basic research but, at the same time, presented some strange answers (Sir Peter Paul Rubens did Who’s Next and Quadrophenia? I know that The Who is considered a “classic rock” band, but I don’t see how a 16^th century Flemish artist could have been involved in the making of their album packages). Paul Whitehead did do three album covers for Genesis (Foxtrot, Nursery Cryme and Trespass) but it was artist Betty Swanwick’s painting titled “The Dream” that was on the cover of Selling England By The Pound and the team at Hipgnosis did the cover for Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. And who the heck is Rosie Weinreb? Several Google searches produced essentially no information about anyone associated with The Beatles, album cover art/design, etc., so where did this name come from? Frustrated with the inaccuracies I found in the last set of answers, tt seemed like time to move on and consider another approach to this research.

My next and then last experiments using this tool set showed me a bit more of the possibilities if the writer/operator gets a bit more-specific about a topic. I first asked the system to do the research and then give me the list of “the top 10 rock music album cover photographers over the past 60 years”, and here’s what was delivered:

1. Annie Leibovitz – She is best known for her work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
2. Mick Rock – He is best known for his work with David Bowie and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane.
3. Lynn Goldsmith – She is best known for her work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Tattoo You and Steel Wheels.
4. Norman Seeff – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
5. Albert Watson – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang.
6. Jim Marshall – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
7. Helmut Newton – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
8. Cindy Palmano – She is best known for her work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon.
9. Iain Macmillan – He is best known for his work with the Beatles and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Abbey Road and The White Album.
10. Harry Benson – He is best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and has photographed some of the most iconic album covers in rock music history, including Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.

Quite obviously, the Chatbot seems to be a fan of Rolling Stones-related album art and of giving credit where it’s NOT due, attributing a number of very talented photographers for their contributions to cover images they were not associated with in any way. As I pondered why it was that some of the answers were so inaccurate or contrived, I happened across an article about several concerns that Google’s management had about products like Open AI’s ChatGPT which were delaying Google’s release of their own similar product (called LaMDA) – one of which had to do with the fact that AI experts have noted that “the bot is often riddled with errors. ChatGPT is unable to fact-check what it says and can’t distinguish between a verified fact and misinformation, AI experts told Insider. It can also make up answers, a phenomenon that AI researchers call “hallucinations”…Its high margin of error and vulnerability to toxicity are some of the reasons Google is hesitant to release its AI chatbot to the public, The Times reported. A recent CNBC report said Google execs were reluctant to release it widely in its current state over concerns over “reputational risk.””

Although concerns about my own reputation – whatever might guide my efforts at this point in my life – weren’t a consideration in my choosing to experiment with these tools, I have been thinking about how these tools might help me with basic research on a topic I’ve been wanting to write more about, and so I chose once again to get even more specific in my inquiries and entered the next question, that being “Which rock music album cover photographers have produced NFTs of their work for sale?” A few seconds later, here’s what I was given:

Some rock music album cover photographers who have produced NFTs of their work for sale include:

1. Mick Rock – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of David Bowie for sale, including images from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane.
2. Lynn Goldsmith – She has produced NFTs of her photographs of the Rolling Stones for sale, including images from Tattoo You and Steel Wheels.
3. Norman Seeff – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of the Rolling Stones for sale, including images from Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
4. Albert Watson – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of the Rolling Stones for sale, including images from Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang.
5. Jim Marshall – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of the Rolling Stones for sale, including images from Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
6. Cindy Palmano – She has produced NFTs of her photographs of the Rolling Stones for sale, including images from Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon.
7. Harry Benson – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of the Rolling Stones for sale, including images from Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers.
8. Bob Gruen – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of rock music icons, including John Lennon and Elvis Presley, for sale.
9. Ross Halfin – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of rock music icons, including Metallica and Led Zeppelin, for sale.
10. Mark Seliger – He has produced NFTs of his photographs of rock music icons, including Nirvana and R.E.M., for sale.

While I could go on and on testing the bot’s abilities and limitations, what’s starting to become clear is that these AI tools purport to be great time-savers when it comes to basic research (as noted, none of the responses took more than 30 seconds to be delivered), but it will still be up to me to do the fact-checking and any other editing that might be required. So, you must ask, with all of the non-AGI basic online research tools and resources available (search engines, online museum/university libraries and specialty sites such as Discogs.com or Allmusic.com), are these AI article generators truly time-savers? The answer I believe will become clearer in the coming months and years that these databases gather and refine the datasets that they base their replies on. In the meantime, do the work, check the work, present the work, get feedback on the work and do it again…

As a follow-up – I recently reported that the most-recent edition of GOLDMINE magazine included an article by Ivor Levene about artist/art director Ernie Cefalu and, at the onset of the article, Ivor decided to visit a very controversial topic, that being the question as to who was responsible for the Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones. Several people – Ernie C., Craig Braun, John Pasche and Ruby Mazur – all claimed over the years to have developed the “real” logo, and so I decided to ask the supercomputers that power the AI tool to dig deep and let me know what they think. The answer came back very quickly

I asked – “Who was responsible for the design of the Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones?”

And the answer was pretty simple and straight-forward – “The Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones was designed by John Pasche.”

Curious as to why the system delivered that answer, I continued on with a follow-up question – “Why do you believe that John Pasche was the designer of the Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones?”

And Mr. Machine answered as follows – “I believe that John Pasche was the designer of the Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones because he is widely credited as the designer of the logo and his work on the logo has been widely recognized and praised. In addition, Pasche has worked with the Rolling Stones on a number of other projects and has a long history with the band.”

Since I’m aware that many designers have laid claim to the design, I pressed on with my queries – “Several people – Ernie Cefalu, John Pasche, Craig Braun and Ruby Mazur – have all claimed to have designed the Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones. Who do you believe makes the best case for their claim as the designer for this famous logo?”

My digital friend replied as follows – “It is difficult to definitively say who makes the best case for their claim as the designer of the Lips & Tongue logo for the Rolling Stones, as all of the individuals mentioned have different accounts of their involvement in the design process. However, John Pasche is the individual who is most widely credited as the designer of the logo and his work on the logo has been widely recognized and praised. As such, I would consider Pasche to have the strongest case for being the designer of the logo.”

So, there’s your answer! (?)

Happy Holidays 2022 and Best Wishes to you all for a healthy and prosperous New Year 2023

Mike G

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