Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for March, 2023

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for March, 2023

Posted March 1, 2023 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

February might be a bit shorter than other months, but that doesn’t mean that we album art/artist fans were short-changed in the news department. Starting off with the Grammy Awards and continuing with new exhibitions, art and book releases and a lot of ancillary items, there’s plenty for us fans of album cover art/artistry to dig into, so let’s cut the chit-chat and take a look at what I’ve put together for you.

Preliminary judging has begun on the entries vying for another noted industry award – the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards – and, as one of the judges on the panel tasked to review the hundreds of submissions received, I’m curious and eager to see what always turns out to me a fascinating cross-section of examples of album covers/packages coming in from all over the world.

This month’s newsletter contains a human-curated (as opposed to an AI-generated – we’re old school here at the ACHOF) summary of the news in all of the main topic areas, with updates and info about several new museum and gallery exhibitions, new auctions and sales and a goodly number of art and artist-related articles. As always, I’d like to once again say “thanks” for your help and support, so  let’s get started with some updates on the award shows recently ended and currently in progress:

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for October, 2022

Posted October 1, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Greetings to you all. I have to first warn you that this month’s edition of the ACHOF newsletter will be a truncated one as I’ve had to spend a lot of time and energy managing several things that have popped up and couldn’t be ignored. It will also force me to put off the publishing of the next summary until December 1^st.

Sorry about that.

In any case, there should be enough basic info now to get you the basics, but it’ll be up to you to click through to get “the rest of the story” (apologies to Mr. Harvey).

I’m also working feverishly to set up the voting for this year’s fan-driven voting for “the best of the best of” in all of the main ACHOF categories, so be on the lookout in a week or so for the official announcement and a link to the polling site. Voting will be open from October 10^th thru November 13^th, with the final tallies announced right before Thanksgiving here in the U.S.. It’ll be exciting to see who the fan favorites are in each category – tough choices must be made, but let’s do our best to honor all of those whose names will be on the lists.  

Thanks in advance for your help and your patience while I get my world back in order. Now, on with the newsletter.

Mike G

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for September, 2022

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for September, 2022

Posted September 1, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

A late-Summer greeting to you all.

For the past 10 years, the ACHOF has worked to recognize and promote the talents of the people who’ve brought music fans and art collectors (and hybrids of both activities) the best in retail and online music packaging, graphics and photography. Helped each year by asking a panel of curators, gallerists, music marketing execs and writers/researchers who cover the topic, I’ve been able to deliver these details to my readers and, once a year in November, present the top vote-getters in our annual poll as inductees into the hallowed (virtual) halls of the ACHOF. What I haven’t been able to do is ask this site’s visitors and fans about their favorite album art-makers, and so to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the launch of the ACHOF, I’m going to do just that.

Later next month, I will be posting a poll that will allow you to review the past winners in each of the active categories and then ask you to select your most-admired art directors, illustrators, designers and photographers, who’ll then be placed in special categories that will be called…well, what will we call them? We don’t want to call them “the best”, nor do we want to repurpose some of the popular names that the awards industry has used over time – “People’s Choice”, “Fan Favorites”, “Vox Populi”, “Diamond/Platinum/Gold Medal Winning”, etc. A quick trip to the thesaurus presents words and phrases like “title holder”, “prize winner” and “top dog”, among others, along with some that I think are a bit over the top, such as “conquering hero”, “vanquisher” and “numero uno”, so while I know that it must be something memorable and appropriate, I don’t think I’m quite ready to commit to anything. Now that I think about it, perhaps we should also rely on our readers to present their ideas for this project, keeping this year’s efforts all about YOUR notions for what’s good and right, so I’ll be adding a poll question for this task as well. Eager to see what you come up with – we have a LOT of creative types reading this newsletter, so I’m sure something great will show up.

Thanks in advance for your help. Now, back to the matters at hand.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for December, 2021

Posted December 1, 2021 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Season’s Greetings and Happy Post-Black-Friday-Cyber-Monday cool-off period to you all. The last month has surely been both a joy (being able to see certain family members and friends in person) and a challenge as we enter the Holiday season having to deal with new derivations of COVID, the availability (or lack thereof) of some of the things we wanted to give (or get) as gifts and the general sense of “who knows what’s next” we’re all faced with, so it is with great pleasure that I’m dedicating this month’s ACHOF news summary to the delivery of interesting stories about your favorite album package image-makers both here in the U.S. and around the world.

The people responsible for packaging your favorite music products continue to astound (although, in some cases, confound) us with the results of their efforts, so this month’s edition of the ACHOF News Update and Summary includes a number of great examples of album cover artist/art news – the kind of updates you’ve come to expect in these monthly summaries.  Leading off in the news department are stories about the nominees (and, in one case, inductees) in several significant album cover art-related annual polls, including those for The Grammy Awards, the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards, the Best Art Vinyl Awards and, my favorite, the Album Cover Hall of Fame. You’ll find this info in its own separate section, below.

ACHOF Breaking News Update for November 10th, 2021

Posted November 10^th, 2021 by Mike Goldstein

Bonham’s Head of Pop Culture Claire Tole-Mor recently shared an article of some of her favorite items going up for bid at their 11/11 “Pop X Culture” and 11/17 “Rock and Pop” auctions – https://www.bonhams.com/video/33186/?

The works of some of rock music’s best-known image-makers (Neal Preston, Gered Mankowitz, Bob Gruen, Jill Furmanovsky and many others) are represented in these collections, so please feel free to read Claire’s intro and then take a look at what’s available. Some pre-Holidays shopping, perhaps?

Link to Nov. 11 auction (in London) – https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26828/

Link to Nov. 17 auction (in London) – https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26822/

Bit of trivia – the Nov. 17^th auction includes items from the estate of the late actress Diana Rigg (The Avengers on TV, many musicals). What’s the ACHOF connection? She served as the cover model for The Cuff Links’ 1969 album Tracy that contained the hit single by the same name.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for October, 2021

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for October, 2021

Posted October 1, 2021 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Now that Summer has ended and we’ve “officially” entered the Fall (or is it Autumn?) season, we can all celebrate the harvest, the changing colors of Fall foliage and the fact that the nominations and voting for this year’s class of inductees will begin in earnest during the month. More bios have been added to the site in preparation for this effort, so this prep works serves two good purposes (voting prep and more content on the site) at the same time.

While my work continues unabated, so do the efforts of the people responsible for packaging your favorite music products and so, to that end, this month’s edition of the ACHOF News Update and Summary is packed with more of the high-quality bits of album cover artist/art news and updates you’ve come to expect in these monthly summaries.  Read on to see this month’s summary of these articles, posts and announcements I’ve gathered recently regarding all things regarding album cover artists and the art they produce. Their work – and our interest in and excitement about their work – endures and so, without further delay, let’s dive into this month’s summary.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for December, 2020

Posted December 1st, 2020 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Well, we made it to December first and, I have to tell you, part of me is much happier than the last time I was writing this intro for you, while the other part is still in a mild state of bewilderment, with a sizable number of my fellow countrymen (and countrywomen) refusing to believe in both the results of an election and the fact that there’s a pandemic still raging. How, then, am I finding the strength to sit at my desk and tap out a missive to a readership that might partly be suffering from either/both the effects of a nasty disease (that’s killed 260,000+ people her so far, and many thousands more world-wide) and/or the notion that their elected representatives might not have been fairly elected (a baseless theory supported by no actual evidence)? Perhaps it’s due to the fact that, in spite of whatever has brought us all to this point, art and music creators continue to transcend boundaries and inspire our lives and emotions with the pure power of their work. Or, it might be my ever-expanding gin and tonic recipe book – in any case, there continues to be a lot of interesting developments in the world of record album imagery…

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for November, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary – November, 2020

Posted October 30th, 2020 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

I realize that, for most of you, this summary is coming at a time of great emotional disturbance, having to deal with both an ongoing pandemic (and what it’s done to our “regular” lives) and an election here in the U.S. that will provide us all with a window into what America might look like going forward and so, keeping that in mind, I’m going to keep things really simple this month (quite honestly, I don’t currently have the mental bandwidth to do much more).

The nominating and voting process for this year’s class of inductees into the ACHOF has begun in earnest and, with any luck, I’ll be able to announce the list of top vote-getters just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday here, or around the 20^th of November (the 23^rd the absolute latest). Two other album cover-related award competitions – the Best Art Vinyl awards in the U.K. and the Making Vinyl Awards here in the U.S. – are also in-process and so it’ll be interesting to see who’s determined to be providing the most visual excitement in the recorded music business when all the votes are tallied…

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Summary – End of July – August, 2019

 

 

 

By Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Summer marches on. After driving by the area in downtown Chicago where the annual Lollapalooza music event is being held (making motoring down Lake Shore Drive extra fun) and seeing the happy crowds enjoying the performances/shenanigans taking place there (although, with ticket prices starting at $130 for a one-day general admission pass and going up to $4200 for a 4-day “platinum pass”, which gets you “access to the luxurious, climate-controlled North & South Platinum Lounges featuring signature cocktails, craft beer, champagne, wine and curated culinary offerings; premium viewing areas in front of five stages; access to on-stage viewing at the North & South main stages; complete access to the VIP Lolla Lounges, including the new stage featuring performances by Lolla artists” and, my favorite perk, “golf cart transportation between the Platinum Festival entrance, Lounges, and front-of-stage viewing areas” – I mean, who can walk after all of that champagne and “curated culinary offerings”? – this is one fest I’ll have to live without), it reminds me that there are simpler and no-less-enjoyable ways to spend a few minutes of your time, such as reviewing this month’s easy-to-digest run-down of all of the album cover artist/art-related news I think might be worth your time investigating:

Album Cover Hall of Fame Breaking News Update for June 21, 2019

Album Cover Hall of Fame Quickie News Update – June 21, 2019

By Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Welcome to the first day of Summer (assuming that the “new” Summer includes days like the ones we’re having here – high temp of 65, with rain forecast for the next several days). It’s days like these that make me happy to be able to report that the works of the people who make your favorite album cover images are included in a whole host of exhibitions on display now/soon. In addition to the details of these current/ongoing shows, you’ll also find interesting tidbits about new books, prints and other collectibles now available, along with a story or two that I thought you might want to read, and so, without any further delay, here’s a quickie update, provided as a tease to the regular end-of-the-month summary due in 10 days or so…

Exhibitions/gallery shows –

1) NEW SHOW OPENING 6/21 – Having wowed the crowds in Los Angeles last year with a huge show in Chinatown that drew thousands of fans, street art/graffiti art fans in the NYC area can now traipse on over to a new show called Beyond The Streets that opens to the public this weekend in a large space (over 100,000 square feet!) of its own in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. According to the show’s advance PR, “BEYOND THE STREETS celebrates society’s most pervasive mark makers and rule breakers with unprecedented purpose and scale. The exhibition explores the collective urgency of using the street as a canvas for expression”…and features “enlightening panel discussions hosted by legendary street art icons and presentations by contemporary artists who are continuing to redefine and reshape the art form.” Album cover art fans will see examples of work from many of their favorites, including Cey Adams, J-M Basquiat, Martha Cooper, Shepard Fairey, Glen E. Friedman, Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami, Mister Cartoon and Kenny Scharf, among others.

The show runs thru August, 2019 and is located at 25 Kent Ave, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The entrance is on North 12th between Wythe and Kent Avenues, right next to the Wythe Hotel, William Vale Hotel, and Brooklyn Bowl. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 11am – 8pm. Closed Monday & Tuesday. Gen admission is $25, kids 6-11, $12. https://beyondthestreets.com/pages/visit

My friend Rocky Bucano from the Universal Hip-Hop Museum (www.uhhm.org) toured the show with some friends of his and was kind enough to share some of the photos. Thanks, Rocky – you definitely have some of the coolest friends…

LL Cool J by Rocky Bucano, UHHM.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cornbread Retires @ Beyond The Streets by Rocky Bucano, UHHM.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art @ Beyond The Streets, Rocky Bucano, UHHM.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) NEW SHOW OPENED 6/14 – Recently opened at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland is a show whose history began almost 20 years ago when the curators from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum put on a show called The Art of Selling Songs: Graphics for the Music Business 1690 – 1990 that dug deep into the museum’s impressive collection of music-related graphics to show how graphic design was used to promote and sell musical performances and products. The updated version of this show now on display in Belfast presents an “A side” – artwork from “the olden days” thru the introduction of pop music – and a “B side” of more recent work, featuring works from artists and designers including Julien Opie, Peter Saville, Andy Warhol, Albert Watson and many others. A bonus show called Overtones: Irish Music Art celebrates artwork created by Irish artists/designers and works for Irish acts including Ash, Snow Patrol, Them, U2 and others. Here are a couple of recent articles – one in the Irish Times– https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/great-irish-album-artwork-goes-on-display-at-ulster-museum-1.3924937 and one on the Irish News.com site – https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/06/14/news/sgt-pepper-and-alternative-ulster-star-in-striking-new-exhibition-of-album-artwork-1641599/ – that serve to provide overviews of the show, with the second one also including a short video interview with the exhibition’s curator, Anna Liesching, curator of art at National Museums NI.

The displays are available for your enjoyment from now through the 15^th of September, with more info available on the museum’s site at  https://www.nmni.com/whats-on/the-art-of-selling-songs

3) ONGOING (INCLUDES NEW IMAGES FROM GALLERY) – In last month’s summary, I wrote about the gallery show featuring photographer Bob Gruen’s work now on display (through July 6^th) at the Brian Liss Gallery in Toronto, Canada, and now I’m happy to provide you with a small selection of photos of the gallery’s exhibition, as provided by the nice people there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Gruen @ Brian Liss Gallery, Toronto – used by permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Gruen @ Brian Liss Gallery, Toronto – used by permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’ll recognize some of Mr. Gruen’s “greatest hits” – his photos of John Lennon in NYC (one wearing his “New York City” t-shirt and the other with Lennon flashing a peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty), his photo of Led Zeppelin in front of their tour plane, etc. – along with others from his 40+ year portfolio compiled while covering the rock scene for many publications and television shows. Of course, we’re very appreciative of the album covers he’s produced, such as Dressed To Kill for KISS; John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band’s Sometime in New York City and Raspberries for the Raspberries, among others.

Visitors to the gallery will find, in addition to a fine selection of fine art prints for sale, that they’ll also have copies of his 2011 career retrospective book Rock Seen for you to take home as well. http://liss-gallery.squarespace.com/bob-gruen

Artist News and Interviews

1) OH, YES! – Famed fantasy artist Roger Dean’s daughter Freyja is quite the artist herself, with some album art credits on her resume as well. Here’s a recent interview with the artist as shown on the Japan Times web site – https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/06/08/people/freyja-dean-art-mythology-prog-rock/

2) NOT QUITE A KNIGHT – Early on in his career as a British photojournalist, Terry O’Neil had access to the music business elite at the time, with his portfolio including shots of The Beatles, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, The Who, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and many others. His photographs of Bridget Bardot, Audrey Hepburn , Sir Laurence Olivier and super-model Jean Shrimpton beautifully captured each in their prime. O’Neill was also invited to shoot portraits of civic and world leaders, as well as the British Royal Family, and his reputation as a result of these sessions grew accordingly.

Now 80 years old, Mr. O’Neil received a Royal honor, being awarded the CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his career’s contributions to photography, so here’s a pictorial run-down of his celeb and music-industry shots in The Mirror – https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/gallery/terry-oneills-legends-stories-behind-16522861

That’s all for now – stay tuned and be on the lookout for timely news alerts on our news feed –https://www.facebook.com/AlbumCoverHallOfFame – we’ll be back when we can with another monthly summary for you.

Unless otherwise noted, all text and images included in this article are Copyright 2019 Mike Goldstein and AlbumCoverHallofFame.com – All Rights Reserved. All of trade names mentioned in these summaries are the properties of their respective owners and are used for reference only.