jim henson

An alternate title for this batch of sincerely perused album covers: "Ring wear I have known"...

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Trumpeter, musical arranger and composer Tutti Camarata had been one of the founders of the London record label in the 1940's, and in 1956 was hired by Walt Disney to form the Disneyland record label and be their musical director.

He produced over 300 records for the label during his 16-year tenure with the label, including his own series of
'Tutti's Trumpets' LPs and his 4 'seasonal' albums.








Click here to see a variation on the 'In' image above ▲ repeated on the back cover of this 1968 Ronnie Aldrich LP, with liner notes.

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◀ From 1959, the cover of actress / singer Polly Bergen's 7th LP on the Columbia label. Though still very active on stage, screen and TV, she classifies herself first as a business executive, overseeing her
Polly Bergen line of cosmetics, jewelry, and shoes.


'The Creed Taylor Orchestra' ▼ was the name given to a series of compelling mood albums performed by bandleader
Kenyon Hopkins and his orchestra and produced by
A&R man Taylor, released under Taylor's name on the ABC/Paramount label while Hopkins was under contract to the Capitol label.



You can hear an excerpt from 1960's 'Lonelyville - Nervous Beat' LP ▲ in a 'tribute clip' at YouTube

◀ Always nice to find another example of artwork by
David Stone Martin (1913 - 1992).
Many albums are as sought-after by collectors for his cover designs as much as for the music on the record. (It's win-win with regards to the Edison album)

There are lots of other examples of DSM's work in the galleries at LP Cover Lover.





The graphics on the 1956 J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding Trombone Octet LP ▼ is by Arnold Roth.
The much-beloved illustrator has done plenty of cover art over the years, including several early efforts by his friend, Dave Brubeck.

(For more on Roth, please follow link to my previous post on his work and his 1960's children's book, 'Pick A Peck Of Puzzles'.)

Speaking of Brubeck, recordings of his 1948 Octet ▼ were not released until 1951, after his group (now a quartet) had become more popular.
Arnold Roth's art showed up on a later 12" Fantasy label collection of that material, but I couldn't tell you who the 'Johns' signature belongs to on the cover of this outré '51 Fantasy 10" cover.
(The pretty disc within is translucent red vinyl, as was the fashion of the day)





Canadian jazz vibraphonist Jimmy Namaro ▲ was a regular fixture at the Westbury Hotel's Polo Lounge on Yonge Street in Toronto at the time of this early-'60's recording.

◀ Billy May's 'Pow!' album came out in 1960, the title being an accurate description of his band's big sound.

It would be another 6 years or so before the word 'pow' (and other onomatopoetica) would have a resurgence via the 'Batman' TV show...

▼ ...speaking of sound effects, from 1978, a flashy-looking LP from the American funk-disco group that would lead to a minor rock history footnote; So as to avoid confusion between two different 'wham!s', George Michael's Wham! was briefly known in the U.S. as 'Wham! UK'.

This 'Wham!' LP ▼ included a couple of minor hits - - 'Lovemaker' and 'Superslick'.

▲ Above, a 'greatest hits' package of tracks by 1950's and '60's American instrumental rock group Johnny and the Hurricanes, released in the 1970's on the Canadian Birchmount label.

I've seen other Birchmount covers that have a similar look to them, but nothing with a fashion statement as extreme as the aluminum foil outfit worn on this one...

Years before his Emmy
award-winning portrayal of
Ann Romano's super, Dwayne Schneider, nightclub comedian ◀Pat Harrington, Jr. could be seen on 1950's TV playing 'Guido Panzini' and other characters for Steve Allen and Jack Paar.

This stand-up LP was released in 1962 (the discount sticker likely followed soon after). By then Harrington was transitioning into one-off TV guest appearances and small film roles. By the mid-'60's he was doing regular voice work in cartoons, including playing
'The Inspector' on the
Pink Panther show.




Above, ▲ just another celebrity caricature bonanza on just another LP cover by brilliant MAD magazine regular Mort Drucker.

Producers Bob Booker and George Foster master-minded a string of 'topical' comedy LP's throughout the '60's that played like theatrical revues, beginning with their original 'First Family' albums produced during the Kennedy administration.

This one featured impressions and characterizations by John Byner, Bob McFadden and David Frye - - whose rise to fame as a Nixon impersonator was well under way.

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◀ 'Little Mr. Banjo' - - from an era when all good children aspired to perform in minstrel shows...







...perhaps more entertaining are the graphics and 'Moppet' label logo on the back cover. ▼




































◀ The Chucho Ferrer Orchestra and the Mario Ruiz Armeol Orchestra were featured bands on this striking 1962 LP.

Below are some more albums in 'the Latin manner', the 'Cha-Cha' craze of the '50's and '60's being just another in a never-ending string of Latin-beat fueled dance mania.












Hey, what the- - ?

Looks like these cover models' fancy dance steps couldn't be contained on one album, or one label.

Above, ▲ 'Let's Cha Cha Cha in Hi-Fi' by Puerto Rican band leader Tito Morano was first released on the Somerset Records label in 1959.

◀ To the left; A quick costume change for the señorita but otherwise hardly a missed beat, and the dance partners were ready for this Jan August album, released roughly around the same time.



▲ Memo Salamanca in hi-fi on Audio Fidelity in 1957, the same year the label released the very first commercially available stereo records.

◀ A cheeky 1958 cover from Edmundo Ros, the 'King of Latin American Music'.






Clicking on the image of the 1950's Pepe Luis LP below ▼ will afford you the necessary opportunity to take an even closer look at the group of tough customers out for kicks on this memorable cover...

Crossing the finish line on this posting, it's clear that many thanks are due to the Space Age Pop website for being such a font of information. So glad it's out there!