July 26, 2012
Drawing inspiration from Muddy Waters’ song “Rollin’ Stone”, a band was formed in 1962 and they called themselves ‘The Rolling Stones’. When they performed for the first time, at the Marquee Club in London, they probably never dreamed as to the extent of their success and popularity and the fact that they were going to last fifty years. Their initial line-up consisted of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and keyboardist Ian Stewart with Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts joining up in 1963. Ian Stewart left the band later that year then surprisingly it was decided that he would manage the band instead.
It wasn’t until 1972 that the famous Stones tongue logo was created. Jagger
visited an exhibition at an art school where he met John Pasche, a final year design student. He later hired him to work on a logo for the band.
Jaggers inspiration: a picture of the Hindu goddess of ‘change’ Kali.
As per John Pasche, “The design concept for the Tongue was to represent the band’s anti-authoritarian attitude, Mick's mouth and the obvious sexual connotations. I designed it in such a way that it was easily reproduced and in a style which I thought could stand the test of time. The first use of the logo was the inner sleeve for the Sticky Fingersalbum. The outer sleeve was designed by Andy Warhol, hence the mix-up with the credits. The logo was not fully registered in all countries and a German jeans company registered the logo in Germany for their own products. his situation - and the fact that the tongue was getting used by unauthorized manufacturers of badges and t-shirts - prompted the proper registration and a merchandising agreement with myself to capitalize on the success of the logo. The simplicity of the design lent itself to many variations which were done by other designers and not myself. Due to it’s immediate popularity, the Stones kept with it over the years and I believe that it represents one of the strongest and most recognizable logos worldwide. And of course I’m proud of that. The Stones ultimately bought the copyright but I still own the hand drawn & painted artwork which, by the way, is now on sale for £200,000.”
John Pasche now freelances and more information can be found on his website: http://www.johnpasche.com/
In celebration of their 50th anniversary, graphic designer Shepard Fairey has fashioned an eye-catching contemporary spin on the Stones’ famed tongue logo. Somerset House in London hosted a free exhibition of rare and previously unseen photographs of the band on July 12, 2012. Also, to commemorate the anniversary, filmmaker Brett Morgen has directed a documentary about the band. (http://www.rollingstones.com/band)
Here is some information on the record art and design of only some of the covers. This blog is getting too damn long.
Some Girls
Released 1978
Designed by Peter Corriston
Illustrations by Hubert Kretzschmar
One of the Stones' most famous covers, it’s kind of difficult to explain it unless you use a lot of graphic design terminology. As they say “You outta have been there” or, in this case “You gotta see it for yourself”. However, it was designed by New York graphic Peter Corriston and is a die-cut sleeve with the faces on the inner sleeve. Once you remove the die cut cover there are all wigs with no faces. Images on the cover were of many actress of that time who were all upset to have been selected as a ‘face’.
Hubert Kretzschmar, in the late ‘70s was a part of New York's vibrantly influential art and music scene. He has worked for a variety of music artists including Led Zeppelin, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Kiss, etc. His illustrations were featured on three Rolling Stones LPs, including Some Girls
and Tattoo You. Recently, his collection of photographs: "Keith Richard Portraits" was exhibited at Scope Art Fair in March 2011.
Let It Bleed
Released 1969
Cover and Liner Design: Robert Brownjohn
Photo: Don McAllester
Designer: Victor Kahn
The image on the sleeve is of a fancy layered cake, atop a record player which was inspired by the Stones’ ‘working’ title of the record at that time, ‘Automatic Changer’. The cake was prepared by an English chef and writer Delia Smith, but the design of the sleeve was by Victor Kahn, a graduate of New York University with a degree in Marketing. He has had a successful career of over a decade in the music business designing album covers, books, graphic images and packaging for rock musicians. He is also credited for album covers, posters & books for Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatle's, etc.
Sticky Fingers
Released 1971
Designer: Craig Braun
Concept and Photography: Andy Warhol
At a party in New York City in 1969, Andy Warhol casually mentioned to Mick Jagger that it would be amusing to have a real zipper on an album cover. A year later, Jagger proposed the idea for Sticky Fingers,the first release on the new Rolling Stones label (Tongue logo). The Album packager Craig Braun had also suggested releasing the album in a clear plastic jacket with heat-sensitive liquid crystals inside. "…so you could make your own little Joshua Light Show," he says and also suggested a mammoth foldout cover of Jagger's castle in France. But Jagger decided to go another way.
Warhol took the cover shot and though many assumed the model was Jagger, it has been rumored to be a model called Joe Dallesandro at Warhol's studio, the Factory. More information available at:
(http://www.craigbraun.com/aboutme/press_rel1.html)
Exile On Main Street
Released 1972
Designer: John Van Hamersveld
Photographer: Robert Frank
“The general tone of the time was one of anarchy: drug dealers and freaks and crazy people left over from the Sixties, all defiant and distorted," says John Van Hamersveld, designer of this cover. The cover shot by legendary photographer, Robert Frank at first seems like a collage of photos of circus freaks. However, it’s actually a photo Frank took in 1950 of the wall of a tattoo parlor. The comparison to the notorious Stones: The jet-setting tax exiles, the cocaine-fueled satyrs and perpetual outsiders is clear specially since the identical layout on the back cover features Frank's photos of the Stones themselves, shot on L.A.'s seedy Main Street. The inner sleeves were even more haphazard with titles and credits hand-lettered by Jagger
himself. More information at: http://www.johnvanhamersveld.com
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
The Photos below are of a collage I created of my collection, a picture of the goddess Kali (don't know if this was the one they drew their inspiration from), a picture of the LOGO and a 1971 picture of the Rolling Stones at the Marquee Club.
Drawing inspiration from Muddy Waters’ song “Rollin’ Stone”, a band was formed in 1962 and they called themselves ‘The Rolling Stones’. When they performed for the first time, at the Marquee Club in London, they probably never dreamed as to the extent of their success and popularity and the fact that they were going to last fifty years. Their initial line-up consisted of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and keyboardist Ian Stewart with Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts joining up in 1963. Ian Stewart left the band later that year then surprisingly it was decided that he would manage the band instead.
It wasn’t until 1972 that the famous Stones tongue logo was created. Jagger
visited an exhibition at an art school where he met John Pasche, a final year design student. He later hired him to work on a logo for the band.
Jaggers inspiration: a picture of the Hindu goddess of ‘change’ Kali.
As per John Pasche, “The design concept for the Tongue was to represent the band’s anti-authoritarian attitude, Mick's mouth and the obvious sexual connotations. I designed it in such a way that it was easily reproduced and in a style which I thought could stand the test of time. The first use of the logo was the inner sleeve for the Sticky Fingersalbum. The outer sleeve was designed by Andy Warhol, hence the mix-up with the credits. The logo was not fully registered in all countries and a German jeans company registered the logo in Germany for their own products. his situation - and the fact that the tongue was getting used by unauthorized manufacturers of badges and t-shirts - prompted the proper registration and a merchandising agreement with myself to capitalize on the success of the logo. The simplicity of the design lent itself to many variations which were done by other designers and not myself. Due to it’s immediate popularity, the Stones kept with it over the years and I believe that it represents one of the strongest and most recognizable logos worldwide. And of course I’m proud of that. The Stones ultimately bought the copyright but I still own the hand drawn & painted artwork which, by the way, is now on sale for £200,000.”
John Pasche now freelances and more information can be found on his website: http://www.johnpasche.com/
In celebration of their 50th anniversary, graphic designer Shepard Fairey has fashioned an eye-catching contemporary spin on the Stones’ famed tongue logo. Somerset House in London hosted a free exhibition of rare and previously unseen photographs of the band on July 12, 2012. Also, to commemorate the anniversary, filmmaker Brett Morgen has directed a documentary about the band. (http://www.rollingstones.com/band)
Here is some information on the record art and design of only some of the covers. This blog is getting too damn long.
Some Girls
Released 1978
Designed by Peter Corriston
Illustrations by Hubert Kretzschmar
One of the Stones' most famous covers, it’s kind of difficult to explain it unless you use a lot of graphic design terminology. As they say “You outta have been there” or, in this case “You gotta see it for yourself”. However, it was designed by New York graphic Peter Corriston and is a die-cut sleeve with the faces on the inner sleeve. Once you remove the die cut cover there are all wigs with no faces. Images on the cover were of many actress of that time who were all upset to have been selected as a ‘face’.
Hubert Kretzschmar, in the late ‘70s was a part of New York's vibrantly influential art and music scene. He has worked for a variety of music artists including Led Zeppelin, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Kiss, etc. His illustrations were featured on three Rolling Stones LPs, including Some Girls
and Tattoo You. Recently, his collection of photographs: "Keith Richard Portraits" was exhibited at Scope Art Fair in March 2011.
Let It Bleed
Released 1969
Cover and Liner Design: Robert Brownjohn
Photo: Don McAllester
Designer: Victor Kahn
The image on the sleeve is of a fancy layered cake, atop a record player which was inspired by the Stones’ ‘working’ title of the record at that time, ‘Automatic Changer’. The cake was prepared by an English chef and writer Delia Smith, but the design of the sleeve was by Victor Kahn, a graduate of New York University with a degree in Marketing. He has had a successful career of over a decade in the music business designing album covers, books, graphic images and packaging for rock musicians. He is also credited for album covers, posters & books for Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatle's, etc.
Sticky Fingers
Released 1971
Designer: Craig Braun
Concept and Photography: Andy Warhol
At a party in New York City in 1969, Andy Warhol casually mentioned to Mick Jagger that it would be amusing to have a real zipper on an album cover. A year later, Jagger proposed the idea for Sticky Fingers,the first release on the new Rolling Stones label (Tongue logo). The Album packager Craig Braun had also suggested releasing the album in a clear plastic jacket with heat-sensitive liquid crystals inside. "…so you could make your own little Joshua Light Show," he says and also suggested a mammoth foldout cover of Jagger's castle in France. But Jagger decided to go another way.
Warhol took the cover shot and though many assumed the model was Jagger, it has been rumored to be a model called Joe Dallesandro at Warhol's studio, the Factory. More information available at:
(http://www.craigbraun.com/aboutme/press_rel1.html)
Exile On Main Street
Released 1972
Designer: John Van Hamersveld
Photographer: Robert Frank
“The general tone of the time was one of anarchy: drug dealers and freaks and crazy people left over from the Sixties, all defiant and distorted," says John Van Hamersveld, designer of this cover. The cover shot by legendary photographer, Robert Frank at first seems like a collage of photos of circus freaks. However, it’s actually a photo Frank took in 1950 of the wall of a tattoo parlor. The comparison to the notorious Stones: The jet-setting tax exiles, the cocaine-fueled satyrs and perpetual outsiders is clear specially since the identical layout on the back cover features Frank's photos of the Stones themselves, shot on L.A.'s seedy Main Street. The inner sleeves were even more haphazard with titles and credits hand-lettered by Jagger
himself. More information at: http://www.johnvanhamersveld.com
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
The Photos below are of a collage I created of my collection, a picture of the goddess Kali (don't know if this was the one they drew their inspiration from), a picture of the LOGO and a 1971 picture of the Rolling Stones at the Marquee Club.
Sticky Fingers – Complete Album
The Rolling Stones at the Marquee Club, London
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