This is another gorgeous 1950’s cheesecake 10″ cover from Japan.     These are at the heart of my collection.   This kind of shot only works for me until the mid-sixties when the vibe changed and an innocence was lost.   The sexy covers of the sixties are good for their sleaze appeal, but the period of 1945 – 1965 was the golden age of pin-ups.   The leopard skin is always a nice touch (implying the tiger inside the sweet facade?)   Again the Japanese appreciated this artform and were able to reproduce American popular culture beautifully.   I imagine most of the photos of western models on Japanese covers were shot here and the rights were sold for release in Japan.   But they did a nice job of putting out quality reproductions.

(39 votes, average: 4.85 out of 5)

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There’s a strange sub-genre of covers capturing the artist’s portrait in glass. Reflections appearing like images in a crystal ball. Here are two examples, one from Mexico the other a polka record. The power of alcohol to summon the ghosts of performers stretches from the Rio Grande to the Pennsylvania Dutch.

(17 votes, average: 3.94 out of 5)

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“The Rapture” by artist Charles Anderson used by permission of Bible Believers Evangelical Association.

(20 votes, average: 3.60 out of 5)

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I think they used the wrong photo! Halo was the quintessential budget label. They used stock photos for generic orchestral and pop music. Here’s a pool party shot on a “Dance Party” record with music by the National Dance Orchestra.

(12 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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From 1959 on Golden Records (a subsidiary of Bell).   I have a handful of Three Stooges lps and a bunch of 45’s from around the world.   Always a kid’s favorite (and some too devoted adults too.)   Nyuck, nyuck.

(9 votes, average: 3.11 out of 5)

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Passage to Madrid.   She doesn’t look like she’s on a train, but he seems to be a conductor.   Maybe this is her fantasy.   Maybe it’s a joint.

(9 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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Before he was whacking guys in the desert or stabbing them with their own pen, Joe Pesci took a stab at a singing career. I’m not going to say anything about it, cause you never know, but I’m glad he starting acting. What I make you laugh? I amuse you?

The liner notes compare Joe Ritchie (a temporary stage name) to Little Jimmy Scott. Scott’s influence was noted by Jack Lewis (Brunswick producer) and Monte Kay (of the Modern Jazz Quartet) when Joe played with jazz sax legend Willis “Gator” Jackson at the Palm Garden in Harlem. (Turns out, according to the liner notes, that Joe lived briefly with Little Jimmy Scott in Chicago!)

Joe sings the Beatles’ “Got to get you into my life,” “The Fool on the Hill,” and “Fixing a hole” (think Casino!). Also three Bee Gees compositions, “Holiday,” “To love somebody,” and “And the sun will shine”. This on Brunswick, the soul label that was home to Jackie Wilson, Tyrone Davis, Barbara Acklin, the Chi-lites and others.

(16 votes, average: 2.81 out of 5)

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