Welcome to Episode Three of my LP cover parodies series. Episode One describes how and why I got interested in this theme and features a random assortment of my favorites, and Episode Two is an all-AC/DC theme. This time (and next) I am addressing an elephant in the room of sorts.
Like it or not, it’s difficult to overstate the influence of The Beatles on music and culture over the last fifty years. It’s no surprise that their best material has endured - we still rate Bach, Beethoven and Mozart centuries later and their music didn’t even exist in recorded form until long after they were gone. What is more remarkable is that The Beatle’s visual style and legacy still carries weight, as evidenced by the many artists who have parodied or tributed their album covers (and music) over the years and still do to this day.
Everything that could possibly be written or said about the Fab Four has by now been committed to the record, so I don’t profess to add anything new here – however, what came to my mind in putting this piece together is how many equally talented people The Beatles attracted into their orbit, both by chance and by design. Among others there were the producers George Martin and Glyn Johns, film director Richard Lester, photographers Astrid Kirchner and Robert Freeman, artist Peter Blake and artist/musician Klaus Voorman. Those last four names were all involved with their album art in one way or another, and to say that the jackets for LPs such as Meet The Beatles (Freeman, influenced by Kirchner), Revolver (Voorman) and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Blake) are iconic is an understatement.
Such outsized fame and influence naturally brings many tributes, but the Fabs also became something of a ‘sacred cow’ and as such were a prime target for provocateurs like Frank Zappa and The Residents who drew attention – and occasionally outrage – by mocking or parodying everyone’s favorite band. Following is a gallery of album covers inspired by The Beatles - by no means all the ones out there - illustrating the reverent, the irreverent and the bizarre alike.
One important note: I’ve attempted to credit the various designers, artists and photographers who created these masterpieces, however since I don’t own all of these records in some cases I’ve gleaned the credits information from Discogs or other sites on the web, so they may not all be 100% accurate. Corrections welcome!
The Beatles Twist and Shout (Parlophone Records EP [UK] 1963) – Design uncredited; photo by Fiona Adams
Genesis 3 x 3 (Charisma Records EP [UK] 1982) – Design uncredited; photo by Gered Mankowitz
Prog pioneers Genesis don’t have much in common with The Beatles musically, however the members were all fans and drummer/singer Phil Collins was in the audience at the concert filmed for the end of A Hard Days Night as a teenager, a seminal experience he has recounted in interviews more than once. Their 1982 tribute features a perfectly executed photograph by famed shutterbug Gered Mankowitz.
Below: Thirteen year-old Phil Collins in the crowd at the Scala Theatre in London, March 31, 1964.
The Beatles With The Beatles (Parlophone Records [UK] 1963) – Design uncredited; photo by Robert Freeman
Phil Keaggy Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child (Myrrh Records 1988) – Design uncredited; photo by Daniel Arsenault
Christian rock artist Phil Keaggy delivers a striking recreation of the Beatle’s second UK album cover here. Not being familiar with his music, I initially assumed this recreation was only visual, however my MusicStack comrade Brad Kyle set me straight - Keaggy’s goal with this album was to sonically and stylistically tribute The Beatles, using only vintage instruments including Ringo’s actual drum set, and even ended up getting a thumbs up from Sir Paul hisself!
Please read the full story and see the back cover of the LP - also a tribute - in Brad’s excellent Front Row & Backstage post from 2024 “Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child: The Beatles Influenced Album We Didn’t See Coming.”
The Beatles Meet The Beatles! (Capitol Records 1963) – Design uncredited; photo by Robert Freeman
The Residents Meet The Residents! (Ralph Records 1975) – Design Pore-No-Graphics, [based on an] original photo by Robert Freeman
The Stone City Band Meet The Stone City Band! Out From The Shadow (Gordy [Motown] Records 1983) – Design Terry Taylor, art direction Johnny Lee, photography Jim Bush
The California Raisins Meet The Raisins! (Atlantic Records 1988) – Design uncredited; photography J.D. Alley
Probably the second most recognizable Beatles LP jacket after Sgt. Peppers, The Resident’s debut album from 1975 was an early attack on the ‘sacred cow’ and designed to gain attention and spark outrage, which to some extent it did. What’s surprising to me is that they got away with using the original Robert Freeman photograph – to my knowledge no infringement was ever claimed by Capitol Records, Freeman or the band, probably because the San Francisco iconoclasts operated at the outermost edges of the culture and never appealed to a wide audience.
The Stone City band was a Rick James project, and their cover refers to coming “out of the shadows” while conveniently inducing a double-take in potential buyers thumbing through the racks. I must say it’s brilliantly executed! The California Raisins was a crass marketing creation of the late 1980s that somehow found widespread fame in the idiocracy. I am loathe to give them any attention at all, but it’s a legitimate parody so must be included here.
The Beatles Revolver (Parlophone Records [UK] 1966) – Artwork & cover design Klaus Voorman
Madame Cathy Berberian Revolution (Fontana Records 1967) – Design Roberto Zamarin
Even Cathy Berberian knows there’s one roulade she can’t sing, but that didn’t stop her from recording this bracingly bizarre collection of Beatles songs performed in baroque operatic style. Roberto Zamarin’s cover art is appropriate and absolutely brilliant, unfortunately there seems to be very little information about him on the internet.
Above:
The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Capitol Records 1967) – Cover by MC Productions and The Apple, staged by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, photographed by Michael Cooper
The Mothers of Invention We’re Only In It For The Money (Verve Records 1968) – Design Concept Nifty, Tough & Bitchen Youth Market Consultants, artwork Cal Schenkel, photography Jerrold Schatzberg
The most famous album cover of all time? Certainly the most parodied.
Frank Zappa was the first to take on this particular ‘sacred cow’ less than a year after its original release, and he went whole hog, not just recreating the front, back and inner gatefold of the Beatles LP, but also including a sheet of cheeky (or nipple-y) ‘cutouts.’ The concept was entirely Frank’s (the ‘youth market consultants’ credited was his own company), and the execution is perfect, with the added twist that the images were reversed and the band pose appeared on the outside of the jacket while the front and back cover recreations were inside the gatefold, allegedly to avoid legal action from Capitol or the Fabs. Musically, well, what can I say? The Mothers of Invention skewered, mocked and subverted pretty much every aspect of the pop culture of the ‘60s – The Beatles were just a starting point.
Above left to right:
The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (see above)
Earle Doud and Alen Robin Lyndon Johnson’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Atco Records 1967) – Design Haig Adishian, illustration Frank Frazetta
Jun Fukumachi Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Toshiba Records [Japan] 1977) – Art direction Hideaki Takahashi and Seiji Kudo, illustration Fumio Tamabuchi
Moving forward through the decades the Sgt. Peppers cover proved an irresistible target for artists of all types. Earl Doud’s comedy album from 1968 featured mock ‘interviews’ with political figures of the day, and famed fantasy artist Frank Frazetta was involved in creating the cover on that one.
Japanese electronic musician Jun Fukumachi’s album of Sgt. Pepper song covers features a clever take on the original, with the image in reverse and everyone’s back to the camera except for Jun himself (or is that Marilyn?) who peeks out from the center of the throng.
Above left to right:
Various Artists Burning Ambitions (A History of Punk) (Cherry Red Records [UK] 1982) – Design Jim Phelan
Thee Mighty Ceasars John Lennon’s Corpse Revisited (Crypt Records 1989) – Artwork Pete Ciccone and Jim Warren
Various Artists Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing-Off! (Rhino Records 1988) - Art direction Don Brown, package design Lisa O’Brien, artwork Doug Erb, design/illustration Joe Pearson
The punk compilation album Burning Ambitions – which I have written about before - is a great collection of music with an appropriate Sgt. Peppers-like image adorning its jacket. Not exactly a skewering of the sacred cow, although that was a favorite activity of 1970’s punk rockers, it’s more of an off-handed tribute. Two of the television sets in the foreground show images from the notorious, expletive-laden UK TV interview that catapulted the Sex Pistols to national prominence, and the third displays a detail from the original Sgt Peppers cover showing Ringo, Paul and George. John, who was most certainly the ‘punk’ of the Beatles, is prominently shown in the main crowd above.
Modern Renaissance man Billy Childish thumbs his nose at the icons with a cover that invites close inspection; I’m not certain but it looks like the crowd around Thee Headcoats wearing funny hats includes a murderer’s row of disreputable characters, and the album’s title is bound to get a rise – positive or negative – out of most music fans.
Finally, the Mad magazine-style illustration for Golden Throats, Rhino Record’s compilation of unintentionally hilarious rock covers by various artists, is a perfect complement to the wackiness within. Trust me, you haven’t truly lived until you’ve heard William Shatner’s cover of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”
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