An album cover usually tends to visually represent the music within and catch the eye of potential listeners, but the following artists took a different approach. Some of these covers are probably tongue-in-cheek, others were changed in subsequent pressings, but some pictured here (We’re looking at you, Ken.) seem too sincere to be a joke and beg the question: What were they thinking!?!
10. Jonny Trunk & Wisbey – The Ladies’ Bras
In 2007, Jonny Trunk of Trunk Records compiled “Now We Are Ten”, a sampler of tracks from the label spanning its ten years in business. To make the compilation more desirable for consumers, he included several previously unreleased tracks including “The Ladies’ Bras”. The song would go on to be picked up by BBC Radio 1’s Danny Baker and subsequently break a few unexpected records. Reaching #27 on the UK singles charts, “The Ladies’ Bras” is the shortest song to breach UK charts at only 36 seconds. It also holds the record for most played song within one week on BBC Radio 1.
9. Christmas with Colonel Sanders Trilogy
The Colonel is probably best known for his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices (oregano, chili powder, sage, basil, majoram, salt, pepper, paprika, onion salt, garlic powder and MSG) or maybe you know he was not born in Kentucky, or that “Kentucky Fried Chicken” was first used as a name in Seattle. What you probably didn’t know is that every holiday season from 1967-1969 saw the release of a Colonel Sanders Christmas album, first “Christmas Eve with Colonel Sanders” followed by “Christmas Day with Colonel Sanders” and finally, “Christmas with Colonel Sanders”.
8. Lil’ Flip – The Leprechaun
Weston Eric Weston Jr., also known as Lil’ Flip released his debut album when he was only 19, which might at least partially account for the cover he chose to use. The Leprechaun dropped in 2000 to the acclaim of ringtone rap and breakfast cereal aficionados worldwide. The album also caught the attention of DJ Screw, who dubbed Lil’ Flip “The Freestyle King”. I prefer to believe that it was Flip’s daring fashion choices that led to his first major label release going platinum, and not DJ Screw’s announcement of royalty.
7. Gerhard Polt – Leberkäs’ Hawaii
Gerhard Polt was a Bavarian writer/comedian that gained popularity in 70’s Germany as a cabaret artist. He released his third album in 1981 on Jupiter Records, “Leberkäs’ Hawaii” which roughly translates to Meat Loaf Hawaii. and actually is still alive and performing at 72 years old. He released his 20th album in 2014, “Als Wenn Man Ein Dachs Wär’ In Seinem Bau”.
6. World Class Wreckin’ Cru – Rapped in Romance
At first glance the cover of World Class Wreckin’ Cru’s second album, 1986’s “Rapped in Romance” doesn’t really seem to fit with the other entries on this list, and probably wouldn’t if the group hadn’t disbanded just two years later. Take a closer look at the guy in the red leather suit, because he would later become one of the founders of modern hip-hop. Dr. Dre wanted to leave the group shortly after the release of “Rapped in Romance” mainly because he didn’t like the aesthetic direction they were going in, but owed too much money to Kru-Cut records after they paid his bail several times and was unable to leave. This continued until 1988 when Dre was put in jail again and his bail was paid by a new upstart record company, Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records, who would release N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” later the same year.
5. Ken – By Request Only
Ken Snyder, best known only as Ken, was a Christian folk musician that toured the country singing his self-penned hymns to the devout in the mid-70’s. After fans demanded a release they could listen to in their homes, Ken went to a South Carolina studio and recorded “By Request Only”. The album was aptly named due to the fact it would never be sold in stores and was mostly sold out of Ken’s trunk at his shows. More recently a copy sold on ebay for nearly $150, but prices have dropped and you can own a copy for only $49 right now!
4. The Faith Tones – Jesus Use Me
The Faith Tones were originally a quartet of classically trained gospel pianists, but fourth member Roberta Long left the group shortly after its inception when she had a child. The remaining trio had some success in the southern baptist world of 1960’s North Carolina. They released their first single, “Jesus Use Me” in January 1964 and a full length LP later the same year. The single actually did well, reaching number 14 on the East Coast Gospel Chart and went on to later be covered by many gospel musicians, including Jimmy Swaggart.
3. Freddie Gage – All My Friends are Dead
Freddie Gage was an evangelist preacher for over six decades before his death in 2014, focusing his preaching on “underworld personalities”. Born in Texas, Gage traveled the country preaching mainly in Southern Baptist churches about the dangers of drugs. The third and final LP of his sermons was pressed in 1971, following 1969’s “The Drug Epidemic” and 1970’s “Pulpit in the Shadows” came “All My Friends Are Dead”.
2. Burt Ward & Frank Zappa – All New Dynamic Duo!
Seldom mentioned in discussions of Frank Zappa’s expansive and diverse catalog is this strange 45. The All New Dynamic Duo was released in 1986 and consisted of The Mothers of Invention led by a 21 year old Burt Ward and produced by Frank Zappa. Only the original pressings of this single have the cover pictured above, presumably because a cease and desist was issued from DC Comics. Whether Zappa was trying to make a statement about television or just capitalizing on the popularity of Robin, this record remains a strange gem to look out for.
1. Pat Cooper – Spaghetti Sauce and Other Delights
Herb Alpert’s world-famous album cover for 1965’s “Whipped Cream and Other Delights” has been parodied several times throughout the years, but this was first done by comedian Pat Cooper. Cooper released his second album “Spaghetti Sauce & Other Delights” in 1967 and spawned several other parody covers to follow it, most famously by Soul Asylum. The following are just a few of the awful covers that came to be.
preserved in wax 