The significance of album covers

Until I left for college in 1973, our family owned one record player, which stood on top of the buffet in the dining room. If anyone wanted to listen to music, they had to play it there. This meant the family's record collection resided in a cabinet in the buffet and the eclectic and erotic nature of the album covers was a great opportunity for my enlightenment.

Mom and Dad 1970

Growing up as a child of strict Presbyterian parents, my knowledge of "the birds and bees" was limited to the doubtful information shared by girls at slumber parties. I didn't have an immediate need to know, since I didn't have any dates until I got to college, but I was curious, nonetheless.

The culture didn't help matters. With the 1965 album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, sex begin to permeate the music scene. Like every other household of the time,  we had this provocative album in our record collection. I remember surreptitiously gazing at the cover, fascinated by its artificiality. The girl was obviously sitting on a mound of cotton and just had the whipped cream on the top half of her body.  It escaped my 10-year-old observation that she was naked.
    

Later albums, purchased by my twin brother and upsetting my mother endlessly, were more overt. The Rolling Stones were the worst (or best depending on your perspective). Some Girls showed the band members as women; Beggars' Banquet featured some really interesting graffiti; and Sticky Fingers had a working zipper in Mick Jagger's jeans.

Albums could cost as much as $4 and they required real commitment to a group, plus lots of babysitting money. As a result, I usually purchased 45s at Place's dimestore downtown for about 50 cents. 45s had their limitations though and I tired quickly of the two songs they contained (the "hit" and generally unlistenable "B" side).

Rock groups, and therefore album covers, were also heavily drug oriented, a connection which also eluded me until I was middle aged (are you getting the idea I was kind of clueless?). All I asked for as a Christmas gift in 1967 was the album by my idols, The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which I played endlessly.  The fact that the band members were all under the influence of whatever drug was popular then (LSD I think) was lost on me.  I thought the songs were inspired (and I still do).