10 Things You Didn't Know About Famous Music Album Covers
5. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico – (1967)
Andy Warhol was one of the most influential artist of the 20th century, exploring the themes of consumerism, celebrity culture and the bohemian New York lifestyle. Besides from his lasting impression on the medium of pop art, he also helped shape The Velvet Underground.
Teaming up with Lou Reed and John Cale, he managed the band for a period of time during the late '60s. Warhol would often encourage them to perform live in front of projections of various arthouse films, and even pushed them to wear certain clothes that he thought were more suited to their avant-garde artsy personas.
The Velvet Underground, in many ways, became Warhol's ultimate multimedia artistic creation. He persuaded the band to incorporate the German singer, actress and model Nico into their first album. This helped define the ethereal haunting beauty that record has come to represent.
The iconic image he created for their album (mostly seen in a digital format, these days) only reveals a section of what's going on. The original vinyl release contained a yellow banana sticker, that when pealed away, revealed a pink banana beneath. Of course, people drew attention to the sexual connotation, particularly due to the topics of prostitutions and sadomasochism that were laced throughout the record.