8 Bizarre Reasons Famous Album Covers Were Rejected
Some of the most iconic covers in the history of music very nearly...weren't.
These days, it's difficult to appreciate just how important album covers were to the music industry. Though still significant, the massive digitalization of music has reduced album art to merely a thumbnail on iTunes or Spotify.
Back when sales were dominated by vinyl records and CDs, album covers were a major part of what drew people to certain music on the shelves in-store. A great album cover might drastically increase the potential for sales, whereas an offensive one might seriously alienate consumers. Much like songs have demos and books have first drafts, album covers have previous iterations, versions that are selected then critiqued and often changed for various reasons. Often, the band's vision doesn't align with the record label's, which causes clashing and compromise. This same process extends for all album art even some of the most iconic covers in the history of music very nearly, well...weren't.8. The Beatles Posed With Raw Meat And Decapitated Baby Dolls
You've only got to take one look at this album cover to understand why it was rejected. While relatively tame in comparison with some of today's popular shock-obsessed artists, it's still bizarre seeing something so provocative coming from The Beatles.
In 1966, after becoming bored and jaded by traditional photo shoots, the band agreed to pose for photographer Robert Whitaker. Whitaker dressed the band in butcher's clothes and arranged them with pieces of meat and bits of plastic baby dolls. The band thought was hilarious, and Paul McCartney began pushing for one of the pictures to become the album cover for their upcoming record. The band saw it as satirical, and McCartney reportedly said that it was their comment on the Vietnam war. Around three quarters of a million copies of Yesterday And Today were printed with the infamous butcher album cover, but when they were sent out to dealers and retailers, the negative reaction was instant. The chairman of EMI records Sir Joseph Lockwood immediately recalled the album, fearing it would damage sales and tarnish their reputation.