Bringing It All Back Home is Bob Dylan’s fifth album, and his first to feature electric instruments.

The artist name and album title are set in the bold weight of Times New Roman, tightly-spaced and center-aligned above the striking cover photograph by Daniel Kramer.

[More info on Discogs]

The back cover typography uses a mix of Akzidenz-Grotesk (a.k.a. Standard) and Optima.

Radio City is the second album from the American rock band Big Star.

The front cover features the title and artist set in Bentley at a large point size, with the title using the outline style. On the back cover, Bentley is also used for the band members (in the outline style) and track listing, with additional credits in ITC Avant Garde Gothic. “Ardent Records are distributed by the Stax Organization” and some fine print underneath are set in all-caps Eurostile.

[More info at Discogs]

Songs for Swingin’ Lovers is an album from American vocalist Frank Sinatra, released in 1956 on Capitol Records.

Both artist name and title are set in Caslon 471/540 on the front cover, with the title broken up and set at varying angles. For the back cover, a mix of Futura and Textype Italic are used.

[More info on Discogs]

The back cover

Some pressings feature the same basic design, but with a different portrait in the background, with Sinatra looking at the swingin’ lovers. The added track names are in News Gothic, the lines at the top in Microgramma.

The Royal Scam is the fifth album from American rock band Steely Dan, released on ABC Records in 1976.

The artist and album title are set in all-caps Koloss, with an added shadow effect. On the back cover, the track listing and credits appear in all-caps Optima.

From Wikipedia:

The album's cover features an image of a man in a suit sleeping on a bus stop bench in Boston and dreaming of skyscrapers with monstrous animal heads at the top. [Larry] Zox originally created the painting of the skyscraper/beast hybrids for an unreleased Van Morrison album, and designer Ed Caraeff suggested superimposing a photograph of a sleeping vagrant taken by Charlie Ganse to make the cover for The Royal Scam. In the liner notes for the 1999 remastered reissue of the album, Fagen and Becker called it has “the most hideous album cover of the seventies, bar none (excepting perhaps Can’t Buy a Thrill).”

Tom Nikosey is credited with the typographic design.

[More info at Discogs]

The back cover

My Way is a 1969 album from singer Frank Sinatra, released on his Reprise Records label.

The artist and album title appear on the front cover in the book weight of Eras, in all-caps at a large size, with a very tight letterspacing such that many letters touch. The "Arranged and Conducted by Don Costa" text and song titles are set in all-caps Optima.

On the back cover, the artist and album title, track list, and liner notes are all Optima, with Univers for the small credits at the bottom. Art direction and photography by Ed Thrasher.

[More info on Discogs]

The back cover

September of My Years is a 1965 album from vocalist Frank Sinatra, released on Reprise Records.

On both the front and back cover, the artist name and title are set in Post Condensed. The arranger and conductor credit and song titles on the front cover are set in News Gothic, as are the track listing (featuring the Condensed), credits, and Stan Cornyn’s liner notes on the back cover. The “Stereo” text on the front cover is Hellenic Wide. Art direction by Ed Thrasher, with an illustration by George Bartell.

[More info on Discogs]

1970 album from American drummer and singer Buddy Miles, issued shortly after his membership in the short-lived Band of Gypsys along with guitarist Jimi Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox. The title cut is considered his best-known tune, and was also performed with Hendrix on the Band of Gypsys album.

The title and artist are set in Caslon Open, with a gold embossed effect on the original album cover. On the back cover, the song titles are likewise set in Caslon Open, with credits in an unidentified serif.

Album design by Richard Germinaro, with art direction from Desmond Strobel and photography by Burnell Caldwell. John Craig consulted on the design.

[More info on Discogs]

Gatefold

Back cover

Alternate cover for the Netherlands issue of the album on Fontana, with artist and title in Windsor Elongated

The LP front cover

Spinners Live! is a 1975 live album from the vocal soul group The Spinners, originally released as a double LP.

The front and back cover feature the text “Spinners Live!” in Pinball, at a large size spanning the full width of the album jacket. The track listing is set in Helvetica. Design by PorterWagnerDesign (Ilene Wagner and Eric Porter).

[More info on Discogs]

The LP back cover

The original front cover, from a 1979 printing (identical to the first edition’s)

Freight Train is a classic children’s book by author, illustrator, and designer Donald Crews, first published in 1978. The 24-page book was originally published by Greenwillow Books, and was one of the 1979 Caldecott Honor books.

The title and author name are set in tightly spaced Akzidenz-Grotesk. The text inside the book is set in Akzidenz-Grotesk, too, with the exception of Helvetica for the publisher’s name on the title page. Later editions also have Helvetica on the back cover (not pictured here).

Title page with the publisher’s name set in two weights of Helvetica

A page inside the book, from the 1978 first edition

Interior pages, from a later paperback edition

Interior pages, from a later paperback edition

Interior pages, from a later paperback edition

Back cover

This album of various movie themes from the mid to late 1970s features a plethora of typefaces on its cover:

“Themes from Star Wars” – ITC Avant Garde Gothic
“New York, New York” and “As Performed By The Birchwood Pops Orchestra” – Kabel Black
“The Deep” – Deutsch Black
“Black Sunday” – Bulletin Typewriter
“The Greatest” – Stymie
“A Bridge Too Far” – Helvetica
“Annie Hall” – Futura Display
“Exorcist II, The Heretic” – ITC Serif Gothic
“Rollercoaster” – Blippo

[More info on Discogs]

The back cover, nearly identical to the front

Heaven/Earth is a 1969 album from pop vocal group The Free Design.

The cover features the band name and album title set in Caslon No. 471 with its italic swash glyphs for the capitals, and roman for the lowercase. The album included a gatefold cover, with the heading and drop caps from another Caslon – probably (a version of) ATF’s Caslon Bold, of which the larger sizes were copied as Caslon 3.

[More info on Discogs]

Gatefold

Back cover

Front cover proof, with “Excellent!” comment in margin

Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out is a 1970 live album from English rock band The Rolling Stones. Originally slated to be a double album also featuring performances from Ike & Tina Turner and B.B. King at the same 1969 concerts featuring the Stones, it was trimmed to a single LP at the behest of Decca Records.

The album title and artist name are set in Beton, with the track listing and credits on the back cover in Rockwell. Unusually, the front cover photograph includes only drummer Charlie Watts, along with some of the band’s instruments and a donkey.

[More info on Discogs]

Back cover proof

Cover of the original release

Swingin’ New Big Band is a 1966 album from famed drummer Buddy Rich and his big band, recorded live at The Chez in Hollywood, CA.

The artist name and title on the front cover, as well as the track listing on the back cover, are set in Palisade Graphic, with the “Buddy Rich” and track listing text stretched to essentially create an artificial condensed style. The “Recorded ‘Live’ at the Chez” text is set in a thin weight of Eurostile. “Hollywood, California” is added in Univers Condensed.

[More info on Discogs]

For the stereo version, the whole design was shifted to the bottom, as it was commonly done.

Back cover

The original vinyl LP cover

Private Dancer is a 1984 album from singer Tina Turner, her fifth solo album after leaving the Ike & Tina Turner duo. The album is credited with launching her to solo stardom, and produced hits like the title track and “What’s Love Got To Do With It”. It was selected by the Library of Congress in 2020 for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

While the cover images of the original vinyl LP and CD releases were significantly different, they both featured similar typography, with the exclusive use of Onyx, with a mix of roman and oblique for “Tina”. This typographical identity was carried over to posters, advertisements, single covers, tour booklets, and other contemporary materials. The track listing on the back cover was also set in Onyx.

Tina Turner died last week, aged 83.

[More info at Discogs]

Vinyl LP insert with lyrics

Vinyl LP back cover

The original CD cover

Double page from the CD booklet, with lyrics

Back cover of the CD

Print advertisement, with headline in oblique Univers Ultra Condensed and copy in Univers Condensed Oblique

Poster

45 sleeve for the “Private Dancer” single, b/w “Nutbush City Limits”

1985 souvenir program for the Private Dancer tour, with “Private Dancer Tour 1985” set in Univers Ultra Condensed.

The original 1966 U.K. pressing

River Deep – Mountain High is a 1966 album from Ike & Tina Turner, produced by Phil Spector. It was originally issued in 1966 in the U.K. on Philles Records. Due to the failure of the title single to perform up to expectations in the U.S., the planned release of the album was cancelled. It was not issued stateside until 1969, on A&M Records.

The front cover features the artist name and album title set in Bookman Swash Italic, with a number of swashes and alternates, while the text “An Historic Recording By Phil Spector” is set in Univers Extended.

Tina Turner died last week, aged 83.

[More info at Discogs]

Back cover of the original 1966 U.K. pressing, with artists’ names and album title in Permanent Headline and Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed for the line below. Tony Hall’s liner notes are set in Century Expanded or similar; the track listing is added in Vogue Extra Bold Condensed.

The front cover of the 1969 U.S. issue, with added A&M Records logo

The back cover of the 1969 U.S. reissue. The soft bold serif at the top left is a boldened version of Post Condensed. On some pressings, it also appears on the front cover. The photograph was taken by Dennis Hopper (yes, the Dennis Hopper). Liner notes and track listing are set in Trade Gothic.

Ahead of The Beatles’ White Album by a full decade, Somethin’ Else by Cannonball Adderley features only a plain black background, allowing the typography to take center stage. All text is set in all-caps Franklin Gothic extra-condensed, with the album title and catalog number in white, artist name in yellow, and side musicians in blue.

As is typical with Blue Note Records releases of this era, the back cover uses mostly Bodoni, with Futura for the track titles, and some Vogue at the bottom.

[More info on Discogs]

Passover is the 2006 debut album from psychedelic rock band The Black Angels.

The album cover makes use of Mexcellent, heavily modified, removing the middle of the three lines from all characters and thickening the strokes, as well as slightly customizing the T and K glyphs. The back cover, including the track listing, is set entirely in Alternate Gothic.

[More info at Discogs]

Source: www.imdb.com License: All Rights Reserved.

The logo, as seen in a vintage TV advertisement

ShowBiz Pizza Place was a chain of family-oriented pizza restaurants that opened its first locations in 1980, and—similar to Chuck E. Cheese, their one-time competitor which they eventually acquired—featured an animatronic band show and arcade games.

The original logo was set in Frankfurter Bold. The logo of their animatronic "house band", The Rock-afire Explosion, was based on a Bookman, with a generous use of swashes and alternates.

ShowBiz Pizza acquired their competitor Chuck E. Cheese in 1984, and in the early 1990s gradually phased out all ShowBiz Pizza theming in favor of Chuck E. Cheese. The restaurant and, in particular, the band have become something of a cult favorite, and The Rock-afire Explosion was even the subject of a 2008 documentary.

Source: wbkr.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Restaurant signage

Source: www.pinterest.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Plastic sign with the band logo

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The members of ShowBiz Pizza’s animatronic band, The Rock-afire Explosion

Source: burgerbeast.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Print ad with coupons featuring Helvetica Compressed

Source: www.showbizpizza.com License: All Rights Reserved.

The stage setup for the animatronics

Source: www.worthpoint.com License: All Rights Reserved.

A set of five vintage Rock-afire Explosion dolls

Source: www.reddit.com License: All Rights Reserved.

The Bloomingdale, IL, Showbiz Pizza Place, opened in 1981 and closed circa 1988. The sign above the door uses ITC Korinna with faux small caps.

Rhythm In Motion is a 1961 album from Johnny Williams and His Orchestra. Johnny Williams would later become far better known as John Williams, composer of film scores for Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and many others, as well as the Music Director of the Boston Pops from 1980 to 1993.

The front cover features the title and artist name set in all-caps Eurostile Bold [or rather Microgramma Bold, see comments], quite large, with some smaller text – “and His Orchestra” and song titles – in Old Gothic Bold Italic. On the back cover, the the itle and artist name are in Univers and the track titles in News Gothic Bold. The liner notes by Jim Harbert are set in Akzidenz-Grotesk. Cover photo by Scott Hyde.

[More info on Discogs]

Back cover

The vinyl LP with some of the original sheet music (Courtesy of JoAnn Kane Music Service on Instagram)

Front cover of the original LP cover, with faces from inner sleeve side 1

Some Girls is a 1978 album from the English rock band The Rolling Stones, generally regarded as something of a comeback after a few years of declining popularity.

The album cover was designed by Peter Corriston with illustrations by Hubert Kretzschmar. Making use of an elaborate die-cut design, it inserts the faces of the Rolling Stones and various female celebrities into a vintage advertisement by Valmor Products Corporation. This design was quickly met with a lawsuit due to the unauthorized use of the likenesses of Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Judy Garland, Raquel Welch, and Marilyn Monroe. The album was quickly reissued with a redesigned cover that removed the celebrities. Valmor also took legal action and was awarded money for the reuse of their design.

“The Rolling Stones” is set in Flash Bold, and “Some Girls” is Brush Script. A wide variety of other typefaces are used in the advertising copy. “AFRO” might be Filmotype Homer with alternates. The bold scripty caps used for “WIZ-WIG” are from an unidentified source – Bold Mercantile Italic is in the same ballpark [edit: they appear to be derived from Kalligraphia, see comments].

[More info on Discogs]

Inner sleeve side 1

Detail showing the die-cuts

Front cover with faces from inner sleeve side 2

Inner sleeve side 2

Front cover with faces from inner sleeve side 2, variant with different color order, EMI Electrola, Germany

Back cover, Dutch version, EMI Records Holland

Magazine advertisement

Original version (bottom), revised version (top)

The revised cover, which removed the celebrity images

Interior sleeve side 1, revised

Interior sleeve side 2, revised

A third version of the album cover with the hand-drawn faces from the original Valmore ad was used on the 1986 CD reissue.