Mod Black in use on the cover of Marvin Gaye and His Girls —
a 1969 compilation album of duets recorded by Marvin Gaye and various female singers on the Tamla label. Among the ladies Gaye sung with were Mary Wells (the hits “Once Upon a Time” and “What’s the Matter With You Baby”), Kim Weston (“What Good Am I Without You?” and “It Takes Two”) and Tammi Terrell (“Your Precious Love” and “Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy to Come By”).
Mod Black is a phototype adaptation of a piece of lettering by Ross F. George shown in his Speedball Text Book from 1941 as “Modern Caps” together with a lowercase (“moderns”). The typeface appears in Lettergraphics’ 1968 catalog as Mod Black. It’s listed in Castcraft’s 1978 catalog under the alias Carillon No. 2. There are several digitizations, including Blue Jay Way NF by Nick Curtis.
2 Comments on “Marvin Gaye and His Girls album art”
A variant of Mod Black is connected to Parker Plump with the three-dimensional NE shadow and without lines.
Damn right – well spotted, Jay! Thank you.