Interesting piece as always, Chris - really looking forward the book!
I'm sure that MTV spurred more labels into releasing singles with picture sleeves in the '80s, but weren't there also quite a few in the previous two decades? I own an almost-complete run of The Beatles original VeeJay and Capitol/Apple singles, all with [mostly] color picture sleeves completely different from the album art. I can also think of many U.S. Stones, Yardbirds,
Dylan, CCR and other 45s from the '60s with cool picture sleeves.
And in Europe and other 'Westernized' countries around the world there were a ton of 'em in the '70s - Led Zep, The Who, Dylan and almost any other well-known act you can mention had picture sleeve singles released outside the U.S. in the '70s, some of them graphically stunning.
And yes, when punk came in some very cool pic sleeves resulted, mostly from the UK.
I'm not contesting your information or conclusions, just calling attention to some of my favorite collectibles!
No, you’re right! There were 100% picture sleeves on 45s before the 80s, especially for major artists like The Beatles and CCR. It’s just less common than even I thought. In fact, that’s why I reached out to a few people on the topic because I was having trouble believing it as I trawled through Discogs. The other thing is that I tried to only look at initial pressings. Sometimes later versions got a picture sleeve. I appreciate the comment!
I'd argue that the picture sleeve revolution wouldn't have happened without punk/new wave. The Ramones, Dead Boys, Sex Pistols and a thousand other bands all issued singles in picture sleeves in the late '70s. As a teenager at the time, these were a HUGE draw, and definitely convinced me to buy records I otherwise might have overlooked.
This is fascinating. I started buying records during the 1970s and could swear a number of 45s had cover art. When I went to my collection and began randomly pulling out those that had interesting covers, almost every one I picked was from the 1980s. I then mentioned this to my husband who found two in his collection from 1966. One was by Henry Mancini and another by a group called The Cyrkle. I don't think I can attach a photo of them to this comment but it's interesting to see a couple of these from an era long before MTV.
I saw Billy Squier in concert on that tour. The opening band was Ratt.
What a lineup
Interesting piece as always, Chris - really looking forward the book!
I'm sure that MTV spurred more labels into releasing singles with picture sleeves in the '80s, but weren't there also quite a few in the previous two decades? I own an almost-complete run of The Beatles original VeeJay and Capitol/Apple singles, all with [mostly] color picture sleeves completely different from the album art. I can also think of many U.S. Stones, Yardbirds,
Dylan, CCR and other 45s from the '60s with cool picture sleeves.
And in Europe and other 'Westernized' countries around the world there were a ton of 'em in the '70s - Led Zep, The Who, Dylan and almost any other well-known act you can mention had picture sleeve singles released outside the U.S. in the '70s, some of them graphically stunning.
And yes, when punk came in some very cool pic sleeves resulted, mostly from the UK.
I'm not contesting your information or conclusions, just calling attention to some of my favorite collectibles!
https://open.substack.com/pub/hughjones/p/the-record-store-years-25-the-late?r=6o97f&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
No, you’re right! There were 100% picture sleeves on 45s before the 80s, especially for major artists like The Beatles and CCR. It’s just less common than even I thought. In fact, that’s why I reached out to a few people on the topic because I was having trouble believing it as I trawled through Discogs. The other thing is that I tried to only look at initial pressings. Sometimes later versions got a picture sleeve. I appreciate the comment!
I'd argue that the picture sleeve revolution wouldn't have happened without punk/new wave. The Ramones, Dead Boys, Sex Pistols and a thousand other bands all issued singles in picture sleeves in the late '70s. As a teenager at the time, these were a HUGE draw, and definitely convinced me to buy records I otherwise might have overlooked.
This is fascinating. I started buying records during the 1970s and could swear a number of 45s had cover art. When I went to my collection and began randomly pulling out those that had interesting covers, almost every one I picked was from the 1980s. I then mentioned this to my husband who found two in his collection from 1966. One was by Henry Mancini and another by a group called The Cyrkle. I don't think I can attach a photo of them to this comment but it's interesting to see a couple of these from an era long before MTV.
There are certainly some from pre-MTV but not as common as you’d think. Also shocked me. Also some got covers when they were re-pressed
Wow that's so interesting.