The Best Country Album Cover Artwork
20. Dolly Parton - Hello, I'm Dolly
Well hello. Later records emphasized Dolly Parton's more pneumatic qualities, but this debut favored her earthier assets. This simple but striking portrait transforms the well-endowed singer into Tennessee's answer to the Mona Lisa.
19. Lefty Frizzell - Songs of Jimmie Rodgers
Like the secure man he was, Lefty wasn't afraid of dressing in pink. Here, Lefty Frizzell revisits the songs of one of his old-time heroes, Jimmie Rodgers, which explains the album's homespun art.
18. Hank Williams Jr. - Family Tradition
Hank Williams Jr. shows his boozing side with the cover to his hit 1979 album. What happened before the photographer showed up? We can only imagine. But it looks like just an average day for one of country music's favorite sons.
17. Jim Reeves - Jim Reeves Sings
Jim Reeves has all his corners covered. (Get it?) Reeves' debut album featured graphic, cut-and-paste artwork that was common during the '50s. The record is a hot property among collectors -- selling on auction sites for as much as $1,000.
16. The Judds - Why Not Me
The eerie resemblance between mother Naomi Judd (left) and daughter Wynonna Judd (right) is highlighted in the duo's second album, Why Not Me. Despite the creep factor, the 1984 record was one of The Judds' biggest successes, going double platinum and featuring the hit single "Mama He's Crazy."
15. Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
A colorful cast of characters crowds into this sensational cover, straight out of Kenny Rogers's classic story song "The Gambler." His fondness for the poker table makes sense for a singer who's spent a lot of time in Las Vegas.
14. Merle Haggard - Big City
Don't lean back, Merle! An optical illusion is the centerpiece of this Merle Haggard album sleeve -- with the city streets seeming to close in on the singer. But it's not just a gimmick; Haggard's songs have often explored the conflict between town and country.
13. Emmylou Harris - Blue Kentucky Girl
Emmylou Harris sings before a painted backdrop in this evocative album cover that plays with your depth perception. Past and present collide in both the visuals and the record's blend of new and traditional country styles.
12. Roger Miller - Roger and Out
Roger Miller is clearly out of his head with this whimsical cover. (Sorry.) But it's truth in advertising for an album that features such oddball cuts as "Squares Make the World Go Round" and "Dang Me."
10. Tanya Tucker - TNT
While it might seem odd to contemporary eyes, this cover art is part of the general enthusiasm for all things atomic post-WWII. Spade Cooley was regarded as one of the kings of Western Swing, but it's hardly shocking if you haven't heard of him. His career ended in scandal when he brutally murdered his wife -- and the music industry did its best to sweep him under the rug.
9. Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
Tanya Tucker turned up the sex with this campy album artwork. Her all-leather wardrobe was right in line with fashion sensibilities of the '70s, but a break with the conservative tastes of Nashville. TNT was released on Los Angeles' Geffen Records, responsible for a good portion of the decade's country rock output.
8. Wanted! The Outlaws
Target practice, anyone? A hypnotic succession of concentric circles probably wasn't what you were visualizing while listening to "Ring of Fire." But this album's arresting cover art is a bull's eye all the same.
7. Rosanne Cash - King's Record Shop
A holding cell's worth of country artists -- including Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser -- fill out this wanted poster. No word on what the reward is. Maybe some mighty fine music?
6. The Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
This photograph of Pee Wee King's record store in Louisville, Kentucky, offers everything that needs to be said; that includes the title for Rosanne Cash's 1987 album King's Record Shop. It won the Grammy award for Best Album Package. But even before the Photoshop era, you should be aware of some artistic license: Roseanne Cash was superimposed into the store's doorway from another photo.
5. Kinky Friedman - Sold American
This washed out photo features The Flying Burrito Brothers in their trademark marijuana-leafed Nudie suits. Their body language suggests the End Times -- or a massive high.
4. Johnny Cash - American Recordings
This irreverent record from Kinky Friedman features an equally unhinged cover. Look close and you can make out Nashville, a dirty spoon diner, a lonely horseman, and Star-of-David emblazoned on a mystical ten-gallon hat. This was Kinky's debut and its madcap charm was never to be repeated.
3. Porter Wagoner - Carroll County Accident
Johnny Cash returns as a mythic figure for a new age. With its sepia tone and stark contrasts, the art for this album set the tone for the back-to-basics approach of the American Recordings series. It also looked to the past by nodding to the black-and-white photographs of his Sun Records years
2. Dwight Yoakam - This Time
From the Technicolor cowboy suit to the tears coursing down Porter Wagoner's face, Carroll County Accident pumps up the melodrama. But that's all in keeping with the tragedy of its title song.
1. Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real
Going literal with your album art can sometimes be a mistake, but the trick worked with Dwight Yoakam. This Time has one of the best album covers of the '90s, despite not getting to see Yoakam's purty face.
The Louvin Brothers' fire-and-brimstone classic has an interesting backstory. The effigy of Satan was built by Ira and Charlie Louvin themselves and, according to the liner notes, the brothers were "nearly burned while ... directing the photography." Anything to fight the devil!
Well hello. Later records emphasized Dolly Parton's more pneumatic qualities, but this debut favored her earthier assets. This simple but striking portrait transforms the well-endowed singer into Tennessee's answer to the Mona Lisa.
19. Lefty Frizzell - Songs of Jimmie Rodgers
Like the secure man he was, Lefty wasn't afraid of dressing in pink. Here, Lefty Frizzell revisits the songs of one of his old-time heroes, Jimmie Rodgers, which explains the album's homespun art.
18. Hank Williams Jr. - Family Tradition
Hank Williams Jr. shows his boozing side with the cover to his hit 1979 album. What happened before the photographer showed up? We can only imagine. But it looks like just an average day for one of country music's favorite sons.
17. Jim Reeves - Jim Reeves Sings
Jim Reeves has all his corners covered. (Get it?) Reeves' debut album featured graphic, cut-and-paste artwork that was common during the '50s. The record is a hot property among collectors -- selling on auction sites for as much as $1,000.
16. The Judds - Why Not Me
The eerie resemblance between mother Naomi Judd (left) and daughter Wynonna Judd (right) is highlighted in the duo's second album, Why Not Me. Despite the creep factor, the 1984 record was one of The Judds' biggest successes, going double platinum and featuring the hit single "Mama He's Crazy."
15. Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
A colorful cast of characters crowds into this sensational cover, straight out of Kenny Rogers's classic story song "The Gambler." His fondness for the poker table makes sense for a singer who's spent a lot of time in Las Vegas.
14. Merle Haggard - Big City
Don't lean back, Merle! An optical illusion is the centerpiece of this Merle Haggard album sleeve -- with the city streets seeming to close in on the singer. But it's not just a gimmick; Haggard's songs have often explored the conflict between town and country.
13. Emmylou Harris - Blue Kentucky Girl
Emmylou Harris sings before a painted backdrop in this evocative album cover that plays with your depth perception. Past and present collide in both the visuals and the record's blend of new and traditional country styles.
12. Roger Miller - Roger and Out
Roger Miller is clearly out of his head with this whimsical cover. (Sorry.) But it's truth in advertising for an album that features such oddball cuts as "Squares Make the World Go Round" and "Dang Me."
10. Tanya Tucker - TNT
While it might seem odd to contemporary eyes, this cover art is part of the general enthusiasm for all things atomic post-WWII. Spade Cooley was regarded as one of the kings of Western Swing, but it's hardly shocking if you haven't heard of him. His career ended in scandal when he brutally murdered his wife -- and the music industry did its best to sweep him under the rug.
9. Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
Tanya Tucker turned up the sex with this campy album artwork. Her all-leather wardrobe was right in line with fashion sensibilities of the '70s, but a break with the conservative tastes of Nashville. TNT was released on Los Angeles' Geffen Records, responsible for a good portion of the decade's country rock output.
8. Wanted! The Outlaws
Target practice, anyone? A hypnotic succession of concentric circles probably wasn't what you were visualizing while listening to "Ring of Fire." But this album's arresting cover art is a bull's eye all the same.
7. Rosanne Cash - King's Record Shop
A holding cell's worth of country artists -- including Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser -- fill out this wanted poster. No word on what the reward is. Maybe some mighty fine music?
6. The Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
This photograph of Pee Wee King's record store in Louisville, Kentucky, offers everything that needs to be said; that includes the title for Rosanne Cash's 1987 album King's Record Shop. It won the Grammy award for Best Album Package. But even before the Photoshop era, you should be aware of some artistic license: Roseanne Cash was superimposed into the store's doorway from another photo.
5. Kinky Friedman - Sold American
This washed out photo features The Flying Burrito Brothers in their trademark marijuana-leafed Nudie suits. Their body language suggests the End Times -- or a massive high.
4. Johnny Cash - American Recordings
This irreverent record from Kinky Friedman features an equally unhinged cover. Look close and you can make out Nashville, a dirty spoon diner, a lonely horseman, and Star-of-David emblazoned on a mystical ten-gallon hat. This was Kinky's debut and its madcap charm was never to be repeated.
3. Porter Wagoner - Carroll County Accident
Johnny Cash returns as a mythic figure for a new age. With its sepia tone and stark contrasts, the art for this album set the tone for the back-to-basics approach of the American Recordings series. It also looked to the past by nodding to the black-and-white photographs of his Sun Records years
2. Dwight Yoakam - This Time
From the Technicolor cowboy suit to the tears coursing down Porter Wagoner's face, Carroll County Accident pumps up the melodrama. But that's all in keeping with the tragedy of its title song.
1. Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real
Going literal with your album art can sometimes be a mistake, but the trick worked with Dwight Yoakam. This Time has one of the best album covers of the '90s, despite not getting to see Yoakam's purty face.
The Louvin Brothers' fire-and-brimstone classic has an interesting backstory. The effigy of Satan was built by Ira and Charlie Louvin themselves and, according to the liner notes, the brothers were "nearly burned while ... directing the photography." Anything to fight the devil!
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