Cars have been a common source of inspiration for rock and pop musicians for as long as the genres have existed. “Rocket 88,” an ode to Oldsmobile released by Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner in 1949, is often cited as the first true rock ‘n roll song. Since the, songwriters as diverse as Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Sammy Hagar, Tracy Chapman, and Marc Cohn, to name but a few, have produced timeless songs dedicated to their experiences with cars. And then, of course, there’s Bruce Springsteen, whose unparalleled frequency of car references make him the poet laureate of the automobile. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some car related album covers.
Ironically enough, considering that he has produced literally dozens of songs on the subject, Springsteen himself has never featured a car on one of his album covers. Luckily for us at CC, many artists have, and often to great artistic effect. Two recent, consecutive CC contributions, namely Aaron Severson’s reference of Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone cover and Peter Wilding’s pic of a gorgeous green Duster 340 model – inspired me to consider the best albums to feature an automobile on their cover art.
A great cover doesn’t make an album great, just as a crappy cover can’t ruin an excellent collection of songs. But when a solid album is wrapped in a compelling piece of art, the sensory experience is elevated. As both a car guy and a vinyl collector, I hereby establish the Automotive Cover Art Hall of Fame, for which I have 5 eligibility criteria:
- It must be the front cover art of an album-length release (singles don’t qualify, nor does the hot Trans Am on the back cover of Sammy Hagar’s Street Machine).
- The album has to be a work by a generally well-known artist – as in the average person of the appropriate age would recognize their name and could probably name a song or two from their catalog.
- The featured art must depict a regular production automobile (not a stylized rendering like the futuristic vehicles on Neil Young’s Trans).
- The car does not have to be the focal point, it just needs to lend some visual interest to the cover concept.
- The album must be at least 10 years old (sorry Billy Strings – that 1972 Chevelle is sweet, but you have to wait your turn).
Here, in no particular order, is my inaugural class of inductees:
The Cars – Heartbeat City (1984)
While the album was not quite to the standard set by their ridiculously great first two albums, it was a solid outing with a number of classic tracks, such as “Magic”, “You Might Think”, and “Drive”. The luscious gatefold cover, featuring a ’71 Duster 340, is inarguably their all-time greatest hit.
Kiss – Dressed to Kill (1974)
While the album has the distinction of giving future generations the anthemic “Rock and Roll All Nite”, it contains several much better tracks. “Rock Bottom” and “She” are as good as anything they’ve done. The cover is perhaps their best, as it eschews their trademark machismo, comic-book imagery in favor of a subdued and ironic image of the band putting in another day at the office. The car here was a happy accident – this shot was taken on a streetcorner in New York City, and the early Colonnade LeMans just happened to coincide with the shutter click. It solidifies the imagery of this being just another day in the city, though if you look closely, you can see the driver looking on in curiosity at the rather unexpected foursome.
Chris Isaak – Forever Blue (1995)
The cover, featuring a 1964 Cadillac, perfectly sets the vibe for this moody, midtempo gem. Is there anything more rockabilly-hip than an old Caddy? If this album isn’t in your collection, I’m sorry.
Grateful Dead – Shakedown Street (1978)
A mixed bag of an album (the Dead meets disco) but the carspotting on the urban streetscape cover is priceless. You can feel the motion of the 1965 Eldorado and 1967 Olds passing on a busy boulevard, and I always appreciate when an artist takes the time to provide realistic depictions of automobiles.
Aerosmith – Pump (1989)
A musical return to form, graced by a clever – if not quite subtle – photo of two International K-series trucks getting to know each other a little better.
The Killers – Battle Born (2012)
A 1971 Challenger vs a Mustang? Horsepower meets horse power in the desert. “Runaways” and “From Here on Out” are standout tracks on an excellent yet underappreciated release.
Streetlife Serenade – Billy Joel (1974)
While it did provide a few standouts – “The Entertainer” being among his best works – this was a lesser album in Joel’s early catalog. The cover, with that perfectly-rendered gold 1970-73 Camaro and early Chevy Van, could grace a gallery wall.
Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (1977)
Gabriel’s first solo work after his departure from Genesis is also the first of four consecutive LP releases entitled, simply, Peter Gabriel. As such, each album has a nickname, with this one’s being – are you ready for it? – Car. The ‘car’ is purportedly a 1974 Lancia 2000, although this detail study makes that difficult to confirm or deny. Regardless, it is visually stunning, and I can’t see the image without mentally hearing the opening line of “Solsbury Hill”.
Late for the Sky – Jackson Brown (1974)
Both the album, and the cover featuring a 1954 Chevy Bel-Air, rank as masterpieces.
The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
The most icon car ever made, on the most iconic band’s most iconic cover. While the real Beatles are the focal point, the white Beetle (Beatle?) has its back to us as it faces the long road toward the horizon’s vanishing point. Is it bidding us farewell? A perfect sentiment for what would be the final artistic output of the legendary band.
So what say you, CCers – do you have any other nominees for this esteemed hall?
Shut Down Volume 2 by the Beach Boys featuring the iconic GTO vs. Corvette matchup.
Also, the hot rod, the ’32 Ford roadster, on the Little Deuce Coupe LP cover. (though this may run afoul of the “regular production automobile” criteria)
It’s a good thing the Beach Boys weren’t British; “little deuce koo-PAY” wouldn’t have fit the meter of the song…
I immediately thought of …
Best ever….
Beat me to it, Elky.
I love ZZ Top, but didn’t include this in my personal HOF primarily because I don’t have a thing for pre-war cars. I do like the Recycler cover quite a little bit.
Black Keys El Camino, which actually has a first-generation Chrysler minivan on the cover.
ZZ Top Eliminator with their custom Hot Rod which was named the eliminator.
Kendrik Lamar with MAAD city with a third-gen Chrysler minivan that seems inspired by the back keys one.
Radio Head OK computer album cover with the I91 I 84 interchange in Hartford CT (mainly because I drive thru that interchange most days.) and its a fantastic album.
Candy-O by the cars – that steering wheel!
Ok, not just the steering wheel….
Cover of Candy-O (1979) by The Cars (left) and the photograph on which the cover-art was based.
The line-art rendering on the cover of The Cars’ Candy-O was created by Peruvian-American painter of pin-ups Alberto Vargas (1896–1982) who, as well as being acknowledged as the definitive exponent of what came to be called “cheesecake girls”, was between 1956-1958 a judge for the Miss Universe beauty contest. Mr Vargas came out of retirement for the commission, induced apparently by a niece who was a fan of the music, something with which he was at the time wholly unacquainted. The artist’s technique required a photograph on which he could base the image so a photo-shoot was arranged at a nearby Ferrari dealership which, perhaps surprisingly, agreed to have the statuesque, stiletto clad model sprawl over the hood of a 365 GTC/4 then on the lot. There’s no mention of damage to the Rosso Nearco paint so all’s well that ends well. Nearco (1935–1957) was a famous Italian thoroughbred and the factory paint code was 2.664.032; it was a subtly-metallic shade of red rather darker than the classic Rosso Corsa (Racing Red).
The model in the photo shoot (a substitute after the original had second thoughts upon seeing the scantiness of the outfit) was Candy Moore (who later appeared in the movie Lunch Wagon (1981)) but the name was a coincidence, the album’s title (and sixth track on side one of the original release) locked in long before the shoot. As is usually the case with photo-shoots, a number of images were taken and one of the determining factors in the choice was its compositional suitability for use on the 12.375 inch (314.3 mm) square format of album art, the one selected among the last on the roll. Being a cheesecake artist, Mr Vargas of course used a little licence in his interpretation and (with all due respect to the lovely Ms Moore) few would claim his enhancements don’t add to the appeal. The other coincidence attached to the model’s name is she’s often confused with the actress Candace Lee Klaasen (b 1947) who worked under the stage name Candy Moore, appearing in well-known television series including Leave It to Beaver, and The Lucy Show. Surprisingly, even the usually accurate IMDb (Internet Movie Database) gets the two mixed-up.
Another Jackson Browne Album. Is this a Buick Special floating along?
No ;
It’s a Mercedes Benz W123 Coupe .
-Nate
Not my taste in music, but I believe Valiant Swart in the Afrikaner language means black Valiant.
Yes – and the singer took that stage name (his given name is Pierre Nolte) in honor of the black Valiant that his parents owned when he was a kid.
I may be the only person anywhere who even remembers this one, but it’s always stuck in head my despite: 1) Having absolutely zero interest in Cross, and 2) Cross, aside from a bad training crash, having no racing cred whatsoever. Nice shot, though.
Here is a pic of the cover
Oh fun!
One of my favorite artists – Randy Newman – has a tendency to put cars on his album covers. The Little Criminals album features Randy standing on a highway overpass (in Los Angeles?) and there are all sorts of cars behind him. Trouble in Paradise has Randy posing in front of (something GM…surely folks here can ID it) what I’m guessing may be his own car.
Trouble in Paradise is the album on which appears the song I Love LA. The video of this is worth watching for many many more cars…including Randy himself driving his own 1955 Buick Special convertible through the whole thing.
Love that video. I still remember seeing it for the first time on Night Flight.
How does one miss this even if a soundtrack of well known artists
I’m not into rap whatsoever but those guys sure do like to use cars on their albums.
Indeed. Sir Mix-a-Lot: Mack Daddy.
Least we not forget the Buick on the Car Over the Lake album by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
One more, particularly apropos for today as the artist just passed (age 81) this morning.
Jimmy Cliff’s soundtrack album for the Harder They Come….and the 1970 Mercury on the cover.
Yep the first thing I though of was Late for the Sky.
Shared by many of us.
Has to be that scene of gilded strife on the front cover of 10cc’s How Dare You, featuring a car already a period piece in 1976, a bright red Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III Sports Convertible. The stand-out tracks were of course “I’m Mandy, Fly Me” and “Art For Art’s Sake”.
How about Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, KEEP ON PUSHING (1964)? (That’s an E-type Jaguar they’re pushing.)
Let’s also add “Weird Al” Yankovic album “Straight outta Lynnwood”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soli4.jpg
I think Slim Dusty with his 361,000 mile Ford, Old Purple, speaks to me.
Does the second Roxy Music album also belong on this list?
Springsteen is certainly not known for featuring cars on his album covers, but there have been a couple.
1987s Tunnel of Love featured a partial shot of what I think is a Cadillac, and 1982s Nebraska features a shot looking out the windshield of an older car or truck.
Nebraska from 1982
Well shoot, I somehow overlooked TOL. Funny considering two of my all-time favorite Bruce tracks is on that one, Tougher than the Rest and When You’re Alone.
Given their lyrics one would think Bruce and Seger would have more car album sleeve art. Seger has a motorcycle and Bruce TOL.
Roy Orbison, Lonely And Blue:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonely_and_Blue#/media/File:Lonely_and_Blue_-_Roy_Orbison.jpg
This subject really appeals to me, and I have purchased a number of albums solely for the cars on the cover, regardless of the music…
A favourite is Cecil Taylor’s Stereo Drive (featuring John Coltrane and Aston DBR2):
Another is this album of middling latin easy listening music, featuring an early 50’s Ferrari 225S attracting some attention near the Buenos Aires Obelisk…
Roy Orbison, Lonely and Blue album:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Lonely_and_Blue_-_Roy_Orbison.jpg
More easy listening, this time with Facel Vega Facellia (?) and an equally classy lady!
Alexander O’Neal’s self-titled album from 1985, which I still have on vinyl.
And finally a landmark album about cruising on the autobahnen with Kafers and Heckflossen! Love the band appearing in the rearview mirror too.
This is an easy one for me. The Geep from Gorillaz’s self titled debut album.
Cadillacs Spending A Night At Jazz. Ramsey Lewis. The In Crowd. 1965
I’m assuming you’re trying to attach the sleeve.
Starbuck: Moonlight Feels Right. I don’t think it’s meant to be a specific make and model.
Also HIT AND RUN HOLIDAY (1995), by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, featuring a 1970 Chevrolet Malibu SS.
Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson sings Newman with a painting of a “Spirit of Motion” Graham.
The back of the same album.
The Time: Ice Cream Castle. You get a better look at the car in the video.
https://youtu.be/F9Y9flntJxE?si=-cFsU54Ozfj8zsp-
“A Date With Elvis” in a 1959 Cadillac convertible.
Music from a different genre from everything above. French horn player Sarah Willis mixing classical and Cuban music (album called Mozart y Mambo, released a few years ago). It’s excellent music, and a typically Cuban Chevy convertible on the album cover:
Another photo of the car from the same photo shoot:
It’s Bad You Know
As a (former) Brit – The Streets “Hard way To make an easy Living”….
VW Type 3 Squareback with EMPI wheels anyone?
Here’s a close approximation, (or a prediction?) of a Cybertruck in Rush’s 1985 song-video, The Big Money. I know, this is not an album cover.
Red Barchetta by Rush is represented by this car in their video of this song: (I guess you can tell who my favourite band is)
Rush is a great band and the Dino is my favorite car.
Did you happen to catch the Rush reference in my Cougar COAL last week?
Sorry I did not catch your reference.
Now I have to go back and reread your COAL, Brian.
Rush is my favorite band as well, and you’d think I would’ve caught it.
Ok, I DID see that… I thought you may’ve meant a lyrical reference, not an actual reference to having seen the band! – My Bad.
Last time I saw them was on the Grace Under Pressure tour. Man I’m old…
I missed that in paying attention to the details of the Cougar. Nice! The Gorge, what a name. I’m going to see Rush 2/3 (as I call them now) in concert again next year. R50. Last time was R40.
A one off I believe is displayed in a hotel in Vas Vegas.
*Ben Vaughn -Rambler 65 -depicts his coupe as his recording studio, complete with labels.
*Robert Palmer – Some People Can Do What They Like – Ford taxi in the background as he plays strip poker
*The Best of Grateful Dead – Skeletons From The Closet -Bucky Fuller’s Dymaxion Car on the back….
Too bad it’s an EP. I suppose if it was an LP I’d complain that it’s a GM product. Cool sleeve art regardless:
My favorite Impala. My favorite ‘American Beauty’, though, is by the Grateful Dead.
Ry Cooder, Into the Purple Valley
It is a classic piece of automotive Americana.
A favourite album and cover. Since most of switched from vinyl album art is harder to appreciate. My wife worked in a record store in the 70s and they displayed all their albums in the walls so you see all of the full covers. She still remembers all the covers.
Too bad they had a flat.
AC/DC, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. This is actually the back cover. The front cover is the same scene, including the band members. You can see a little of that D Citroen, but not much.
That is a surprise, it is very different to the cover we got in Australia in 1976, which featured cartoon artwork of Bon and Angus.
I wouldn’t have associated AC/DC with a Citroen though, more likely a Monaro or a Torana back then.
I assumed from the palm trees that the photo was taken in Los Angeles, where bringing in an Australian car for the shoot would have been expensive. But maybe it was shot in Australia. I don’t know if they deliberately put the Citroen in the photo, or if it was just there.
The front cover.
Peter, Paul and Mary “1700” featured a 1930 Graham-Paige.
Flatt and Scruggs “ The Story of Bonnie and Clyde” featured a 1929-30 Packard.
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils had “The Car Over The Lake Album”.
Black Oak Arkansas album of the same name feature a 1940’s Chevy 2 ton truck.
Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, Two Great Guitars.
Roy Orbison, Lonely and Blue album. 1960 Chrysler convertable, maybe a 300F?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonely_and_Blue#/media/File:Lonely_and_Blue_-_Roy_Orbison.jpg
Junior Brown has a nice B series Mack on the cover of Semi Crazy and Alvin Lee has an Autocar on the cover of Detroit Diesel.
First album I thought of was The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. It’s probably the second-most re-enacted album cover ever after the Beatles’ Abbey Road; a day doesn’t go by when some couple doesn’t try to recreate the cover image, Bob and Suze walking down a snowy New York street, Suze Roloto clutching onto an underdressed Dylan’s arm trying to stay warm, with a third person in tow to capture it on film (see https://www.curbed.com/article/bob-dylan-jones-street-photos-fandom-timothee-chalamet.html )
The scene wouldn’t be quite as iconic though without that VW bus parked alongside them. The split-window van belonged to a butcher who owned a still-extant meat market, who had recently traded in a ’61 Pontiac Catalina wagon for VW. Somehow, the cover photo wouldn’t have been so iconic if instead of a VW splitty instead there was a Pontiac station wagon, or a ’61 Plymouth or a Rambler or an Edsel or an Oldsmobile. There are, of course, several online deep dives into the VW bus and its story, but while the new ’63 bus that it was traded in for is still accounted for, the whereabouts of the Freewheelin’ van are unknown. (see: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/24/bob-dylan-iconic-vw-van-blue-camper-freewheelin-new-york )
The “BJ”, cover is very “Edward Hopper”.
M3 anyone?
…or Volvo brick…
…and a plethora of Econolines….(or is it an economy of Econolines?)
But wait! There’s more…Who could forget the iconic Boom Boom Satellites and their album Out Loud with an Alpine A110?
….or Fu Manchu’s highly acclaimed “King of the Road”, with it’s plethora (economy?) of Econolines?
I’ll finish with a bus – a magic one at that…
This doubledeckertastic one…
Cannonball Adderley, Sophisticated Swing.
Mercedes Benz 300S roadster, mid 50’s.
Jimmy Smith, Crazy Baby.
Jaguar XK120 (140?), 1948-54
Ry Cooder, Mambo Sinuendo.
1959 Cadillac.
Image did not post (1200×1200). Trying again @ 800×800 pixels…
It would have been shot in LA, and I’m sure the Citroen was random.
I was unaware of the later release of the US version.
I’m gonna finish with another bus – GM this time on the cover of the platinum album from the internationally acclaimed Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters…
Awesome idea for a post!
My submission is technically disqualified as I can’t find it was ever on vinyl, being released in the CD era. I’m surprised for how many country songs, even more now than in the past, feature trucks yet few covers actually feature them that I can find. Again, more do today, but sometimes it’s an inset pic, maybe the artist in an unidentifiable cab. Usually a complete classic you’d never see outside of a show.
So I have to go with Brad Paisley & Mud on the Tires. Featuring a then contemporary GMT800 (I can’t see the headlights or side badging well enough to tell Chevy or GMC) tying together the album title & title track.
A late entry…”Riding with the King” with Eric Clapton and B.B. King riding in a Cadillac convertible.
2022 reissue:
My favorite – which actually has a song of the same title.
Incredible song, an all-time favorite lyric. The track was on his debut, self-titled album, which sadly didn’t include a thunderbird. That must be the cover art for the single.
The classic tri-fold album cover of the Carpenters’, “Now and Then,” album that featured an illustration of Karen Carpenter sitting in the passenger seat and Richard Carpenter driving away from their family home on Newville Avenue in Downey, California in Richard’s Ferrari Daytona.
https://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/Album_NowAndThen.htm
Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Album 1700” which featured Peter Yarrow’s 1930 Graham-Paige.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album_1700#/media/File:Album_1700.jpg
Command Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Country Casanova.
Forever Blue is all heartbreak, all the time. The first time I played the album I thought Chris Isaak decided to at least give it an upbeat ending by closing the album with “I Believe” (“I believe that some day we’re gonna find our way / I believe that some day we’ll be satisfied / And I believe in a beautiful day / Yeah I believe it’s gonna work out ok”), only to follow all that with “But not for me…”. I love it.
I’ll also nominate Chris Rea’s Auberge, which topped the charts in his native UK in 1991. Its cover portrays just the sort of road I’d like to drive my Caterham Super Seven on.
Yes, it is beautiful heartbreak. If you’re not familiar with “Late for the Sky”, it’s a similar vein. Profoundly sad, achingly beautiful.
Beach Boys: Hawthorne CA
Beach Boys: Surfin’ Safari
Beach Boys: Songs From Here and Back
Dick Curless, A Tombstone Every Mile. Does a scale model of a big rig count?
Lowell Fulson Now. “Fulsom” is a typo.
Crazy that it made it past proof with that typo. Awesome Eldo.
The Classic Roy Orbison
McLemore Avenue by Booker T. & the MGs. Covers of several of the songs on the Beatles’ Abbey Road. Of course the cover, which has a few cars in the background, obviously evokes the cover of Abbey Road.
https://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/B/bookerT_mcl.html
Just came across this one. No idea why a 57 Chevy is used in this artwork.