There was a time, not that long ago, when one of the most primo jobs a commercial illustrator could get was doing an album cover for a hot band or solo artist.
Below are a few examples of album art I came across recently and shot for you. These were from the really old days when the standard thing to do was to use the likeness of the performer on the cover.
Not much concept or marketing behind these. They’re pretty simplistic. As dated as they are however, in my opinion the illustrations lend a certain charm to the album cover. Charm that a photograph couldn't capture:
These last two go a bit further than the singers portrait, and venture into the montage realm:
