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The number of vinyl LPs I have purchased simply because of the album
cover design is probably in the thousands!
Loring Eutemey is one of the
designers/illustrators responsible for that.
The number and variety of musicians he has designed covers for is truly amazing. At the top of the list, for me, is
Iron Butterfly for their second album,
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (
link below). He designed the cover for
My Favorite Things by
John Coltrane. Then there was
Wild Thing by the
Troggs (originally called the
Troglodytes);
Sam Kinison did an absolutely hilarious send up of the song and the mood completely fits my first impression of it (
link below).
photo: KEYSTONE Pictures USA
One of my very favorite records is the second album by
Bette Midler;
Richard Amsel
did the illustration, Eutemey did the design. I had never heard of Midler
but when I saw the album cover, I bought it and loved the range of music on it (
link below). Needless to say, I was not
disappointed!
Eutemey did the cover design for the album of the
Off-Broadway show,
The Golden Screw by
Tom Sankey. A brilliant project but unfortunately, one few people know of (
link below).
The list of the artists he has worked with goes on and on.
Archie Bell & the Drells, The Young Rascals (later known as
The Rascals),
Otis Redding,
Ray Charles,
Ike Turner,
Ben E. King,
Herbie Mann,
The Coasters,
João Gilberto,
Mel Torme,
Acker Bilk,
Solomon Burke,
Esther Phillips,
Leslie Uggams,
Joe Tex,
Eddie Harris,
Donny Hathaway,
Ornette Coleman,
The Slow Slushy Boys,
a French rock, soul, and R&B band that's been active on the
underground scene from the early 90's (I love this group simply for the
name) and dozens more.
Eutemey
has done over four hundred album covers. Unfortunately, I do need to
keep the list of the artists under control as it would be endless.
I could not find the date of his birth nor an image of him but he grew up at Revere Place in
Brooklyn, and graduated from
Samuel J. Tilden High School. After graduating from
Cooper Union,
where he trained as a graphic designer, he began his career at Push Pin
Studios during its early days. Later he became a freelance illustrator
and graphic designer, widely recognized for his distinctive album cover
designs for
Atlantic Records.
After a short illness,
Loring Eutemey died in 2013 on the 22nd of September, in his apartment in
Manhattan. He was 82 years old.
Viewfinder links:
YouTube links: The Slow Slushy Boys -
