In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics 1940-1960 [Paperback]

Eric Kohler (Author), Tony Bennett (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

What the much-admired Blue Note: The Album Cover Art and Blue Note 2 did for jazz, In the Groove does for the sounds of the '40s and '50s, when swing and bebop took off. Selected for their noteworthy design and wonderful illustrations, these visual stunners range from jazz to popular tunes to classical and Latin styles. But it's the lounge vibe that truly runs wild as we tour more than 300 sensational album covers, including seldom-seen issues from Decca, Blue Note, and other labels. A brief text explains what design was like before the photograph took over and how the invention of the LP changed the record business forever. Author Eric Kohler also introduces the stand-out designers and key labels of the period. Cole Porter, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Desi Arnaz, Carmen Miranda their best album covers are all here, and they're all sizzlin' in the heyday of hip. Easy on the eyes, In the Groove is the real thing: the great covers created by the great designers for the musical greats of yesteryear.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whaddya know--turns out size does matter. In this stunning collection of album cover art from 1940 to 1960, it is instantly apparent that despite the advantages CDs may have in the technology or convenience departments, vinyl albums--even based on their sheer proportions--have always been way cooler. This is especially true for this particular era, when cover art was truly an art form, with talented designers handcrafting individualized jackets influenced by surrealism, cubism, and modern artists of the day. And as Tony Bennett says in his preface, "they were large enough to make you feel like you were taking home your very own work of art."

Author Eric Kohler, a graphic designer and album cover artist himself, selected these 250 gorgeous covers from his own collection of over 3,000. He offers a captivating history of the early record industry, addressing the invention of the phonograph in 1877, the near demise of the industry due to competition with radio, and the rejuvenating introduction of the jukebox in 1935. Prior to Columbia Records' release of the 33 rpm vinyl LP in 1948, music fans were restricted to 78s--easily breakable, shellac-based records that could only hold four minutes' worth of music on each side. Victor Records made a competitive strike with the 45 (hence turntables with 33, 45, and 78 options), but its success was limited. Until the 1980s, the LP ruled the land with its roomy cardboard cover--a perfect canvas for artists.

Kohler's focus is on the graphic artists themselves--revolutionaries of the industry. Previously, albums had plain covers that advertised phonograph and record companies rather than performers. But when designer Alex Steinweiss entered the scene in 1939 (at the tender age of 23) he changed the business of cover art forever. Kohler illustrates the styles of eight such prominent cover artists--Steinweiss's trademark curly-scrawl script, Jim Flora's cartoonish images recalling Joan Miró and Paul Klee--with such accuracy that readers are able to immediately recognize and differentiate their work. Although the sun shone on these artists for only a brief time (the advent of photographic covers in the late 1950s all but obliterated their influence), these 20 years paint a fascinating portrait of popular music, modern art, and even business development. Best of all, Kohler serves up page after glorious, glossy page of big, beautiful album covers. --Brangien Davis

Review

Reviews from: THE NEW YORKER

PULSE!

During the post-Swing record boom of the forties and fifties, young illustrators with a love of jazz, pop, and classical music invented the ultimate dream job: designing album covers for the likes of Xavier Cugat, Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiians, and the Andre Kostelanetz orchestra. This arresting guide includes the best work of such designers as Alex Steinweiss, who was the first to put art on both 78s and LPs; the frenetic, Rivera-inspired Jim Flora; and Erik Nitsche, who brought cool Swiss design to record jackets before the onslaught of rock and roll.

by David Greenberger
Any look at a 20-year period of record covers will be subject to the taste of your guide. In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics, 1940-1960 is blessed with an excellent shepherd—Eric Kohler is both knowledgeable about the era, and he exhibits uniformly excellent taste. The book features hundreds of covers, all in color. One chapter covers the '40s and three of its leading designers; another chapter handles the '50s and five of its pivotal practitioners (it was a growing field). From Jim Flora's humorous inventions to David Stone Martin's moody evocations of jazz, this book is filled with images that have become part of our culture's visual language. Erik Nitsche's work in the classical-music to look like. Compare his riveting work to classical-music field likewise set the tone for what we understand orchestral music to look like. Compare his riveting work to classical music's other art direction trend of simply obtaining the rights to a famous painting and plopping it in a border into the middle of the cover. This book should be in the hands of every music fan and every record-label art department. While we shouldn't try to relive the past, it's essential to remember its important lessons and inventions.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811821218
• ISBN-13: 978-0811821216
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long, lost days of style., July 31, 2001

By 

"ramen_freak" (Rutherford, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics 1940-1960 (Paperback)

As a graphic designer, I get so flustered when I see the same old CD covers now: a photo of the artist or band, and their name scribbled on top, or a really un-inspired text treatment, most likely using some wretched Photoshop tool like, alien skin or eye candy- blech! Perhaps modern day CD's skimp on the design work of the covers because they are so much smaller now. But back in the days of LP's and 45's art was generously splashed on covers. Full-colored, stylized and oh, so hip! Each one fit to be framed and displayed. "In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics, 1940-1960" effectively chronicles the history of this long, lost art-form in a picture-book style. I say picture-book, because of the lack of background information on many of the pieces, in fact there are quite a few pieces that are listed as "unknown designer", how unfortunate! Some poor old designer dedicated his or her life to creating some stunning art to attract music lovers' eyes to this or that particular record, and now they're the "unknown designer". Eric Kohler did his best grouping together styles of record graphics, so seeing the evolution of style was very nicely mapped-out. Nice quality paper, nice printing... would've been nicer in hardback. Still, this is one of my favorite books!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool Collection of overlooked medium, February 21, 2001

By 

A. Whitney (Silicon Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics 1940-1960 (Paperback)

I liked this book so much that I bought a copy for my record-collecting boyfriend and a DJ friend with a varied and ecclectic vinyl collection.

When I thought of record cover art, I thought of those fantasy-styled "YES" covers, or the metal band covers of the 80's. I had no idea about how many cool vintage record covers were out there.

The book focuses on covers from 1940-1960. You'll find many jazz, swing and vocalists represented here. The reproductions are excellent and the variety is impressive. While most covers are reproduced in 3x3inches, quite a few are refresented as full pages which is about a 9-inch square. It is organized by artist and record company, showing you how the artist's style influenced the cover.

I highly recommend it for record collectors, vintage enthusiasts, graphic designers/illustrators and those who love old things. It made me miss the 12-inch vinyl covers all the more and has inspired me to track specific albums down. CDs can never match the emotional connection that vinyl did.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sound pictures., December 13, 2002

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics 1940-1960 (Paperback)

Mr Kohler presents two hundred and fifty covers (from his large collection) which he rightly thinks show the best of album design in the early years of the LP. He features eight artist/designers who created some of the most distinctive work in cover art. Two of them are my favorites, David Stone Martin who gave Norman Granz's Clef label some beautiful cover illustrations (twenty are shown) and Reid Miles who created the east coast look to Blue Note Records. Unfortunately only four of his covers are shown but you can see dozens more in the two books by Graham Marsh: The Cover Art of Blue Note Records and The Cover Art of Blue Note Records, Vol.2. The other six designers range from the unique illustrations of RCA's Jim Flora to the work of Swiss born designer Erik Nitsche and his semi abstract work for Decca. Record companies are also featured and you can see the beginnings of the Capitol Records house style, I think they were the only major company to produce consistently well designed covers with excellent photography and typography.

Though all these covers are interesting to look at I don't think too many work as complete design units, that is image and text complement each other, mostly they are images with text added later. One cover that I like is on page eighty-one, it shows a file-card box and the albums title, 'Guide to Jazz' is typed on a card which is resting against the box, the tabs of the other cards have musical instruments on them, a simple creative idea that works. Strangely the designer is unknown.

I doubt you will see as good a coverage of the early years of the LP as this (well produced) book but have a look at this title that concentrates on jazz covers from the fifties and sixties, Jazz West Coast: Artwork of Pacific Jazz Records. It has dozens of examples of creativity on paper twelve inches square, somehow CD covers just can't compete with that.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer image' under the cover.