I am a middle aged record collector. From the earliest records I bought (early 1970s) I always cared about the cover designs. The first time I ever bought a record just for its cover (and no interest in the music) was in the early 1990s. Six months later I bought another record just for its cover. When I compared the two, one an lp and the other a 78 rpm 12 inch set, I discovered they were both signed “Steinweiss”. Since then I have collected over 2000 records just for the covers – over 1000 of them by Steinweiss. I am a completist on a few designers – Alex Steinweiss, Curt John Witt, George Maas, Roger Dean, Tracy Sugarman, Elmer Wexler, Charles E. Murphy, Darrill Connelly, David Anstey, Wandrey Studios. Many other covers get bought just because I like them. I am also a completist on different designs for Gigi (the musical), Scheherazade, Anita Bryant, and all records on Waldorf Music
Hall/Grand Award Records, American Recording Society Records. I hope, over time, to scan and post all of these that I have. I wrote most of the article on Steinweiss on wikipedia, and a little more on some of the above people and labels. But most of my writing is here accompanying these pictures. Please leave a comment if there is something you would like to see pictured, I will do it if I have it. If you wish to email me, recordcovers@gmail.com. I rarely check it, but I might try a little more now.
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scottlindberg on Mercury 10 inch lps, Maas scottlindberg on Capitol Records in the 19… lylefrancisdelp on Capitol Records in the 19… lylefrancisdelp on Capitol Records in the 19… Paul Morris on my two earliest RCA 78 rpm set…
Collecting Record Covers 
I’m interested in what you might know about Charles E. Murphy. I’ve been trying to research his career, but coming up empty. From what I’ve been able to tell there are at least 2, and possibly 3, designers by the same name who were working at approximately the same time. The first was design director for Red Wing Pottery, and I’ve found enough material to know that he is not the same as the album sleeve designer who worked for Command Records. The second is a New York painter who is still working today, and who studied under Josef Albers at Yale. He MAY be the same Murphy as whom I am trying to research, based on his education and association with Albers. Then again, the design director for Command may be a third, completely separate Charles E. Murphy from these two fellows. I’d be greatly interested in hearing what you know!
Thanks for publishing this awesome collection and website. It really is quite inspiring!
Thanks for writing. I am afraid that all that I know is what I see on the record covers. As you know, he was Art Director and chief designer for Command from ca 1960 until the Command label was eliminated by ABC a few years after ABC bought Command. Perhaps 1969. I have a few hundred covers with Murphy’s name on them. My guess is that the last two are the same person. Albers designed a handful of the Command covers, including the very first one. He may have recommended Murphy for the A.D. job. Speculation, but it seems reasonable to me. Would you like me to post a particular Command cover in between all these Steinweiss ones?
Thanks! Here’s what I do know … Murphy started with Command in 1959 when Enoch Light launched the project. I’m pretty sure you are correct that Josef Albers had something to do with Murphy’s employment at Command. Murphy studied under him either at Yale or Black Mountain College (most probably Yale).
I have a handful of Murphy’s cover designs in my collection, but would love to see some of yours. I’m a huge Steinweiss fan, too, so don’t mind you posting more and more of those, either! I’m dumbfounded at the size of your colection. I probably only have a few dozen examples, so a collection of 2000 pieces sounds staggering to me!
This is a really wonderful website to find! Darrill Connelly is my father and I’m very excited to see someone archiving his work.
Thanks for the images!
Moira
I apologize, I mistakenly referred to Darrill’s wife as “Emily”. I meant Elaine! Good grief, I worked with Elaine at Connelly for many years. You would think I would remember her name. LOL. I even just had dinner with her recently. I’ll blame it on the many years of inhaling rubber cement and spray glue fumes. Sorry Elaine!
Just stumbled on this site. Darrill Connelly is also my father. Recently my daughter and I came into possession of several tear sheets of album covers he designed from 1948 thru 1952.
Some have been framed but I can send you scans.
Gwen – Hi. I’d love to see those tear sheets, is there any way to see the scans? I’m very intrigued.
I have a cover I think you would like to have Columbia masterworks ml 2062 steinweiss 1949. I was bequeathed at least a thousand lps and am awestruck.
Like you, I am a middle aged man who began collecting LPs in the early 1970s. I’ve always responded to interesting cover art, and in this day of small CD covers and downloads, the large format cover art is all the more precious. Love your blog and visit quite often. You must have the most extensive collection of Scheherazade recordings on the planet. Of interest to me, being a band geek, is the Alabama band recording. I would dearly love to hear that, not so much for the Rimsky-Korsakov, but for the other band works on the disc. I love Rienzi and consider Fennell’s recording (in the wrong key no less) with the Eastman band to be one of the visceral recordings I’ve ever heard of the work. McBeth is an old band lover’s favorite, having written many works for the genre.