Marvin gaye album covers
'Sugar Shack,' iconic painting featured on Marvin Gaye album cover, sells for $15.3 million
A painting that served as the cover for one of legendary heart singer Marvin Gaye's albums has sold at auction for almost $15.3 million.
Ernie Barnes' joyous depiction of a frenetic scene in a dance hall, titled "The Sugar Shack," sold to Bill Perkins, a hedge fund manager and entrepreneur, after 10 minutes of bidding by more than 22 bidders, confirmed Christie's auction house.
According to Christie's, the final sale price for "The Sugar Shack" was 27 times higher than the most expensive Barnes work to sell before it. It also blew past its estimated sale price of $150,000 to $200,000.
Barnes, who died in 2009, was born in North Carolina in 1938 and often drew upon his possess experiences growing up in the American South during the Jim Crow era in his depictions of social moments and images of quotidian Black life.
In a 2002 interview, in which the Oakland Tribune described Barnes as the "Picasso of the Ebony art world," the designer said he got the idea for "The Sugar Shack" from reflecting on his childhood and "not being able
It has officially been 50 years since the unleash of Marvin Gaye's iconic "What's Going On" album.
The legendary singer-songwriter was born in 1939, in Washington, D.C. He started out singing in church and later became a member of popular doo-wop collective The Moonglows.
After the genre began fizzling out in the 50s, the group's founding member Harvey Fuqua took then 20-year-old Gaye to Detroit where he met Berry Gordy Jr., the founder of Motown records. At the label, he earned the title of Prince of Motown for his soulful sound and duetted with the likes of Diana Ross.
Gaye was shot dead in 1984, the day before his 45th birthday, by his father Marvin Gaye Sr. after an altercation.
It was Gaye's eleventh studio album, "What's Going On", that went on to define him for decades after his death.
The album was released on May 21 1971, exactly 50 years ago today. It is still deemed as relevant as ever by many because of its strong social conscience. The record focused heavily on themes including racism, drug abuse, poverty and police brutality. It also showcased the perspective of a veteran returning to the U.S after the Vietnam war.
The record marked a departure for the Prince of M
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On album art
What’s Going On is Marvin Gaye’s eleventh studio album, released in May 1971 on Tamla Motown.
Gaye’s introspective lyrics discuss themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. He has also been credited with promoting awareness of global warming before the common outcry against it had become prominent. […] Worldwide surveys of critics, musicians, and the general general have shown that What’s Going On is regarded as one of the landmark recordings in pop music history, and one of the greatest albums of the 20th century.
The cover design is by Curtis McNair, with photography by Jim Hendin. Tom Schlesinger is credited for “graphic supervision”. [More info on Discogs]
McNair designed more than a hundred album covers in his role as Motown’s art director. In an interview for The Charlotte Observer, McNair was asked to pick the cover of which he is most pleased, and immediately named What’s Going On:
“I could watch how emotional [Gaye] was, in terms of the essence of the album, and I wanted to match that. Marvin’s brother was in the military and had come ba
Marvin Gaye – Let’s Acquire It On album art
Let’s Get It On is the thirteenth studio album by Marvin Gaye, released on August 28, 1973. The cover features Bobo Bold in red letters. Gaye’s liner notes on the gatefold and the credits on the advocate are set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic. The photography is by Jim Britt.
From Wikipedia:
Serving as Gaye’s first venture into the funk genre, Let’s Obtain It On also incorporates smooth soul and doo-wop styles alongside sexually suggestive lyrics, leading to one writer’s description of it as “one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded”. Gaye infused ideas of spiritual healing in songs about sex and romance, in part as a way of coping with childhood abuses from his father Marvin Gay Sr., which had stunted his sexuality.
Following the breakthrough success of his socially conscious album What’s Going On (1971), Let’s Get It On helped establish Gaye as a sex icon and broadened his mainstream appeal. It produced three singles—the title track, “Come Get to This”, and “You Sure Love to Ball” – that achieved Billboard chart success. Let&r
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