Bananas. Marilyn Monroe. Campbell’s Soup. It’s not to hard to guess which artist became famous for his images of everyday objects and celebrities. Andy Warhol is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, maybe of all time even. With his pop art he changed the art world forever. But did you know he not only transformed visual art, he also had a massive influence on pop music as well? Find out more here...
Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground
When Warhol saw the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground performing in 1965, he was immediately fascinated by their music. What the The Velvet Underground expressed in their sound was, according to Warhol, very similar to what he expressed in his art. The artist soon became the manager of the group. He knew everyone who mattered in the art world and was a talented promoter. He asked the German super model Nico to join the group to give them an attractive appearance. He helped the band to travel through the country as part of his multimedia show ‘The Exploding Plastic Inevitable’ in 1966. And turned them into the house band of his artist studio The Factory.
Iconic Banana Cover
Not very surprisingly, Warhol himself designed the banana cover for The Velvet Underground’s debut album 'The Velvet Underground & Nico', which is perhaps one of the most famous artist album covers ever. In this iconic work, he once again took an ordinary item from the grocery store, as he did with the Campbell’s soup, and gave it his signature pop art look. On the first edition, there was an instruction ‘to peel slowly and see’, which meant that by removing the banana skin sticker, an image of the inside of the fruit would appear. But what is really remarkable is that although Warhol’s name is featured very clearly in the design, there is no mention of the name of the band on the cover at all.
Art & Music Covers
But Warhol’s career as a cover artist goes way beyond the famous banana design. Warhol created around 50 different album covers. The changes he went through as a visual artist become apparent through his album art. He started with quirky ink drawings mainly for classical and world music albums. He worked on jazz albums with collages and abstract compositions. But he also worked with the greatest artists of his time, such as The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, John Lennon and Aretha Franklin to create the most stunning pop art albums.
The music represented by Warhol’s covers range from jazz to classical and from rock to soul. They not only show Warhol’s musical taste, but also his extraordinary ability to combine his artistic vision with the music of each recording artist. Warhol is still a great inspiration for fine artists, photographers, filmmakers and musicians nowadays. Do you want to own a record designed by Andy Warhol for your collection? Have a look at our Records & Vinyl auction where you’ll discover some amazing items for both music and art lovers. Or do you already own a record you'd like to sell? Register as a seller and offer up for auction.