R & B Improv

I initially discovered these 45-rpm record jackets at a record store in St. Louis. The anonymous R&B aficionado from the early 1960s who handmade these imaginative sleeves lived in St. Louis when the city was hopping and rich with dance clubs, and was a major stopping point for any group looking to move up in the charts or score their first record deal. The designer of these personalized record jackets used photos cut out from early music magazines and paste-on letters, spray paint, and stencils in his or her own fantasy record design. The commentary and liner notes of these quaint covers reveal a highly enthusiastic—and unusually knowledgable—R&B fan.