A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: Stories Behind Iconic Album Covers

Rubber Soul, The Beatles (1965)

Photographer Robert Freeman snapped the picture of the band in John Lennon’s garden. The stretched effect was actually a mistake made while the band was looking at Robert’s samples. He projected the image onto a cardboard cutout, but when the cardboard fell backwards, the image became stretched. The band ended up loving the image and felt like it was a perfect depiction of their new sound.

The Beatles. From Left To Right: Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon, And Paul Mccartney.

The Beatles. From Left To Right: Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon, And Paul Mccartney. Photo By Granger/Shutterstock

The album’s typography was designed by Charles Front. He used the title as inspiration and created a typeface style that was used for psychedelic and flower-power designs. Charles also added another hidden element to his lettering. The title reads “Road Abbey” if you hold the album upside down in front of a mirror.