The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
Apologies to The Lady in Tutti Frutti Hat’s Carmen Miranda, but the world’s most famous banana is the peelable print on the cover on The Velvet Underground’s debut album. The year was 1966, and The Velvet Underground was featured in artist Andy Warhol’s multimedia event tour, Exploding Plastic Inevitable. The event was classic Warhol, provocative and controversial.
Photo by Jeff Blackler / Shutterstock
Aside from The Velvet Underground, whom Andy was managing at the time, the event was made up of screenings of Andy’s films as well as dance performances by members of his studio. It was during this time that The Velvet Underground recorded their first album and asked Andy to design the album cover using his signature silkscreen technique. Andy, of course, agreed and got to work.