William Stanley Harvey (November 10, 1920 – July 15, 1993) was an American graphic designer and art director, responsible for the design of
Elektra Records' logos and many of its
album covers between the 1950s and 1970s including those by
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...
,
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
,
MC5
MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...
,
The Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...
,
Judy Collins,
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ...
and others.
Biography
Born in New York City, Harvey was in the US Army in World War II, and later worked as a designer and photographer in the advertising industry on
Madison Avenue. In 1953,
Jac Holzman
Jac Holzman (born September 15, 1931) is an American music businessman, best known as the founder, chief executive officer and head of record label Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records. Holzman commercially helped launch the CD and home video form ...
, who had recently set up the Elektra label, asked him to design an
LP sleeve for a release by the folk singer
Hally Wood, which Harvey described as "the most god-awful music I ever heard". The lettering used by Harvey for the word "Elektra" became part of the label's logo for the next decade, together with his later sketch of a guitar player. At a time when LP design was in its infancy, Holzman continued to use Harvey's
line drawings and designs on many subsequent album covers.
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
said: "A large part of
lektra'sreputation was due to the quality of its presentation, of which the design, photography, and lettering on the LP sleeves were crucial."
[ Biography by Richie Unterberger, ''Allmusic'']
Retrieved 26 June 2020
In 1958, Holzman appointed Harvey as Elektra's full-time art director. Holzman said: "Bill Harvey knew how to present an artist. For Elektra, compelling covers were essential to capture the eye of the browser and convey the drama of the music to people forced to buy on faith, because we had very little radio support, and retailers no longer provided listening booths. Elektra graphics.. were a key part of our identity". Cary Ginell wrote: "Bill Harvey created the label’s visual identity, using stark line drawings, high quality photography, whimsical ideas, abstract art, and even sex to help sell the albums. Whether the music was folk, blues, ethnic, or psychedelic, Holzman and Harvey blazed a trail that would lead to the Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper'' and the revolutionizing of album art."
[ Cary Ginell, "Elektra Records and the Development of Album Cover Art (1951-1970)", ''Association for Recorded Sound Collections'', 2006]
Retrieved 26 June 2020 Harvey was also responsible for cover design on Elektra's subsidiary
Nonesuch label.
[ "William S. ("Bill") Harvey", ''Album Cover Hall of Fame'']
Retrieved 26 June 2020
In the 1960s, Harvey designed the distinctive logo for the band Love, "four cartoonish letters with exaggerated, curvaceous serifs", incorporating
male and female symbols - possibly the first time a rock band had had its own logo. He also designed the logos for other bands, including the Doors and
Bread, and the butterfly logo that replaced the label's earlier guitar player symbol in the late 1960s. He was responsible for striking images on LP covers, such as those for the Doors' album ''
Strange Days'', and Tim Buckley's ''
Goodbye and Hello'', often working with photographer
Joel Brodsky
Joel Lee Brodsky (October 7, 1939 – March 1, 2007) was an American photographer, best known for his photography of musicians, particularly his iconic "Young Lion" photographs of Jim Morrison. In his lifetime, he is credited with photographing o ...
.
[ Harvey was uncompromising in his standards. When Holzman was considering whether to sign Joni Mitchell, Harvey reportedly refused her permission to design her own album covers, resulting in Mitchell signing with the rival ]Reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
label instead.[ "Forever Changing: Elektravision!", ''Record Collector'']
Retrieved 26 June 2020
After Holzman sold Elektra to Warner Communications
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
in 1972, Harvey was fired by the new company boss, David Geffen. Harvey set up a new design company, Harvey House. "Studios Provide Major Aid To Labels", ''Billboard'', 27 October 1973, p.LM-15
/ref> He died in 1993.
References
External links
*
Dan Bolles, "The Butterfly Effect", ''Seven Days'', 2010
including interview with Harvey's son
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, William S.
1920 births
1993 deaths
Elektra Records
Nonesuch Records
American graphic designers
American art directors
United States Army personnel of World War II