The Cream of the Crop

I received my Collectors' Choice Music catalog for January 2009 this week, and what should appear on the cover but the woman in this photograph:
(Actually, it was more like the March 31 photo here.)

Naturally, I owned this item in vinyl. That was because I was a big fan of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Really, I owned The Lonely Bull (A&M 101, the first item in the catalog; the stereo equivalent was 4101), the second album, Going Places, as well as Whipped Cream, and perhaps others.

Unfortunately, when a bunch of my albums I had left at my grandmother's house were stolen in 1972, they took all of my albums with the artist name A, B, many of the S range, and the T-Z. (This included my Capitol Beatles albums, though my Apple Beatles albums were with me at college.) So the TJB (as I used to abbreviate the group) was gone too.

So I was thrilled in the mid-1980s to find a used copy of Whipped Cream on sale for a buck. I was less thrilled that while the cover was Whipped Cream, the album was Going Places. Not so disappointed, though to buy the LP again (on sale for $21.98) but maybe the CD ($10.98). After all, I already have the 12 X 12 cover.

This album cover was heavily parodied:










The last album cover above was for a tribute album to that original classic. You can find many variations of covers of this album at Album covers spoofing album covers. Presently, the original album cover is at #66, with the spoofs following, but as the contributions to the site are added, it will invariably move.

One last thing; as attractive as the woman on the left is, she'll never be iconic like the lady on the right is.


ROG