News that one-time Dylan muse Suze Rotolo has died led to a chat about how many knew her strictly from her appearance on the cover of Bob Dylan's 1963 LP, "The Freewhelin' Bob Dylan."
That record showed Dylan and Rotolo arm in arm, strolling up Jones Street toward West 4 in the Village in New York. It's become an iconic image of rock and roll and of the folk scene in downtown Manhattan.
Dylan fans, of course, know that she was the inspiration for a number of Dylan tunes and played a part in his political awareness, too.
Rotolo died last week at age 67.
That got me thinking about other famous album cover faces ...
- Three-month-old Spencer Elden, the baby on the cover of Nirvana's 1991 breakthrough "Nevermind."
- Dolores Erickson, the model who was three months pregnant when she posed for the iconic photo on the cover of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass' "Whipped Cream & Other Delights," released in 1965.
- Photographer Peter Rowen, who was the youthful brother of a friend of Bono when he posed for the cover of U2's "Boy" and repeated nearly three years later on the sleeve of the band's "War," in 1983. Rowen also was pictured on two other U2 releases.
- The controversial cover of Blind Faith's self-titled 1969 disc pictured a topless 11-year-old named Mariora Goschen.
- Seven years later The Scorpions would up the ante -- or lower the moral standard, depending on your viewpoint -- by picturing a completely naked 10-year-old named Jacqueline on its "Virgin Killer" disc.
- Singer and model Amanda Lear was Bryan Ferry's girlfriend when she graced the front of Roxy Music's 1973 "For Your Pleasure." There was no shortage of ladies on Roxy sleeves. Kari-Ann Muller was on the band's debut, Playboy bunny Marilyn Cole appeared washed ashore on the band's third disc, "Stranded," and the two scantily clad German fans on the cover of "Country Life" were Constanze Karoli and Eveline Grunwald. Supermodel Jerry Hall adorned "Siren" in 1975.
- Nearly every record by The Smiths featured a cover model, but there are so many you'll just have to go and Google...
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Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
