The women on the record sleeve.

89 classic album covers, 1955 to 1982. 73 of the women are named here, each from a source you can check, and 6 of them were never credited on the sleeve. Turn any cover over.

1956 · Pacific Jazz / World Pacific
Playboys
Chet Baker & Art Pepper
The cover deliberately aped Playboy magazine's wordmark and pin-up style, with a model wearing nothing above the waist but a pair of well-placed mittens. Playboy's lawyers objected, and the album was retitled 'Picture of Heath' in 1961 with a studio photo of the musicians.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: theaudiobeat.com, en.wikipedia.org
1957 · Liberty (LRP 3034)
Exotica
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Not credited on the sleeve
Sandy Warner's face on Exotica began a run of a dozen or so Denny covers; Denny later called her 'a stunning model, extremely photogenic', and in 1959 she cut her own LP, Fair and Warner, for which Denny wrote liner notes calling her "Miss 'EXOTICA' herself."
Photograph: Garrett-Howard
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com, en.wikipedia.org, coverartarchive.org
1958 · Liberty (LRP 3081 / LST 7001)
Forbidden Island
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Sandy Warner, an actress, model and singer who also appeared on TV in Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone, became known as 'the Exotica girl'; Denny said Liberty's art designers changed her look to fit the mood of each package.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com
1958 · Liberty (LST 7006)
Exotica Volume II
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Sandy Warner, an actress, model and singer who also appeared on TV in Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone, became known as 'the Exotica girl'; Denny said Liberty's art designers changed her look to fit the mood of each package.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com
1958 · Blue Note
Cool Struttin'
Sonny Clark
On the cover
Ruth Lion (Ruth Mason (stage/radio name); born Aruthia Elizabeth Phillips)
The famous striding legs belong to Ruth Lion, photographed by Blue Note co-founder Francis Wolff; Reid Miles designed the sleeve. Ruth, then the New York disc jockey known as Ruth Mason, later married Blue Note founder Alfred Lion and worked for the label as office manager and publicist.
Photograph: Francis Wolff
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, immigrantentrepreneurship.org, dignitymemorial.com, udiscovermusic.com, jatstorey.com
1959 · Liberty (LST 7141)
The Enchanted Sea
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Sandy Warner, an actress, model and singer who also appeared on TV in Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone, became known as 'the Exotica girl'; Denny said Liberty's art designers changed her look to fit the mood of each package.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com
1959 · Liberty (LRP 3122)
Quiet Village
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Sandy Warner, an actress, model and singer who also appeared on TV in Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone, became known as 'the Exotica girl'; Denny said Liberty's art designers changed her look to fit the mood of each package.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com
1959 · Liberty (LRP 3116 / LST 7116)
Exotica Vol. III
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Sandy Warner, an actress, model and singer who also appeared on TV in Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone, became known as 'the Exotica girl'; Denny said Liberty's art designers changed her look to fit the mood of each package.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com
1960 · Liberty (LRP 3158 / LST 7158)
Exotic Sounds from the Silver Screen
Martin Denny
On the cover
Sandy Warner (Sandra Faye Warner; 'the Exotica girl')
Sandy Warner, an actress, model and singer who also appeared on TV in Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone, became known as 'the Exotica girl'; Denny said Liberty's art designers changed her look to fit the mood of each package.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, spaceagepop.com
1961 · Capitol (ST 1537)
Jewels of the Sea
Les Baxter
On the cover
Diane Webber (Marguerite Empey)
Diane Webber, a model, dancer and actress who later taught belly dance and founded the Perfumes of Araby troupe, posed underwater for this 'titillating' mermaid-themed cover; a year later she starred in the film Mermaids of Tiburon.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
1962 · United Artists
Undercurrent
Bill Evans & Jim Hall
On the cover
Kay Jones
Not credited on the sleeve
The cover reuses Toni Frissell's 1947 underwater photograph 'Weeki Wachee spring, Florida' of a woman in a long gown floating beneath the surface. The Library of Congress catalogue record for the negative notes that the image includes Kay Jones.
Photograph: Toni Frissell
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: loc.gov, loc.gov, grayflannelsuit.net
1962 · Riverside
Moon Beams
Bill Evans Trio
On the cover
Nico (Christa Päffgen (birth name))
Before Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground, the German-born fashion model Nico posed for the cover of Bill Evans' first trio album after the death of bassist Scott LaFaro.
Photograph: Pete Sahula (per Wikipedia personnel listing; not independently verified)
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: ipm.org, popmatters.com, audiophilia.com, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
1962 · Blue Note
Bossa Nova Soul Samba
Ike Quebec
On the cover
Ruth Mason (Ruth Lion (married name); born Aruthia Elizabeth Phillips)
The sleeve itself credits the model: 'Model: RUTH MASON', with cover photo and design by Reid Miles. Ruth Mason was a New York jazz disc jockey who broadcast live from Harlem's Palm Cafe on WOV, joined Blue Note as office manager and publicist, and later married founder Alfred Lion.
Photograph: Reid Miles
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: coverartarchive.org, immigrantentrepreneurship.org, dignitymemorial.com
1963 · Blue Note
Good Gracious!
Lou Donaldson
On the cover
Rose Nelmes
The sleeve credits 'Model: ROSE NELMES (Grandassa Models)'. Hyperallergic's obituary of Kwame Brathwaite names Good Gracious! as one of the Blue Note covers carrying his Grandassa model photographs, which rejected the narrow beauty ideals of early-1960s advertising.
Photograph: Ronnie Brathwaite (as credited; Hyperallergic attributes the Good Gracious! headshots to Kwame Brathwaite)
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: coverartarchive.org, hyperallergic.com
1963 · Blue Note
The Natural Soul
Lou Donaldson
On the cover
Helene White (Nomsa Brath (later name); Helene Nomsa Brath)
Credited on the sleeve as 'Model: HELENE WHITE (Grandassa Models)'. The Grandassa Models were the 1962 'Black is Beautiful' modelling collective formed in Harlem by the African Jazz Art Society and Studios (AJASS), showcasing Black women with natural hair; White, later known as Nomsa Brath, was a founding member.
Photograph: Ronnie Brathwaite (as credited; the photographer later known as Kwame Brathwaite, per Hyperallergic's attribution of his Blue Note covers)
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: coverartarchive.org, hyperallergic.com, en.wikipedia.org
1964 · Blue Note
Brown Sugar
Freddie Roach
On the cover
Clara Lewis Buggs
The original sleeve credits 'Model: CLARA LEWIS BUGGS (Grandassa Models)', photographed by Ronnie Brathwaite, one of a run of early-1960s Blue Note covers featuring the Harlem 'Black is Beautiful' Grandassa Models.
Photograph: Ronnie Brathwaite (as credited)
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: coverartarchive.org, hyperallergic.com
1964 · A&M (LP 108 / SP 4108)
South of the Border
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass
On the cover
Sandra Moss (Helen Sandra Rusetos; Mrs. Jerry Moss)
Not credited on the sleeve
The woman beside Herb Alpert is Sandra Moss, then married to his A&M co-founder Jerry Moss; she appeared on two Tijuana Brass covers and later became an art collector and president of the women's charity SHARE.
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: sothebys.com, en.wikipedia.org, coverartarchive.org
1965 · A&M (LP 110 / SP 4110)
Whipped Cream & Other Delights
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass
On the cover
Dolores Erickson
Not credited on the sleeve
Dolores Erickson was about three months pregnant during the shoot, and most of the 'cream' was shaving cream on cotton; she said 'the only whipped cream was on my head.' A Seattle native who had modeled since her teens, she later became a painter.
Photograph: Peter Whorf
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: archive.seattletimes.com, performingsongwriter.com, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, coverartarchive.org
1965 · Columbia
E.S.P.
Miles Davis
On the cover
Frances Taylor (Frances Taylor Davis)
Davis and Frances Taylor were photographed together in the garden behind his Manhattan townhouse. She 'stands near him but apart, gazing unsmiling into the camera' and, per the official Miles Davis site, left him within a week. It was the last Davis cover to feature her.
Photograph: Bob Cato (per Wikipedia personnel; uncited)
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: milesdavis.com, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
1967 · Blue Note
Alligator Bogaloo
Lou Donaldson
Not credited on the sleeve
Designer Reid Miles shot this cover himself, one of his first own photographs for Blue Note: a model in a psychedelic hooded dress. The sleeve credits 'Cover Photo & Design by REID MILES' and names no model.
Photograph: Reid Miles
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, coverartarchive.org, splicetoday.com
1971 · Philips
Histoire de Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
On the cover
Jane Birkin
Gainsbourg's partner posed in an auburn wig he pulled from his briefcase, holding her childhood toy monkey; her jeans were folded down because of an early pregnancy. In the photographer's words, she put on the wig 'and becomes Melody.'
Photograph: Tony Frank
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, anothermag.com, musicbrainz.org
1972 · Island
Roxy Music
Roxy Music
On the cover
Kari-Ann Moller (Kari-Ann Muller; Kari-Ann Jagger (married name))
A Cornwall-raised model who had a small part in the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, she was reportedly paid about £20 for the shoot. She later married Chris Jagger (Mick Jagger's brother), and her face appears again on Mott the Hoople's 1974 album The Hoople.
Photograph: Karl Stoecker
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, udiscovermusic.com, anothermag.com, insidehook.com, theguardian.com
1973 · RCA
Pin Ups
David Bowie
On the cover
Twiggy
The 1960s supermodel was photographed cheek-to-cheek with Bowie in Paris in July 1973 by her manager and partner Justin de Villeneuve. The image was meant for a Vogue cover, but Vogue did not want a man on its front, so Bowie used it for the album.
Photograph: Justin de Villeneuve
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, musicbrainz.org, bowiebible.com
1973 · Island
Stranded
Roxy Music
On the cover
Marilyn Cole (Marilyn Cole Lownes)
Born in Gosport, Hampshire, she was Playboy's January 1972 Playmate of the Month and its 1973 Playmate of the Year, the only Briton to win that title, and Ferry sought her out for the 'jungle' cover. She later married Playboy executive Victor Lownes and became a journalist covering boxing.
Photograph: Karl Stoecker
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, udiscovermusic.com, anothermag.com, insidehook.com
1973 · Island
For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
On the cover
Amanda Lear
Lear was Bryan Ferry's girlfriend at the time and a confidante of Salvador Dalí. She is shown in a skintight leather dress leading a black panther, with Ferry as the chauffeur on the full sleeve. She later had a successful disco career of her own.
Photograph: Karl Stoecker
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, udiscovermusic.com, anothermag.com, insidehook.com, musicbrainz.org
1974 · Island
Kimono My House
Sparks
On the cover
Michi Hirota (right); Kuniko Okamura (left)
Both were actresses touring London with Stomu Yamash'ta's Red Buddha Theatre when Island Records asked the company for Japanese women for the shoot. They did their own hair and kimonos for a 4–5 hour session. Hirota later sang on David Bowie's 'It's No Game' (1980); Okamura married soon after the tour.
Photograph: Karl Stoecker
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, madelinex.com
1975 · Mercury
Honey
Ohio Players
On the cover
Ester Cordet
A Panamanian-born model and Playboy's October 1974 Playmate, she was photographed for the cover with honey by Playboy photographer Richard Fegley. Long-running urban legends claim the hot honey burned her or that she was killed and her scream recorded on 'Love Rollercoaster'. They are false.
Photograph: Richard Fegley
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, snopes.com
1975 · Island
Siren
Roxy Music
On the cover
Jerry Hall
The Texan model was photographed as a mermaid on the rocks near South Stack, Anglesey, in August 1975, painted blue, with Ferry holding an umbrella over her so the paint would not wash off. She became engaged to Ferry soon afterwards and later left him for Mick Jagger.
Photograph: Graham Hughes
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, udiscovermusic.com, anothermag.com, insidehook.com, musicbrainz.org
1977 · Atlantic
Chic
Chic
On the cover
Valentine Monnier (left); Alva Chinn (right)
Not credited on the sleeve
Monnier, a Paris-born model who was on Cosmopolitan's September 1977 cover, later acted in French films and became a photographer. Chinn, from Boston, was one of Halston's house models (the 'Halstonettes') and one of the pioneering Black models of the 1970s.
Photograph: Frank Laffitte
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, kickmag.net, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
1977 · ABC
Aja
Steely Dan
On the cover
Sayoko Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi was one of the first Asian models to reach the top Paris and New York shows; she debuted in Paris in 1972 and Newsweek named her one of the world's top six models in 1977. She later worked as an actress and costume designer, and died in Tokyo in 2007 aged 57.
Photograph: Hideki Fujii
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
1978 · Elektra
The Cars
The Cars
On the cover
Nataliya Medvedeva (Natalya Medvedeva)
She emigrated from the Soviet Union to Los Angeles at 17 in 1975 and worked as a model. Elektra chose her photo for the cover over the band's own design. She later became a writer and singer in Paris and then Moscow, where she died in 2003 aged 44.
Photograph: Elliot Gilbert
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, themoscowtimes.com
1979 · A&M
Breakfast in America
Supertramp
On the cover
Kate Murtagh
The character actress, whose credits run from Breakfast at Tiffany's to Doctor Detroit, plays 'Libby', a diner waitress posed like the Statue of Liberty with a glass of orange juice and a menu, in front of a New York skyline made of breakfast items. She died in 2017 aged 96.
Photograph: Aaron Rapoport
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
1982 · EMI
Rio
Duran Duran
On the cover
Marcie Hunt (Marcie Dinkel (married name))
Not credited on the sleeve
Nagel's painting was based on a February 1981 Vogue France editorial photo of the American model, with her glasses removed. She was identified only in June 2024, when Nagel's former assistant Barry Hahn confirmed the source tear sheet. Hunt said she had no idea her photo was used. She now runs a Napa Valley winery.
Photograph: Patrick Nagel (painting)
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, consequence.net, patch.com
1982 · E.G. Records
Avalon
Roxy Music
On the cover
Lucy Helmore (Lucy Ferry (married name))
Ferry's girlfriend, seen from behind in a medieval helmet beside a bird of prey, was photographed at dawn on Lough Ugga Beag in Connemara, Ireland. Aged 22, she married Ferry in 1982, about a month after the album came out.
Photograph: Neil Kirk
Image: Cover Art Archive
Sources: musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, mojo4music.com, udiscovermusic.com, anothermag.com, insidehook.com