3 Classic Rock Album Covers With Unforgettable Easter Eggs

Have you ever picked up an album, stared at its cover, and thought that the art on the front might be better than the music on the actual record? It’s happened to all of us. Sometimes the art is just so enthralling that it has a bigger impact than the music does. While that may or may not be the case with the LPs below (beauty is in the eye and ear of the beholder, after all), we do know that the album covers for the records here are fantastic, each with many a visual hidden gem. Indeed, these are three classic rock album covers with unforgettable Easter eggs.

Videos by American Songwriter

‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ by The Beatles (1967)

You could lose an entire afternoon digging into this colorful and iconic album cover from The Beatles. What do all the images, pictures, figures, flowers, hues, and everything else mean? Well, one Easter egg in the pastiche is a doll wearing a top with the message “Welcome The Rolling Stones” (middle right). And in response, The Rolling Stones decided to…

‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’ by The Rolling Stones (1967)

Yes, in response to The Fab Four giving them a shout-out on the 1967 LP, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Rolling Stones returned the nod on their own 1967 LP, Their Satanic Majesties Request. They did so by hiding the heads of the Mop Tops between the flowers on the album cover. To achieve the feat, the blues-rockers even hired the same photographer who did Sgt. Pepper’s for Satanic. That artist was a guy named Michael Cooper (not to be confused with the NBA Hall of Famer).

‘Ram’ by Paul McCartney (1971)

Speaking of The Beatles, when the group was breaking up in the late 60s, Paul McCartney was looking to write solo tunes for his own release. And in 1971, he dropped the album Ram. It’s the only record he’s ever released that was credited to himself and his wife, Linda McCartney. To pay tribute to the person who was his rock during such tough times, McCartney added the letters “L.I.L.Y.” for “Linda I Love You” on the right side of the Ram LP. See if you can spot them!

Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage