Longtime fans of MAD magazine will be familiar with artist Jack Davis. In fact, Davis drew the first story in the first issue of MAD in 1952 ("Hoohah!" -- a spoof of Psycho). Davis is also well-known for his work for E.C. publications line of horror comics, and his promotional movie posters.

The Endless Groove has compiled a gallery of Jack Davis' album cover art, including a number of soundtrack album covers that were also used as movie posters. Davis' work is highly stylized, but the covers here show the wide range of his talent. Most of his caricatures are comical, but others work as revealing portraits. The most fun in Davis' covers, though, can be found in the details. His style has been widely imitated, but you can easily tell a real "Jack Davis" cover by the signature, always in the lower right corner.

Thanks to my friends Preston at and Mark for the loan of a couple of the covers, and to all the readers who have written in with great comments and tips on additional covers.

THE COVERS
(year released in parentheses)

Alfredito and His Orchestra - Crazy Titles For Dancing Cha-Cha and Merengue (1958) (Davis back cover art only)
Harry Arnold and His Orchestra - The Jazztone Mystery Band (1958)
Bob and Ray - Bob and Ray Throw a Stereo Spectacular (1958)
The Buffalo Bills - Shut the Door! (They're Comin' Through the Window) (1965)
The Bunch - The Bunch (1966)
Archie Cambpell - Have a Laugh On Me (1966)
Johnny Cash - Everybody Loves a Nut (1966)
Dick Clark - Presents Radio's Uncensored Bloopers (1984)
Ben Colder - Big Ben Strikes Again(1966)
Ben Colder - Wine, Women & Song (1967)
Ben Colder - The Best of Ben Colder (1968) (front and back cover)
Ben Colder - Harper Valley P.T.A.(1969)
Hans Conried/Alice Pearce/The Creatures - Monster Rally (1959)
The Cowsills - The Best of the Cowsills (1969) (front and back cover)
"Little" Jimmy Dickens - May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose (1965)
Jonathan and Darlene Edwards - Sing Along With... (1962)
David Frye - Radio Free Nixon (1971)
Ernest Gold - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (soundtrack) (1963) (complete gatefold cover)
Jonathan Winters - Jonathan Winters' Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1964?)
The Guess Who - The Greatest of the Guess Who (1977) (complete gatefold cover)
Al Hirt & Hugo Montenegro - Viva Max! (soundtrack) (1970)
Homer & Jethro - Life Can Be Miserable (1959)
Homer & Jethro - At the Convention (1962)
Homer & Jethro - Zany Songs of the '30s (1963)
Homer & Jethro - Any News From Nashville? (1966)
Homer & Jethro - Songs My Mother Never Sang (1961)
Homer & Jethro - Homer & Jethro Go West (1963)
Homer & Jethro - The Old Crusty Minstrels (1965)
Homer & Jethro - Country Comedy (1971) (gatefold, non-Davis artwork cropped out)
Imus in the Morning - 1200 Hamburgers to Go (1972)
Imus in the Morning - One Sacred Chicken to Go (1973) (front and back cover)
Spike Jones and His City Slickers - Thank You, Music Lovers (1960)
Henry Mancini - The Party (soundtrack) (1968)
Johnny Mandel - The Russians are Coming (soundtrack) (1966)
Ray Martin - The Sound of Sight (196?) (complete gatefold cover)
Gene Moss and "The Monsters" - Dracula's Greatest Hits (1964) (front and back cover, and "15 Monster Fan Cards" insert)
The New Christy Minstrels - Today (contains soundtrack music from Advance to the Rear) (1964)
The Phantom Surfers - The Great Surf Crash of '97 (1996)
Jerry Reed - Uptown Poker Club (1973)
Jerry Reed - Texas Bound and Flyin' (1980)
Sailcat - Motorcycle Mama (1972)
Lalo Schrifin - Kelly's Heroes (soundtrack) (1970)
Six Fat Dutchmen - Under the Direction of H. Loeffelmacher (1958)
Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister - The Bible Told Me So (1958) (see editor's note below)
Ken Thorne - Inspector Clouseau (soundtrack) (1968)
Various Artists - Beer Barrel Polka Party (196?)


Reader Randolph Foss has alerted us to these other Jack Davis covers (thanks Randolph!):
The Johnny Otis Show - Cuttin' Up
Spike Jones - The Best of Spike Jones
Spike Jones - Murders Again Vol. 2
Homer & Jethro - Nashville Cats
Vaughn Meader - Have Some Nuts!!!
Myron Cohen - This Is Myron Cohen
The Mad Show - A New Musical Revue

The Endless Groove will add additional covers as we run across them.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Bible Told Me So cover, dated 1958, is possibly not a "real" Jack Davis cover. It is clearly signed in the lower right corner "Jack Davis" (not too clear in the scan; it's visible up close), but the artistic style and the signature don't look like any other Davis cover, even the ones from the '50s (compare it with The Six Fat Dutchmen cover from 1958 that's right above it). I would be interested in hearing from any reader with insight into this.

WHERE TO BUY JACK DAVIS LP COVERS

Gemm.com is a huge site with millions of records offered for sale by thousands of dealers. Many, if not all, of the Jack Davis cover LPs listed above should be offered for sale there. If you click on the "Look for it on GEMM" graphic below each cover scan, you will be transported to our affiliate site, endlessgroove.gemm.com, and all the available copies for sale of the title will be listed. While at our affiliate site, if you buy an LP with a Jack Davis cover (or anything else for that matter), The Endless Groove will get a very small sales commission (paid by Gemm, not the buyer). This helps keep the web site going. Thanks! P.S. : If you do any additional searches for Jack Davis covers, remember to search for the album by artist and title (i.e., Johnny Cash, Everybody Loves a Nut). The record artist and title listings likely do not mention Jack Davis.