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Author
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Topic: Neil Armstrong and Led Zeppelin's album art
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413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 07-29-2013 06:46 PM
   
Okay, being a child of the 60's, I have always been an uber-fan of Led Zeppelin from the beginning with the release of their debut album in January of 1969. As such, until recently I thought I knew even the most esoteric nuggets of trivia involving the band. After all these years I was quite surprised to learn (via Wikipedia and other sources) that Neil Armstrong's likeness appears on the cover of Zeppelin's sophomore effort, "Led Zeppelin II." I guess I wasn't paying attention in class that day. The timeframe for Armstrong's appearance makes sense seeing that the album was released in October 1969 shortly after Apollo 11. I did know that the second album was designed around a 1917 photo of Manfred von Richthofen and his notorious Flying Circus. Also that some of the original faces in the photograph were altered and some replaced with a handful of other celebrities including the band members themselves. I've long since abandoned my record player but nonetheless maintain my original copies of the Zeppelin catalog. I dusted off my copy of the album and made a hi-res scan to verify that Armstrong was indeed pictured with the band in the iconic cover art. There he is standing in the top row (second from right), next to drummer John Bonham and behind Robert Plant. This begs the question, did NASA give permission to the record label for the use of Armstrong's likeness for strictly commercial purposes? It doesn't seem likely to me. Also, wouldn't it be cool to own an Armstrong signed copy of the album.  
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-29-2013 07:09 PM
The cover art was created artist David Juniper, who has a website. Maybe contacting him would result in his sharing more details about how Armstrong came to be part of the design? |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 07-29-2013 07:41 PM
Looks more like Frank Borman to me. |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-29-2013 10:10 PM
It looks like Frank Borman from his early NASA business suit photo, the one with the Gemini-Titan model on the desk and him leaning on his right elbow. |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1169
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 07-29-2013 10:43 PM
I third the motion. Borman. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-29-2013 10:53 PM
Well, the artist thought he was using a photo of Armstrong: In amongst the four band members (airbrushed in from a publicity photograph) are Miles Davis (or was it Blind Willie Johnson?), a girlfriend/muse of Andy Warhol (perhaps Mary Woronov) and the astronaut Neil Armstrong. |
413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 07-29-2013 11:22 PM
Hmm... I have to agree, it does look more like Borman.  |
Jurg Bolli
Member Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 07-30-2013 10:19 AM
No question about it, Borman came to mind instantly! |
chet
Member Posts: 1506
From: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 07-30-2013 10:29 AM
Definitely Borman.One small mistake for an album cover designer, one giant leap for Borman in pop-art lore! (Wonder if he'd agree to sign the album cover at his upcoming appearance in Tucson!?) |
Glint
Member Posts: 1040
From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 07-30-2013 11:39 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Jurg Bolli:
No question about it, Borman came to mind instantly!
Same here. Talk about artistic license. Would make an interesting item for Astronaut Central's 2013 Frank Borman signing. Does Jimmy, Robert, and John P.J. charge a premium for completions? Just need to find one previously signed by John B. By the way. All these years I've always thought that that "muse" on the cover was Lucille Ball. Could the artist have made a second mistake as well? "Miles Davis (or was it Blind Willie Johnson?)" After all, it doesn't seem as though he is/was really sure who is who. |
413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 07-30-2013 11:41 AM
Can you imagine how surprised Borman would be if handed this album to sign? I would love to have my copy signed.You guys are most likely the first people to uncover this mistake on a classic album cover dating back to the age of Apollo. Mad props to you. Now that's a piece of Zeppelin trivia! |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-30-2013 11:03 PM
When I go to thrift shops and garage sales, there are often many boxes of old record albums. Usually I look for the music from the "2001" movie or "Star Wars". Now, I have another album to add to my search. |
David Bryant
Member Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 07-31-2013 12:46 PM
I'm amazed! My friends and I recognised Frank Borman on that album sleeve on the day it came out! |
stsmithva
Member Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 07-31-2013 01:40 PM
I'll be mailing my items to Astronaut Central for the Borman signing in a couple of days, and I've printed out these pictures to include for his amusement. |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 08-01-2013 05:10 PM
I also instantly saw Borman. Despite the portrait controversy that's nice detective work Bill. |
413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 08-01-2013 11:48 PM
Thanks Joel. Even though I don't collect astronaut portraits, when I first scanned the cover I immediately recognized the face as very familiar. I did spend some time looking for the actual photo that was used in the artwork, but alas, I was looking for the wrong astronaut. When I posted the images and saw that everyone was seeing Borman, I knew exactly why the face was so familiar to me.
Thinking about it now, I can see a possible reason why Borman's image may have been used. The Zeppelin album was released in October of 1969 between the Apollo 11 and 12 missions. However, the concept and sleeve design would have been put together well in advance of the album release in October, possibly even before Apollo 11 made it into the history books. Indeed the recording sessions for the album itself began in early 1969.
As commander of the first mission to the moon in late December 1968, Borman was arguably the most visible astronaut in the public's eye at the time the album artwork was created. Also, with the album's release just three months after Apollo 11, this might help explain how Armstrong's name has erroneously been attached to the artwork. Just a theory. I do know that for a Led Zeppelin and Apollo fan the whole thing does make for an interesting story after all these years!
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413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 08-03-2013 03:17 PM
Now here's a bit of Led Zeppelin trivia that I was previously aware of that has now become even more interesting in light of the recent discovery of the Armstrong/Borman misidentification. With the release of Zeppelin's sixth record, Physical Graffiti (1975), artist Peter Corriston with designer Mike Doud made an attempt at incorporating Armstrong's image into the sleeve design for the album.As can be seen, the well-known and iconic image of Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface appears in the upper right window of the building on the album's cover. References to the album's design again incorrectly identify the image as that of Neil Armstrong. Perhaps this time it could be argued that this is not a mistake, as we all know that Armstrong is clearly visible in Aldrin's visor.   
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413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 08-07-2013 03:06 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Glint:
All these years I've always thought that that "muse" on the cover was Lucille Ball.
That's funny, I always thought that it was Robert Plant's doppelgänger. |
Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 08-08-2013 04:14 PM
I saw this building front in the East Village of the Lower East Side of Manhattan courtesy of a useful Fodor’s guide. I didn’t see Buzz in the window though.  |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 08-08-2013 04:28 PM
He was probably on a book signing tour at the time. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 08-20-2013 07:37 PM
I can confirm that is a younger Frank Borman on the Led Zeppelin II album cover. Personally, I like the first album. Bluesier. Time for me to ramble on. |
413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-12-2013 04:34 PM
Just arrived today! 
A sincere thanks to the fine folks at Astronaut Central for a job well done and to the collectSPACE community for identifying Borman as the honorary Led Zeppelin band member. My record jacket is from the first American pressing of the album, released in 1969. I hate to say it but I purchased this album in the same year. Although I'm feeling a bit old, I'm also proud, thrilled, and happy with the results of this signing. |
Grounded!
Member Posts: 367
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 11-12-2013 08:11 PM
Ditto to everything 413 just posted. My almost one-of-a-kind album cover also arrived today. A special thanks to Rob who called when this knucklehead from Vermont forgot to enclose his order form!I wonder if David Juniper is aware of all this attention his artwork has been getting on collectSPACE? |
dss65
Member Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 11-12-2013 09:19 PM
Very cool, guys. I guess I'll show my own age here and reveal that Led Zeppelin II was one of two albums that seemed to be owned by at least one person in every single room on my dorm floor when I was a freshman at college. (The other was the sound track to Easy Rider. It seemed like you could walk down the hall and hear the music from one or the other blaring from just about every room. What a time to be alive!) What a score to have your signed album covers! |
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