Thursday, April 23, 2020

The Stylistics: Let's Put It All Together by Johnson and O'Connell

The Stylistics
Let's Put It all Together
cover artwork by Doug Johnson and Jim O'Connell
1974

Doug Johnson is a Toronto-born artist who did album cover art (and other commercial art commissions) during the 70s and 80s. Johnson was adept in composing pieces not just for soul and R & B albums, but for other genres as well, such as the Heavy Metal band Judas Priest.

Johnson's advertisement for 'Cosmic Candy' and 'Space Dust' joins ''Pop Rocks' as an exemplar of the 70s merging of drug culture with candy:


[The expressions on the faces of the two kids are priceless ! ]


Johnson's artwork has a distinctive style that remains eye-catching even after the passage of nearly 50 years.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a Wiki entry, or any other in-depth biographical treatment, for Johnson, save for a paywalled artwork sales website. If there are non-paywalled sites offering information on his portfolio and career, let me know and I will link to them. 

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