869: R Crumb designs the Cheap Thrills album cover
Robert Crumb, credited as simply “R Crumb”, illustrated the iconic second Big Brother & The Holding Company album Cheap Thrills. Crumb, the father of underground comics responsible for the provocative, LSD-tinged “Keep on Truckin’”, “Mr. Natural”, and “Fritz the Cat”, became friendly with Janis Joplin as her neighbor in Haight-Asbury. As a favor to Joplin, Crumb pulled an all-nighter completing both sides and was paid $600 by Columbia Records. Ultimately, Columbia rejected half the cover, and what Crumb had originally intended to serve as the back track listing became what is now an instantly recognizable cover and emblem of the San Francisco sound.
Official R Crumb Website
R Crumb entry, Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood
Brilliant Careers: R Crumb on Salon.com