5 of the Most Controversial Album Covers in Music History

Musicians often court controversy, and not just with their lyrics. Album cover art is another way for musicians to not only express themselves but push boundaries, sometimes too far. Some album covers have stirred up controversy, leading to compromises like alternate packaging or even being pulled from store shelves entirely.

The Beatles, Yesterday and Today

In 1966, The Beatles released Yesterday and Today, made up of songs left off their recent EMI recordings. Its cover featured the band dressed as butches and surrounded by decapitated dolls and pieces of raw meat. Although some conflicting stories about the cover have come out of the years, it’s generally thought to be a commentary on the band’s fame at the time. Ultimately, the album was pulled so the cover could be changed.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Two Virgins

John Lennon continued to stir up controversy after the end of The Beatles. Two Virgins, his first experimental album with Yoko Ono, depicted the two of them completely nude on the cover, leading label EMI to refuse to distribute it. Although alternate distributors stepped in, the album was sold in a brown paper bag.

The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers

For the cover of Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones worked with famed photographer and pop artist Andy Warhol, who came up with the idea of a picture of a man in tight jeans. The original design featured a working zipper, which revealed underwear. The cover wasn’t just controversial—the zipper also risked damaging the record itself.

Blind Faith, Blind Faith

Supergroup Blind Faith’s only album, released in 1969, originally featured a topless 11-year-old girl holding an airplane on the cover. According to photographer Bob Seidemann, the cover was intended to represent “human creativity and its expression through technology.” The airplane was interpreted by some as a phallic symbol, and the cover was changed to a photo of the band for the US release.

Scorpions, Virgin Killer

Virgin Killer, the fourth studio album from Scorpions, depicted a nude young girl covered by a cracked-glass effect on its cover. Due to backlash in multiple countries, the album was released with an alternate cover with a photo of the band. The cover gained attention again in 2008, when the British Internet Watch Foundation blacklisted the album’s Wikipedia page due to the image being potentially illegal.