A rear view of Bruce Springsteen was an unusual choice for an album cover
The Boss’ butt. There, we said it. Forget J.Lo or Beyonce — Bruce Springsteen gets our vote for the most iconic ass in rock’n’roll.
We’re not just being cheeky. The Born in the USA album cover, also known as the butt shot seen ’round the world, had something truly special about it. The image — and Bruce’s obvious assets — instantly became a classic.
Bruce’s butt stands alongside The Rolling Stone’s tongue or Elvis’ hips as a body part that became a rock’n’roll icon.
“Most of Springsteen’s biographers and music critics are men,” says Carmen, Boss Lady of Network9 and lifelong Bruce fan.
“They talk about his intelligence, his writing, his music, and his charisma, which of course, are mind-boggling. But they don’t talk about how gorgeous he really is, front AND back. But Annie Liebowitz sure got it.”
Ass aside, let’s look at the album design itself
From a design perspective, this cover rocks. Annie Liebowitz photographed the iconic Born in the USA cover, which was the perfect visual language for Bruce’s music. Network9’s superpower is brand design, so check us out for your project.
Below is an outtake from Springsteen’s session, shot from the front, that didn’t make the cut. It’s a terrific photo and iconic in its own right. So why didn’t it make the cover?
In other words, why the REAR view of Bruce Springsteen? What was the Born in The USA album cover meaning?
The final image has two elements: Bruce’s body and the flag. The final album cover design is shown below with the typography in place.
Both images are fragments of the whole, shown close up. There is no need for stars on the American flag — we fill them in. Bruce’s blue jeans provide the blue in the red, white and blue imagery.
The body could be anonymous, but we all know it is Bruce himself. Decked out in the rock’n’roll uniform of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a confident stance, this is the Bruce that men want to be and women want to be with. Even without his face, the pose has attitude, confidence and cool.
The hat
The red baseball cap stuffed into his back pocket belonged to his old pal Lance Larson from New Jersey. When Larson’s father died, he gave Bruce his dad’s favorite red baseball cap. Springsteen decided to wear it on the cover of Born in the USA in tribute. He told Larson that his father would always live on in music history. How right he was.
What can we learn about branding and design from this cover art?
Shooting Bruce from behind “shows a unique point of view,” says Carmen.
At the time, the shot caused controversy. But hey, what’s rock’n’roll without a little uproar?
Was Springsteen facing the flag in admiration, or was placing his butt in front of it a subversive gesture?
Some even suggested he was urinating on the flag.
Seriously? In the title song, Bruce writes about how America neglects our veterans. Maybe people thought that because Born in the USA is not the rah rah anthem Ronald Reagan mistakenly thought it was and tried to commandeer for his election slogan he was insulting it.
But I doubt he even thought about desecrating the flag.
Maybe he was being cheeky, but I think the choice of this rear view photo created a certain magic and mystery.
We think it’s more about creating drama by leaving something out.
Like this post? Check out: Designing Revolution: Designing The Beatles Album Covers
We observed a few things about effective design from studying this cover, once we got past its obvious qualities.
- Look at things differently.
- Try another visual point of view.
- Make objects larger or smaller for contrast.
- Focus on one thing unique and interesting.
- Create emotion.
- Be authentic.
- Leave something to the imagination.
In a shameless plug, I invite you to download your “Guide to Winning New Business—Even Now!” It’s 2020, and we are working with many companies to transform their messaging to be relevant in this crisis. Now back to Bruce…
As great album design should, the image reflects the content of his music.
The patriotic theme reflects the Born in the USA title track.
Bruce’s attitude creates an emotional response, even with all his clothes on and not showing his face.
It works because it is authentic, which is a messaging strategy all bosses can learn from The Boss. So be like Bruce. be real, emotional, and show off your greatest assets.
At Network9, we take design and branding seriously.
As The Boss Lady, I’m hell-bent on creatively guiding companies to win more business.
