The Girl on the Album Cover: When Beauty Met the Beat, Part 1 of 4
Featuring The Ventures
In the 1960s, if you wanted your album to fly off the shelves, you needed three essential ingredients: killer hooks, impressive musicianship, and—perhaps most importantly to marketing executives—a gorgeous gal on the cover. Long before streaming made album art the size of a postage stamp (where supermodels now look like tiny ants with good bone structure), record companies knew that nothing made a browser stop thumbing through vinyl quite like the sight of a beautiful woman.
And nobody understood this formula better than The Ventures, the instrumental surf rock titans who happened to be led by a guy I called “Dad.” Yes, Don Wilson wasn’t just the rhythm guitarist for the best-selling instrumental band of all time; he was also my father. And in what must be one of rock’s most meta origin stories, my mother, Nancy Bacon, was one of those eye-catching album cover models before she became Mrs. Wilson. Talk about taking “I’m your biggest fan” to a whole new level!
Mom on Vinyl: Nancy Bacon’s Cover Story
In 1964, while The Ventures were riding high on their surf rock reimaginings of popular hits, my mom Nancy posed for “Walk Don’t Run ’64,” sporting what the fashion magazines of the time would have called a “casual beachside ensemble”—green pedal pushers and a yellow top with kitten heels. What the magazines wouldn’t mention is how that outfit was specifically chosen to make young men stop and reach for their wallets in record stores nationwide. (Nothing says “buy this album” like kitten heels—totally practical surfwear!)
Mom and Dad married in Las Vegas in December of that same year. Apparently, nothing says “I do” quite like appearing on your future husband’s album cover. They divorced in 1967, but by then, they’d already created something far more enduring than their marriage: me. (I’d say that’s worth at least gold record status, though I’m still waiting for my trophy and royalty checks.)
But Mom was far more than just a pretty face. While the modeling paid the bills (including fashion shoots, commercial work, and what were delicately called “nudie cuties”), her true passion was writing. She penned “men’s fiction” for those same magazines she posed in—because why just be objectified when you can also be the one creating the fantasy? That’s what I call controlling the narrative! She later became the editor of Confidential magazine, wrote gossip columns, and authored books on subjects ranging from Rasputin to Whitney Houston. Her memoir, “Legends and Lipstick,” became a bestseller. Brains and beauty—a combination the record executives probably didn’t bargain for when they booked her for that album cover shoot. “We just wanted a pretty face, not someone with thoughts and ambitions! The audacity!”
Fun Fact: Nancy cavorted onscreen in two Albert Zugsmith films: she was a gal-pal of The Devil (Mickey Rooney) in “The Private Lives of Adam and Eve” and a nightclub hostess in “Sex Kittens Go to College.” Yes, my mom hung out with Mickey Rooney as Satan and appeared in a movie called “Sex Kittens Go to College.” I like to think my mom could have inspired Fountains of Wayne’s hit song “Stacy’s Mom.”
The Ventures’ Cover Girl Collection
My mom wasn’t the only beauty to grace The Ventures’ album covers. These instrumental hitmakers had a veritable catalog of cover girls, each with her own fascinating story:
Barbara Grimes launched the tradition, appearing on the original “Walk, Don’t Run” album in 1960. In a peculiar twist, the actual band members were on tour during the photo shoot, so Liberty Records improvised by using four employees from their stockroom as stand-ins, posing them falling over instruments while Barbara sauntered past. Talk about false advertising! “Buy this album featuring music by four guys who look nothing like the four guys featured on the cover!”
Fun Fact: Barbara later reunited with the actual band in 1990 at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, probably to confirm they weren’t actually stockroom employees. “Wait, you guys really ARE musicians? I thought you were just a myth, like Bigfoot or tax refunds!”
Melodie Johnson graced “Knock Me Out” in 1965, proving that album covers could be a legitimate stepping stone to Hollywood. She acted alongside stars like Clint Eastwood and James Caan before deciding that writing mysteries was more her speed. Like my mother, she traded in her modeling portfolio for a typewriter, proving that the women of The Ventures covers were destined to tell their own stories eventually. Turns out brains last longer than beauty in the entertainment business—who knew?
Fun Fact: Melodie married record producer Bones Howe in 1964, and they are still together. In Hollywood years, that’s approximately 17 centuries of matrimony.
Chris Cranston took center stage for “Golden Greats” in 1967 before becoming Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in April 1971. Her resume includes roles in “Beach Blanket Bingo” and “Funny Girl,” plus a winning appearance on “Match Game” in 1977. When you’ve been both a Playmate and a game show contestant, you’ve officially completed the 1970s celebrity bingo card. All that was missing was a guest spot on “The Love Boat” and selling Tupperware on the side.
Fun Fact: Chris wore her own golden bikini for the “Golden Greats” album cover shoot. That’s dedication to the craft—most models would have just shown up in jeans and demanded, “Where’s my golden costume?” Not Chris. She came prepared, like a Girl Scout with sequins.
Pleasant Gehman appeared on The Ventures’ cover of “Surfing and Spying” (a delightfully meta moment where The Ventures covered the Go-Go’s nodding to The Ventures) in 1981. Pleasant was a punk rock icon who modeled just for kicks while fronting the band Screamin’ Sirens. Today, she’s an author, tarot card reader, and belly dancer—because why settle for just one fascinating career when you can have several? Some people can barely manage to excel at one job, while Pleasant collects careers like they’re Pokemon.
Fun Fact: Pleasant was photographed for the .45 slipcover by music historian Theresa Kereakes. (Who has her own Substack here: Punk Turns 30 Again). Here’s Pleasant, talking about album covers for my documentary on The Ventures, “Stars on Guitars” (2020)
Sex Sells (Especially Vinyl)
Let’s be honest about why these women were on these covers: sex sells! In the 1960s and ‘70s, record companies weren’t exactly subtle about their marketing tactics. A pretty face (and often much more) on an album cover was a tried-and-true way to boost sales. While the musicians created the sounds, the models created the double-takes in record stores. “Is that a new Ventures album, or am I just happy to see you?”
The 1960s were the golden age of the album cover girl—from Herb Alpert’s “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” (featuring a woman covered only in whipped cream—read all about her in the Culture Sonar article by yours truly) to countless surf and lounge records sporting bikini-clad beauties. These covers weren’t just packaging; they were promises of a lifestyle, a fantasy that extended beyond the music. Buy this record, and you too might find yourself surrounded by California girls in beach bungalows. (Results not guaranteed, especially for teenage boys buying records with their allowance money. Sorry, fellas—that $4.98 won’t buy you a girlfriend, just 12 tracks of guitar instrumentals.)
What’s fascinating is how many of these “just a pretty face” models—like my mother—turned out to be complex, creative women with ambitions far beyond being vinyl eye candy. They leveraged their modeling careers into writing, acting, and entrepreneurship, refusing to be defined by their album cover appearances. “Oh, you thought I was just here to look pretty? Surprise! I have thoughts and talents too! Mind. Blown.”
The Family That Rocks Together
There’s something uniquely surreal about having parents whose courtship is literally documented on vinyl and available in used record stores nationwide. While most kids have embarrassing family photo albums, I have an actual commercially-released album. My family tree is part of rock history, with my origin story beginning somewhere between the A and B sides. Most people’s parents met at work or school—mine met on the glossy cover of an album that sold millions of copies, and that’s pretty dang cool.
Next time you’re flipping through vinyl at a record store or vintage shop, take a moment to really look at those album cover girls. Behind those perfect poses and calculated gazes are real women with fascinating lives who often went on to create art of their own. In my mother’s case, the girl on the album cover wasn’t just selling records; she was part of a love story that would eventually lead to me. And isn’t that the most interesting B-side of all?
Stay tuned for Part Two of this series, where I’ll dive into the stories behind some of my other favorite album covers—including the ladies who’ve graced albums by Roxy Music, The Cars, Ohio Players, and many more. Because there’s nothing I love more than telling the stories of women who were initially hired just to look pretty but turned out to have actual personalities. Shocking concept!
Love this idea for a series and that you are a product of The Ventures. How cool! I didn’t realize I wasn’t already subscribed to you! There is a lot to keep track of on Substack. Looking forward to reading more but right now I’m supposed to be working. 😉
Love your humor, the personal connection, and the bigger point you’re making. Looking forward to the other three posts.