What's your favorite Motown label design?

**lockhartgary** · 01-10-2016, 04:22 PM

Hi all,
First, let me say that I consider 45/LP label designs an art form to some degree. With that being said, what is your favorite Motown or Motown subsidiary label design? My top choice would have to be the Gordy script label [[the purple label with the logo on top and the slogan, "It's what's in the grooves that count"). I don't care for the 2nd Gordy design nearly as much.

lockhartgary

**BigAl** · 01-10-2016, 06:22 PM

I, too, always liked the earlier Gordy design, but I also hated the grammatical error it contained.
It should have read, "It's What's in the Grooves that countS.
This was an obvious rip-off of the Winston cigarettes slogan, "It's What's Up Front that Counts." [[This referred to the tobacco blend in Winstons rather than the filtering material, which competitor Tarreyton plugged with their brand.)

**lockhartgary** · 01-10-2016, 06:27 PM

Being that I love the design of this label, I can overlook the grammatical error. But yes, how did this get past the proofreaders?

**robb_k** · 01-10-2016, 06:35 PM

I like the Miracle Records label design best.
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**antceleb12** · 01-10-2016, 08:16 PM

I agree. Whenever i shop for vinyl, I often pick up pieces I have never heard of merely for the label or cover art design.

My favorites are the early Tamla label [[a la "Please Mr. Postman"), and the second Tamla label [[a la "Can I Get a Witness"). I was never wild about the Gordy or Soul label designs. And, of course, the classic "Motown" map design is always good.

**luke** · 01-10-2016, 09:58 PM

Updated VIP in addition to classic Motown label.

**soulster** · 01-10-2016, 10:53 PM

My favorite:

**soulster** · 01-10-2016, 10:54 PM

**soulster** · 01-10-2016, 10:55 PM

**soulster** · 01-10-2016, 10:58 PM

**lockhartgary** · 01-11-2016, 06:08 AM

Soulster, where did you get those blank labels? They would be great for my homemade cds.

**soulster** · 01-11-2016, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by lockhartgary

Soulster, where did you get those blank labels? They would be great for my homemade cds.

Long story.

About 12 years ago, a bunch of guys on the Steve Hoffman music forum posted cleaned-up record labels they did with Photoshop and posted them on the site. However, there were so many, and the server couldn't handle them, so they removed them, and we were all forced to put them up on Smugmug, a photo-sharing site much like Flicker or Instagram. Well, we amassed well over 1700 blank and custom labels made for your CD-Rs. I even posted a link for them here years ago.

Well, last month, it was discovered that the images were removed from Smugmug, and the owner of the site had been absent for almost a year. So, since I had most of the labels, I sent them to another person with a website that he posts restored record covers on. Since a lot of the labels need cleanup and tweaking, he is fixing some of them up and posting them. He is currently up to the letter "E", as he has just finished posting the "Elektra" labels.

I have the almost entire original collection, and that's how I have the ones I posted here.

From that original collection, I have done hundreds myself. I use Photoshop, and let me tell you, it's sometimes a real bitch cleaning off the text from some of those labels, like Warner Brothers Burbank labels.

You can find some of the remastered collection, which is a work in progress, here:
http://vinylalbumcovers.com/

Just click the "Record Labels" hyperlink, and the letter of the alphabet of the label you're looking for. But, for now, if there is anything you need that hasn't yet been posted, just send me a request, and I probably have it. I'll gladly send it to you.

The labels vary in sizes, but work nicely in any CD-R label program, and look great when printed with printers that print directly on CD-R and DVD-R labels. Just add your own text, of course, and you are there!

**Motown Eddie** · 01-11-2016, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by lockhartgary

Hi all,
First, let me say that I consider 45/LP label designs an art form to some degree. With that being said, what is your favorite Motown or Motown subsidiary label design? My top choice would have to be the Gordy script label [[the purple label with the logo on top and the slogan, "It's what's in the grooves that count"). I don't care for the 2nd Gordy design nearly as much.

lockhartgary

For me, it's the Motown "map label". I love the 'red, yellow, blue' lettering of Motown and the star pointing out Detroit.

**arr&bee** · 01-11-2016, 02:15 PM

For me it will always be the classic purple gordy lable[it's what's in the grooves that count]...cool!!

**mysterysinger** · 01-11-2016, 02:24 PM

There is only one, isn't there?
Attachment 10963

**lockhartgary** · 01-11-2016, 04:07 PM

Thanks soulster for the info and the link!! I digitized the Temps Live at London's Talk of the Town from a pristine copy of the LP. I also used photoshop to erase the text and you are correct...it is indeed a chore.

**robb_k** · 01-11-2016, 04:24 PM

We need blanks of "RayBer", "Mel-O-dy", "Miracle", "Workshop Jazz", "Divinity", and "Inferno"!

**Methuselah2** · 01-11-2016, 07:54 PM

Here's one that was basically a specialty item but it certainly surprised me--and pleasantly so--when I opened the album and saw it. Made an impact and added a very nice touch; plus a clever working of the letter 'm' into the design and also a beautiful capturing of the look of a label of an old recording.

Can you guess what it is?

http://www.bsnpubs.com/motown/motown/label6.jpg