2000 – 43rd Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Madonna – Music

Kevin Reagan, art director

Best Boxed Recording Package: Miles Davis & John Coltrane – The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961

Arnold Levine & Frank Harkins, art directors

Madonna - Music

Miles Davis And John Coltrane - The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961

2001 – 44th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Radiohead – Amnesiac – Special Limited Edition

Stanley Donwood & Tchocky, art directors

Best Boxed Recording Package: Various Artists – Brain In A Box – The Science Fiction Collection

Hugh Brown & Steve Vance, art directors

Radiohead - Amnesiac - Special Limited Edition

Brain In A Box - The Science Fiction Collection

2002 – 45th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Dixie Chicks – Home

Kevin Reagan, art director

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Charley Patton – Screamin’ And Hollerin’ The Blues – The Worlds Of Charley Patton

Susan Archie, art director

Dixie Chicks - Home

Charley Patton - Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues - The Worlds Of Charley Patton

2003 – 46th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Ani DiFranco – Evolve

Ani DiFranco & Brian Grunert, art directors

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Miles Davis – The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

Howard Fritzson, Julian Alexander & Seth Rothstein, art directors

Ani DiFranco - Evolve

Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

2004 – 47th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Wilco – A Ghost Is Born

Dan Nadel & Peter Buchanan-Smith, art directors

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime

Stefan Sagmeister, art director

Wilco - A Ghost Is Born

Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime - Boxed Set

2005 – 48th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm

Aimee Mann & Gail Marowitz, art directors

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Johnny Cash – The Legend

Ian Cuttler, art director

Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm

Johnny Cash - The Legend - Boxed Set

2006 – 49th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Tool – 10,000 Days

Adam Jones, art director

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium

Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Flea, John Frusciante & Matt Taylor, art directors

Tool - 10,000 Days

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium - Limited Edition

2007 – 50th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Bright Eyes – Cassadaga

Zachary Nipper, art director

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Various Artists – What It Is!: Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)

Masaki Koike, art director

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

What It Is!: Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)

2008 – 51st Annual Grammy Awards

Best Recording Package: Metallica – Death Magnetic

Bruce Duckworth, David Turner & Sarah Moffat, art directors

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Radiohead – In Rainbows

Christiaan Munro, Mel Maxwell & Stanley Donwood, art directors

Metallica - Death Magnetic

Radiohead - In Rainbows - Special Edition

World's first album cover. Rogers & Hart - Musical Comedy Hits. Designed in 1939 by Alex Steinweiss.

In 1939, 23 year old graphic designer Alex Steinweiss became Columbia Records first art director. He soon convinced the executives at Columbia  to create the first modern album cover. Until then, most records were packaged in generic sleeves of brown paper or cardboard. Record albums were rare and used very simple design layouts and lettering. His concept was to transform the record album by using original artwork on the front cover and  informative, well designed liner notes on the inside flap. The first album cover to undergo Steinweiss’ new design aesthetic (Musical Comedy Hits by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart) was released in 1939. Sales soared. The modern album cover was born.

World's first album cover inside flap

Alex Steinweiss designed all the album covers for Columbia Records between 1939 and 1945. He later designed covers for other record companies including RCA, Remington, Decca and London. Before retiring from album design in 1973 he had designed close to 2500 album covers.

Books:

Alex Steinweiss: Creator of the Modern Album Cover - Limited Edition

Alex Steinweiss: Creator of the Modern Album Cover (Limited Edition)

For the Record: The Life and Work of Alex Steinweiss

For the Record: The Life and Work of Alex Steinweiss

Links:

• alexsteinweiss.com
• Alex Steinweiss profile at The Art Directors Club
• The Remington Site
• undependent – Images of Rogers & Hart – Musical Comedy Hits