Ernie Cefalu - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ernie Cefalu is a contemporary Senior Creative Director, currently working out of Los Angeles, CA. Cefalu attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...

) and graduated in 1969 with honors. Soon after, Cefalu started his career on Madison Avenue at Carolini Advertising, where his first assignment was to create the campaign and graphics for the International Paper Company’s national sales meeting. His solution took the form of an elaborate, award-winning off-Broadway musical production, 'Dolls Alive.' In the early part of 1970 Cefalu became an Art Director at Norman Levitt Advertising where he created the world renowned Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...

album and Angels for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

Career

In 1970, Cefalu joined forces with Craig Braun, Inc. in New York, where he designed the iconic tongue logo for The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

and worked on the rule-breaking 'Sticky Fingers

Sticky Fingers

-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...

' album as well as Grand Funk Railroad

Grand Funk Railroad

Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...

’s 'E Pluribus Funk

E Pluribus Funk

E Pluribus Funk is Grand Funk Railroad's fifth studio album, and was released in November 1971 by Capitol Records. This is the final Grand Funk Railroad album produced by Terry Knight. The title is a play on the former motto of the US government, E Pluribus Unum...

.' Eight months later he opened a satellite office in California for Braun, where he was the head Creative Director. There, he was the creative force behind a string of popular album covers for Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

’s 'School's Out

School's Out (album)

School's Out is the fifth studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 1972. The album's title track has remained a staple song in Alice Cooper's live setlist and receives regular airplay on many "Classic Rock" radio stations....

,' and Cheech & Chong’s 'Big Bambu

Big Bambu

Big Bambú is the second album by Cheech & Chong, released in 1972. The name Big Bambu is a reference to a type of rolling paper made by the Bambu company; the original LP sleeve was designed by Ernie Cefalu and manufactured to look like a giant rolling paper package, and originally contained a...

,' among others.

Cefalu opened his own agency, Pacific Eye & Ear, in January 1972. Over the next 15 years, he created another 184 album covers for rock legends such as The Doors

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith

Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...

, The Bee Gees, The Guess Who

The Guess Who

The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...

, Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

, Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....

, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Burton Cummings

Burton Cummings

Burton L. Cummings, OC, OM is a Canadian musician and songwriter.He was the lead singer and frequent keyboardist for the Canadian rock band The Guess Who...

, Grand Funk Railroad, Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...

, and Black Oak Arkansas

Black Oak Arkansas

Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s with ten charting albums released in that decade...

. Cefalu’s collaborations with then emerging illustrators such as Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan is an American artist known for his more than 150 movie posters, which include all the films in the Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars film series. He has also painted album covers, collectibles, and book covers.- Early life and education :Drew Struzan was born in Oregon...

, Bill Garland, Joe Petagno

Joe Petagno

Joe Petagno is an artist known principally for creating images used on rock album covers, for bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Motörhead, Roy Harper, Marduk, Nightshade, and Illdisposed....

, Carl Ramsey, Ingrid Haenke and Joe Garnett led Pacific Eye & Ear to be known as one of the top album design companies in the country.

In 1985, Cefalu formed David Hale Associates and broadened his client roster beyond the music industry to include two of the largest food companies in the world, Nestle

Nestlé

Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

and Kraft

Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...

. Over the next decade and a half, his work helped more than 20 brands in five divisions post double-digit sales growth. In 1990 he was retained by Panavision Motion Picture Cameras

Panavision

Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...

, NGK Spark Plugs

NGK

is a Public Company established in 1936 and based in Nagoya, Japan. NGK is involved in the manufacture and sale of spark plugs and related products for internal-combustion engines and new ceramics and applicable products.-Organization:...

and Rockwell International

Rockwell International

Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....

. In 1996, Cefalu added national retail chains, major motion picture studios, National Hot Rod Association

National Hot Rod Association

The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...

, Valvoline, and InBev

InBev

InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...

adding global beers and spirits brands to his client roster.

Awards and recognition

Thus far in his career, Cefalu has received three Grammy nominations and ten Music Hall of Fame Awards for his album cover work, as well as four Awards of Excellence from Art Directors Clubs. He has also been presented with 15 gold albums and a triple platinum album by the bands whose album covers he designed. With the 2009 release of Burton Cummings’ latest album, 'Above the Ground

Above the Ground

Above the Ground is an album by Burton Cummings released in late 2008 on Sony Music Entertainment Canada. It is his first solo recording since 1997 and his newest studio recording in the 18 years since his 1990 Plus Signs album....

,' and the 2011 release for Alice Cooper’s 'Old School' box set Cefalu has 210 total album covers to his credit.

Present

Today, as Owner/Creative Director of HornbookInk, Cefalu is retained by four Fortune 100 companies as their internal Creative Director. His passion for the music industry remains, however, and he continues to take on select, music-related projects.

OriginalAlbumCoverArt.com

Over the course of his career, Cefalu has assembled what is arguably the largest, privately owned, collection of original album cover art and music-related illustration in the world. This unparalleled body of over 250 signed, original pieces of art, highlighted at www.originalalbumcoverart.com, features the previously unavailable work of acclaimed illustrators Drew Struzan, Bill Garland, Joe Petagno, Carl Ramsey, Ingrid Haenke, Joe Garnett and many others.

Creative process

"As a young designer, I had the privilege of working side by side with many great and talented artists. And as the years went by, I found that choosing the right people to work with was a key ingredient in creating what I often refer to as, 'that magic' -- that illusive, unspeakable, creative force that transforms good work into great work."

"Great creative must always have variety to survive and thrive!” For me, the other key ingredient is taking on a variety of projects across business sectors. There's something about juggling different assignments and working under pressure that brings a fresh perspective and clarity of mind. So, one day, we'd be working on Alice Cooper’s newest album and the next day we'd be designing 13 buses for the Los Angeles Rapid Transit Authority. The following week, we were on-site at Rockwell International, designing and building a 120 square-foot trade show booth for their Ring Laser Gyro Nuclear Guidance Systems. Then the week after that we created a Rock N’ Bowl Promotion for a 26 location Bowling Alley chain in Southern California, raising $50,000.00 for the California Special Olympics. Some people might find it crazy, but I find it invigorating."

Other notable works

• Iron Butterfly, “Scorching Beauty

Scorching Beauty

Scorching Beauty is the fifth album released by Iron Butterfly. Released four years after their original breakup, it was recorded by a reformed lineup with only one member remaining from their previous album. In addition to Bushy, this lineup includes Erik Brann, Phil Kramer, and Howard Reitzes....

”

• Earth Wind & Fire, “Open Our Eyes

Open Our Eyes

Open Our Eyes is the fifth studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, released in 1974 on Columbia Records. The album went to number one on the R&B Charts and number 15 on the Pop Charts. Open Our Eyes contained the Billboard charting singles, "Mighty Mighty" , "Devotion" , "Kalimba Story"...

”

• Black Sabbath, “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath”

• Jefferson Airplane, “Baron Von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun

Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun

-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals on all tracks except "Across the Board" and "Fishman", rhythm guitar on all tracks except "Across the Board" and "Fishman", glass harmonica on "Harp Tree Lament" and "White Boy"...

”

• Alice Cooper, “Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits (Alice Cooper album)

Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by Alice Cooper, released in 1974. It features the hit singles of songs from their third album to the last album with the band's original lineup ....

”

• Alice Cooper, “Welcome To My Nightmare

Welcome to My Nightmare

Welcome to My Nightmare is the eighth album by Alice Cooper, released in 1975. This was Alice Cooper's first solo album . The cover artwork was created by Drew Struzan for Pacific Eye & Ear. Rolling Stone would later rank it as one of the "Top 100 Album Covers Of All Time".Welcome to My Nightmare...

”

• Tony Orlando and Dawn

Tony Orlando and Dawn

Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...

, “To Be With You”

• Aerosmith, “Toys in the Attic

Toys in the Attic (album)

For his review of Toys in the Attic for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album's style a mix of Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones riffs and was filled with songs about sex with a different style than there ever was before. Greg Kot called the album a landmark of hard rock...

”

• West, Bruce and Laing

West, Bruce and Laing

West, Bruce and Laing were a blues-rock power trio super-group consisting of Leslie West , Jack Bruce and Corky Laing . In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm, and began touring as West, Bruce Jr...

, “Whatever Turns You On

Whatever Turns You On (album)

Whatever Turns You On is the second and last studio album by blues-rock power trio/supergroup West, Bruce and Laing.The album features a black-and-white comic strip on its front and back covers depicting the alleged "turn-ons" of the band's members - Leslie West's is food, Jack Bruce's alcohol, and...

”

• Alice Cooper, “Billion Dollar Babies

Billion Dollar Babies

Billion Dollar Babies is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1973. The album became the best selling Alice Cooper record at the time of its release, hit number one on the album charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and went on to be...

”

• Black Oak Arkansas, "Early Times"

• Melanie, "Live At Carnegie Hall"

• Alice Cooper, "Alice At The Palace Poster"

• David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, "Serious Moonlight Tour

Serious Moonlight Tour

The David Bowie Serious Moonlight Tour was thus far Bowie's longest, largest and most successful concert tour. The tour opened at the Vorst Forest Nationaal - Brussels on 18 May 1983 and ended in the Hong Kong Coliseum on 8 December 1983; 16 countries visited, 96 performances, 2,601,196 tickets...

Logo"

• Modern Jazz Quartet, "In Memoriam"

• Canned Heat

Canned Heat

Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...

“One More River to Cross

One More River To Cross (album)

One More River To Cross is the eighth studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. The band negotiated out of their contract with Liberty Records and debuted with Atlantic Records. This album featured horn arrangements played by the Muscle Shoal Horns along with Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins...

”

• The Bee Gees “Main Course

Main course

A main dish is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée course, and the salad course. In North American usage it may in fact be called the "entree"....

”

• Burton Cummings “Above the Ground

Above the Ground

"

• Alice Cooper, "Old School Box Set"

• Alice Cooper, "Welcome 2 My Nightmare"

External links

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