COVERED IN CREAM

Herb Albert was in a recording studio when he was presented with the concept for the album cover. “My first reaction was, ‘Holy s-- man. Too racy,’” the artist told Billboard. “Obviously now it would hardly register, but at the time I thought, ‘Wow that’s a little much.’ And I didn’t know quite frankly, whether it reflected the album – the music I was doing at the time.” But they went with the cover and it would become his most successful album and one of the most memorable LP covers of all time.

The model, Dolores Erickson, now 89 living in Seattle, was a working artist at the time. She had modeled for the album cover “The Touch of Your Lips by Nat King Cole, and appeared in a few commercials and movies. She ran in the same L.A. social circles as Alpert and had attended several recording sessions in his garage when she was chosen to model for the cover of his new album.

The concept was that of A&M’s art director, Peter Whorf, who took the photos himself in his garage. Because whipped cream would turn runny under the hot lights, Whorf used cotton batting and several cans of shaving cream to cover her body to simulate whipped cream, which was only used on Erickson’s head and index fingers. Erickson, who was three months pregnant, wore a bikini with the straps pushed down below the shaving cream.

A&M Records, which stands for Alpert and Moss, was co-founded in 1962 by Alpert, left, and Jerry Moss.

DELIGHTFUL MILESTONES

Whipped Cream & Other Delights hit No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart and held the position for six weeks, and stayed on the chart for 185 weeks. The title track “Whipped Cream” and “Lollipops and Roses” were used as theme music on ABC’s "The Dating Game."

SIDE 1 A Taste of Honey Green Peppers Tangerine Bittersweet Samba Lemon Tree Whipped Cream

SIDE 2 Love Potion No. 9 El Garbanzo Ladyfingers Butterball Peanuts Lollipops and Roses

Through the years, the cover of Whipped Cream & Other Delights would be the target of numerous parodies. One notorious parody was in 1989 from the Minneapolis band Soul Asylum. For the photo, the group’s bassist, Karl Mueller, sat in for the original album’s model. According to the band’s manager, Mueller had to sit for hours in a foul-smelling combination of sour cream, paint, whipped cream and seafood. The title of the album, “Clam Dip & Other Delights” mimicked the original design and even made fun of the A&M logo incorporating the Twin/Tone Records logo instead.

BEYOND WHIPPED

50 albums In the span of his career, Alpert recorded 50 albums, 28 which have appeared on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and five of which reached No. 1. He has sold an estimated 72 million records worldwide. Here are just a few of his most iconic albums.

December 1962: “Lonely Bull” is the debut album. Most of the tracks were geared toward the mariachi sound. The album did not sell well.

May 1966: “What Now My Love” was his sixth record and No. 1 on the Billboard Album chart for nine weeks, the longest of any album released by the group.

December 1963: Alpert’s second album; "Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass." On its release sales were poor, but reached No. 17 on the Billboard album chart when it was reissued in 1966.

November 1966: “SRO,” which stands for standing room only, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album features the hit singles “Mame,” and “Work Song.”

October 1964: “South of the Border” was a gold record. The cover features model Sandra Moss, wife of A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss.

September 1979: “Rise” started out as a 7-inch single and was Alpert’s first No. 1 hit song since 1968. An album was later created to capitalize on the song’s success.

April 1965: “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” was Alpert’s fourth album and the band’s most popular release. In all, the album spent 141 weeks in Top 40, and 61 in Top 10.

May 1982: “Fandango” marked the 20th anniversary of his first album “The Lonely Bull.” Recorded in Mexico, “Fandango” was targeted for the Latin-American market.

September 1965: “Going Places” was Alpert’s fifth album. The song “Spanish Flea,” was one of several tunes heard on “The Dating Game.”

2024: “50” was Alpert’s final and 50th album, which he said brought together lessons he learned from playing the trumpet for over 80 years. He was married 50 years on its release.