Record Store Day 2012: Best Album Cover Ever

George Jones - I Wanta Sing

I found this gem in the basement of In Your Ear Records in Warren, RI while helping set up for Record Store Day tomorrow. As if you don't already know, George Jones' 1977 album, I Wanta Sing, features the best cover art in the history of the long playing record album.

I found a lot of nice records down there that will be going out specially for Record Store Day tomorrow, including some really desirable records by James Brown, Miles Davis, The Dead Boys, Pentangle, Metallica, The Sex Pistols, Blondie, Django Reinhardt, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, Sun Ra, Sly & the Family Stone, Madonna, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Meatmen, The Who, Iggy & the Stooges, Otis Redding, Funkadelic, The Clash, and many others. Also, in honor of the late, great Levon Helm I pulled a whole bunch of records by The Band (check out Moondog Matinee, it's truly under-rated).

Of course, In Your Ear also got a bunch of Record Store Day exclusives (all of which look really nice) as well as some very impressive (non RSD related) free swag that you will have to see to believe.

Levon Helm

Legendary musician Levon Helm's daughter Amy and wife Sandy have released the following statement on his website:

Dear Friends,  

Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage...

 Helm is best known as the drummer for the legendary rock band The Band, but his recent work putting together "Midnight Rambles" may be just as important. The Midnight Ramble was an attempt to reconnect to older performance traditions like the medicine show and featured a number of performers including Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Pinetop Perkins, Allen Toussaint, Gillian Walsh, David Rawlings, and many, many others. For years Helm has been an important fixture in the artistic life of Upstate NY, and I am sure he will be deeply missed by all those who knew and loved him. My best wishes go out to them at what is I am sure a difficult time.