# Ed Thrasher

Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of a number of Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album Package in 1974 for the Mason Proffit cover Come & Gone. He worked with various recording artists and is known for his influence on album cover design.
Thrasher was born in Glendale, California, to a Los Angeles city councilman. He served in the US Navy during the Korean War attending Los Angeles Trade Technical College upon his return. In 1957 began working at Capitol Records as an assistant, later becoming the Head Art Director and photographer. In 1964, he joined Warner Bros. Records, where he designed a number of album covers, including the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Are You Experienced, Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, the Grateful Dead's Anthem of the Sun and the Doobie Brothers' Toulouse Street. He was also a part of the architectural team to build the Warner Bros. Records building in Burbank. In 1979, Thrasher left Warner Records to start his own advertising company, Ed Thrasher and Associates. Here, he created art for films including Prince's "Purple Rain" and Mel Gibson's "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Throughout his career, Thrasher worked with a plethora of famous artists including Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and Van Morrison.
He was married to Linda Gray from 1962 to 1983.

## Influence

Thrasher had a great influence on the world of album cover design. Before the 1960s, album cover designs typically used only a picture of an artist or an inanimate object, not being reflective of the artist or the music. Thrasher helped to change this by combining different types of photography to capture the energy of the band and the way they performed their concerts. He utilized portraits and live scenes. This allowed for an album cover to better market an artist's image. Thrasher was also known for being very versatile and able to adapt the design to whatever artist he was working with.

## Death

He died of cancer at the age of 74 at his home in Big Bear Lake, California.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| Grammy Awards | 1963 | Potpourri Par Piaf | Best Album Cover (Other Than Classical) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1964 | Carl Reiner And Mel Brooks At The Cannes Film Festival | Best Album Cover (Other Than Classical) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1965 | Poitier Meets Plato | Best Album Cover (Other Than Classical) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1966 | The Aznavour Story | Best Album Cover, Photography | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1966 | Concert In The Virgin Islands | Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1967 | Sammy Davis Jr. Sings - Laurindo Almeida Plays | Best Album Cover, Photography | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1968 | The Gold Standard Collection | Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1971 | Hand Made | Best Album Cover | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1972 | Sharepickers | Best Album Cover | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1972 | Hot Platters | Best Album Cover | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1973 | Sunset Ride | Best Album Cover | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1974 | Come And Gone | Best Album Package | Won |