Paint It Black: Examination of the Rolling Stones' Album Artwork from 1964-1981

The presentation examines the idea of bands having a unique identity associated with their music and the cultures associated with the group. The Rolling Stones created their own image of themselves expressed through the album artwork, resulting in a brand identity for the band. As one of the leading forces in the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones established themselves early on as icons of rock and roll, and as rock stars became super stars, they became rock gods. The Rolling Stones resisted the cultural identity of the clean-cut, mop-topped British rockers by creating their own identity through their music and corresponding album artwork, which established their image of the bad boys of rock and roll. However, as the band's career progressed, and their popularity grew, their resistance became accepted by the mainstream audience, thus becoming the standard for the rock and roll lifestyle identity. From the beginning, the Rolling Stones have captured the idea of identity and resistance through their music, its message and by adapting their brand multiple times to be not like the other groups, which ultimately cemented their career in the history of rock and roll as well as popular culture.

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