17 Mar 2025 7 min read Blog

Album Cover Monday: Back on the Block - Quincy Jones (1989)

Join me as I do a mini deep dive into the design of the cover of the 1989 Quincy Jones hit album, Back on the Block.

Album cover for Back On the Block by Quincy Jones. 1989. Warner Bros. Records. — *Back on the Block* by Quincy Jones. 1989. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Today's album cover deep dive is on the 1989 hit album Back on the Block by Quincy Jones. According to Jones himself, the album was a project that he dreamed about his entire life. It spanned the genres of rap, bebop, ‘70s jazz fusion, African music, and contemporary pop/R&B. It also featured artists across three generations, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, George Benson, Joe Zawinul, Al Jarreau, Barry White, Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, James Ingram, El Debarge, Bobby McFerrin, Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Take 6, Al B Sure!, and introduced then 13 year old Tevin Campbell. The album ended up winning SIX Grammys.

I’ve been obsessed with this album cover since I was a kid. I would pull the cd out of our cd cabinet and take out the booklet just to admire it. Now, whenever I admire an album cover, no matter how new or old, I do a little deep dive.

Just like how it takes a team to create a picture book (kidlit shoutout!), it takes a team to create an album cover. I’m always curious about who is behind it. That includes the art directors, graphic designers, letterers, and photographers. It truly takes a team.

Here are the folks behind Back on the Block’s amazing album cover:

Art Direction – Jeri Heiden

Jeri Heiden worked at Warner Bros. Records and A&M Records as an executive and creative director for 17 years. Her work can be seen on over 400 album campaigns and she has received four Grammy nominations for packaging design. Check out her archive. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

*Tango In The Night* by Fleetwood Mac. 1987. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc. | *One More Story* by Peter Cetera. 1988. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.

*It's Real* by James Ingram. 1989. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc. | *For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge* by Van Halen. 1991. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Design – Alan Disparte and the late Margo Chase for Margo Chase Design

Alan Disparte has collaborated with artists like Prince, Quincy Jones and Madonna for Paisley Park, Capitol Records, and Virgin Records as well as brands like Levi’s, Fred Segal and Hermès. Check out his personal work on his website.

Margo Chase was an incredibly prolific and influential figure in graphic design. Check out her design group's website. I'll talk more about her lettering work in a separate blog post, but for now, here are a few of my favorites:

*Romance 1600* by Shelia E. 1985. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc. | *Like A Prayer* by Madonna. 1989. Courtesy of Sire Records Company and WEA International Inc.

*Luck of the Draw* by Bonnie Raitt. 1991. Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc. | *Spellbound* by Paula Abdul. 1991. Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

For the longest, I tried to find the name of the style used on Back on the Block's album cover. It wasn't until I saw a TikTok from Interior Architect and Principal and Creative Director of Mild Sauce, Shane V. Charles, that I learned that the style is a form of Afro-Postmodernism that was popular during the late 1908s to early 1990s. You can watch the TikTok here or the YouTube Short here.

Shane explains that Afro-Postmodernism used colors and geometry to reflect the identity of our African culture. Here are a few examples that she gave of 80s-90s Afro-Postmodernism:

The movie posters for *She's Gotta Have It* (1986) and *Do the Right Thing* (1989) by Spike Lee. Courtesy of The National Museum of American History and The Criterion Collection.

Yo MTV Raps ProSet MusiCard for Bell Biv Devoe. Cross Colours print ad for Networks/Merry Go Round.

It also makes me think of the logo from Martin.

The logo from the 1990s TV sitcom, Martin. Courtesy of Fox.

Shane also explains that people usually get the 80s-90s era Afro-Postmodernism style mixed up with the then-popular Memphis Milano style, which originated in 1980s Italy as an anti-elitist and anti-functional style. They're often mixed up because of their boldness and playfulness, but Afro-Postmodernism challenged cultural erasure and the Memphis Milano challenged the idea of taste.

Back on the Block's album cover is a slightly muted version of that popular style of Afro-Postmodernism. It's still playful: the letters of “Quincy Jones” and “Back On the Block" are mismatched in size, style, and color, but the palette is limited. Notice that there aren't any bright colors, only natural colors (sienna and gold, beige and gold in other versions) and pops of purple.

Also note the placement of the African pattern and the appearance of “The Dude” (made by the Zambian sculptor Fanizani Akuda) first seen on the cover of Jones’s 1981 studio album, The Dude.

Album cover for The Dude by Quincy Jones. 1981. Courtesy of A&M Records. — Album cover for *The Dude* by Quincy Jones. 1981. Courtesy of A&M Records.

Quincy Jones talked a little bit about “The Dude” on his Facebook page in 2017:

One day, Henry Mancini and I went to an art gallery and saw this statue on the display, and man...I’m tellin’ ya...it kept saying, “my brother take me home!” So I bought it right then and there. It had an attitude like I’d never seen before...I mean, just look at that puffed out lip, arched back, and cane!! ((:0)) And that’s what inspired my album, “The Dude” in 1980...It might sound crazy, but this dude spiritually spoke to me and I’m glad it did or else that album would’ve never been made!

It actually came from a farm in South Africa...The farm wasn’t making any profits, so the owner had a sculpting teacher named Fanizani Akuda (a member of the sculptural movement called “Shona Sculpture”) come and teach his workers how to sculpt, so that they could make a living…The Dude is one of the sculptures that Fanizani made at the farm and I’ve had him ever since!!

The lighting for the main portrait of Quincy Jones is *chef’s kiss.* Matthew Rolston’s photography (and music video direction) is nothing short of amazing. Check out his legendary work here on his website. Below are a few more examples:

Matthew Rolston, *Michael Jackson, King*, Los Angeles, 1985, from the series “Hollywood Royale: Out of the School of Los Angeles”, Courtesy of Fahey/Klein, Los Angeles. | *George Michael, Hand*, London, 1988. Matthew Rolston for Rolling Stone. Courtesy of Fahey/Klein, Los Angeles.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, “Double Exposure”; New York, 1987. Matthew Rolston for Rolling Stone. Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Los Angeles. | Terence Trent D’Arby, “Portrait II”; Los Angeles, 1988. Matthew Rolston for Rolling Stone. Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Los Angeles.

Under Rolston's portraits of Quincy Jones, the silhouettes of The Dude, and the orange and tan African patterns, everything is tied together by a paper pulp texture. It's the perfect mix of cultural heritage and modern style, just like the overall concept of the album.

It's a beautiful piece of work that I can’t and won’t ever get over.

While we're talking about Back on the Block, here's a song from the album: I'll Be Good to You featuring Ray Charles and Chaka Khan. It's a cover of the 1976 hit song by the Brothers Johnson. It happens to be stuck in my head today.