Graphic designer Peter Corriston was behind this artwork, which features a die-cut cover that reveals the faces printed on the inner sleeve, done in the style of a 50′s newspaper advertisement for wigs. The Stones are dolled up in make-up, reprising their look on the 1966 single ‘Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadows’, and they’re joined by Lucille Ball, Raquel Welch, Marilyn Monroe, Farrah Fawcett and Judy Garland. Incredibly, none of the actresses’ images were cleared for use before the cover was printed, and when Ball – unhappy with the headshot of her that was used – sued to prevent further release, she was quickly joined by Welch and the estates of Garland and Monroe (Farrah Fawcett was apparently more than happy to have her face on a Stones album cover).
In a quick redesign, the actresses’ faces were replaced by blocky print that reads PARDON OUR APPEARANCE and COVER UNDER CONSTRUCTION on primary-colored backgrounds. Interestingly, this look owes something to Jamie Reid’s graphic work for the Sex Pistols, a band that had spent several seasons bashing the Stones through the press. In an odd, Pistols-worthy marketing twist, the wig theme was carried into record stores by mannequins who wore wigs and Some Girls pendants. The outer cover was released in at least five different color schemes, and it’s worth noting that the original cover with Farrah Fawcett and friends isn’t nearly as rare as sellers would have you believe – it can be had for well under ten bucks if you look around. The truly rare version of this cover was an interim solution between the designs noted above, featuring clip-art women in place of both the band and suing actresses. Peter Corriston would go on to design the next three Stones album covers, but none of them has the sex appeal of Some Girls.
