Ramones (Album Cover) 

The album cover of the 1976 debut album by the American punk band the Ramones. The album cover depicts the band's members from left to right: Johnny, Tommy, Joey, and Dee Dee Ramone standing against a brick wall in New York City with blank expressions and dressed in jeans and leather jackets. Overlaid on the photograph is both the album name and band name, set in a bold and condensed font. The text is not simply overlaid on top of the photograph, as evident by the O and N  partially obscured by Joey's head. 

The photograph of the band used for the album's front cover was taken by Roberta Bayley of Punk Magazine. Bayley was paid only $125 for the photo, which has since become one of the most iconic images of the punk rock movement In the 1970s and one of the most imitated album covers.

The cover was originally supposed to have a design reminiscent the Beatles' second album, ‘Meet the Beatles,’ from 1964. The band went as far as doing a photoshoot with photographer Danny Fields but the results were not satisfactory to Sire Records, who published the debut and subsequent releases by the Ramones. 

Toni Wadler served as the album's art director and was the one who chose Bayley's photograph to be used for the cover. The photograph originally appeared in a story about the band in Punk Magazine. 

Not only has the album cover become one of the most iconic images from the punk movement, the cover also set the standard for subsequent albums by the band, most of which featured a group shot of the band. 

The back cover features an eagle belt buckle alongside the album's liner notes. The back cover was designed by Arturo Vega, a Mexican graphic designer who became known for his work with the Ramones, including designing the band's logo. 

Source: “The Ramones Explode On The Music Scene With Their Debut Album.” Toni Marino. Nov. 19, 2019. Pure Music Manufacturing. https://pure-music.co.uk/ramones-album-cover/.