Cars – Candy-O (1979, Elektra) (Art: Alberto Vargas)
Vargas was born in Peru in 1896, studied in Europe in the teens and fled to New York at the start of WWI. There he became an illustrator and went on to create the “Vargas Girl”, a pin-up creation celebrated by American GI’s in WWII. His sensual art would appear in Esquire and Playboy Magazine for decades. He was retired when The Cars approached him to design the cover art for Candy-O. Vargas worked exclusively in watercolor on illustrator board and was nervous that his eyes and idle hands would fail him, but was thankfully not the case at all. Note: Elektra refused Vargas’ initial art work due to the presence of pubic hair and nipples on the model.
Bernadette Peters – Now Playing (1981, MCA) (Front/Back Cover) (Art: Alberto Vargas)
In the years just prior to his death, Vargas created only two other album covers, both for the talented Peters. Her porcelain complexion and doll-like features were perfectly matched with Vargas’ pin-up style.