Corky McCoy facts for kids
Cortez "Corky" McCoy is an American artist and illustrator from Los Angeles. He is famous for creating cool cartoon designs. These designs often show urban African-Americans. You can see his unique art on many album covers for the famous musician Miles Davis.
Corky McCoy's Art for Miles Davis
Corky McCoy and Miles Davis became good friends. They even shared an apartment in New York City. McCoy was an artist when he met Davis.
McCoy designed the cover art for several of Davis's albums. These include On the Corner (1972), In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall (1973), Big Fun (1974), and Water Babies (1976).
Miles Davis wanted his music to reach more African-American listeners. He asked McCoy to create artwork that they would connect with. When Columbia Records saw McCoy's art for On the Corner, they were not happy. But Davis really liked it and insisted on using it.
The cover for On the Corner shows cartoon characters in a lively street scene. It captures the "ghettodelic" style of young African Americans. The clothing and look are similar to the cool funk styles from movies of that time, like blaxploitation films.
Inside the album In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall, McCoy added more illustrations. These drawings made fun of mainstream rock and roll music. For example, he drew a cartoon music label called "Slickophonics." He also drew a white band with long hair named "Foot Fooler."
In 2007, a special collection of Miles Davis's music was released. It was a 6-CD box set called The Complete On the Corner Sessions. This set included brand new illustrations created by Corky McCoy.
Other Cool Artworks by Corky McCoy
Corky McCoy has also created art for other projects. He designed the cover art for the album Fresh Mode. This album was released in 1999 by the hip-hop group Ugly Duckling. He also made the art for the two singles that promoted the album.
McCoy also created drawings for comedian Tim Meadows's book. The book was called The Ladies Man: Sexin' and Lovin' Leon Phelps Style. It came out in 2000. The book was connected to Tim Meadows's comedy film The Ladies Man. The film featured a character with a 1970s street-funk style. This style is very similar to the look of McCoy's famous album covers for Miles Davis.
