We're Only in IT For The Money - Cover

Cover

The intended front cover of the album (left) was a notorious parody of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (right). At the insistence of the record company, the image became part of the gatefold sleeve.

Zappa's art director, Cal Schenkel photographed a collage for the album's cover, which parodied The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Zappa spent $4,000 on the photo shoot, which he stated was "a direct negative" of the Sgt. Pepper album cover. " had blue skies we had a thunderstorm." Jimi Hendrix, a friend of Zappa's, took part in the photo shoot, standing where a wax sculpture of Sonny Liston had appeared on the Beatles album cover.

Zappa phoned Paul McCartney, seeking permission for the parody. McCartney told him that it was an issue for business managers, but Zappa responded back, saying that the artists themselves were supposed to tell their business managers what to do. Nevertheless, Capitol objected, and the album's release was delayed for five months. Verve decided to package the album with inverted artwork, placing the parody cover as interior artwork and the intended interior artwork as the main sleeve, out of fear of legal action. Zappa was angered over the decision; Schenkel felt that the Sgt. Pepper parody "was a stronger image" than the final released cover.