Cream of Success: The legendary music album cover that has become a symbol of seduction

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass album titled "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" was released in 1965 and became a hit. It flew like hot cakes — with a circulation of 6 million copies. In addition to good music, buyers were attracted by a bright cover, on which the pretty model Dolores Erickson, covered with whipped cream, seductively licks her finger. Read on the story of the creation of the iconic photo, which is still being talked about.

The cover of the album "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" has become one of the most recognizable in the world. She has been repeatedly noted in various ratings and has become a topic for many parodies. The rise in popularity of the Alpert Coat of Arms in the mid-60s can be directly linked to the success of the collection and the girl who shone on the cover — Dolores Erickson.

In 1965, Herb Alpert and the band Tijuana Brass were finishing work on the recording of the sixth album "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" when they were shown a photo that was planned to be placed on the cover. The piquant picture showed a naked girl, whose intimate parts were covered with whipped cream. The musicians found this decision too bold. In the end, they agreed, and the photo of Dolores Erickson became legendary.

Pretty Dolores built a successful modeling career even before filming for the legendary cover. She became a model at the age of 14, and then won a modeling contest and moved to Seattle. Then the girl went to San Francisco, and then conquered Los Angeles and New York.

In New York, a hot brunette signed a contract with the Eileen Ford Modeling agency and appeared in several advertising campaigns of Max Factor in women's magazines. Despite her short stature, the girl attracted attention with a slender figure and bright green eyes, so she was always a popular model.

Dolores has appeared on the covers of music albums more than once, but "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" became the most memorable among all. For the model herself, these photos became special, because at that time she was three months pregnant.

The iconic cover was created by photographer Peter Wharf. When he heard the name of the album, he immediately imagined what should be in the photo. Wharf asked Dolores, with whom he had collaborated for a long time, to wear a strapless bikini. The girl was sitting on a chair, wrapped in a white fluffy blanket, and the effect of whipped cream was achieved with the help of shaving foam. The real whipped cream was only on the model's head and on her finger.

Dolores received $ 1,500 for shooting for the cover, which is now equivalent to $ 11,000 (about 800,000 rubles). She was shocked to see how juicy the photos turned out. At first, the model even hid the pictures from her husband, who was very conservative.

The iconic photo shoot with whipped cream was one of the last in Dolores Erickson's professional modeling career. She gave birth to a son, divorced her husband and moved to Seattle to be closer to her parents.

The album "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" brought dizzying popularity to Herb Alpert and the band Tijuana Brass. This happened, among other things, thanks to the seductive photo on the cover. The compilation was at the top of the "40 best Albums" chart for the 141st week.

The sensational album cover was parodied a huge number of times for decades after its release.

Now Dolores Erickson is 79 years old. She lives in Washington and owns an art studio. The woman is surprised that her album cover photo is still remembered and highly appreciated.

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