My City Had Been Pulled Down, Reduced To Parking Spaces

So you all know about the story behind the cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash's self-titled debut, right?

Oh.

Well, then I guess I'll tell you!

So, when it came time to pick the cover art for the group's self-titled debut, they hadn't yet finalized the name of the band. So they decided to get a jump on the art, and found a vacant house in West Hollywood outside of which a sofa had been left behind. So they plopped down for a seat to get the photo - Nash, Stills, and Crosby, from left to right.

As the album neared its release date, the group settled on 'Crosby, Stills & Nash' as the band's moniker; but realized that they were lined up backwards in the photo as a result! So they went back to retake the photograph, but when they arrived at the address, only a pile of lumber remained.

Also, I didn't know that Dallas Taylor, CS&N's drummer, wasn't there for the photograph, but was pasted in the back door window afterwards. Found that out at the CS&N (maybe Y, maybe not) website. I've always found the story an amusing piece of rock trivia.

But it's funny how history can repeat itself.

In 2004, The Black Keys used a vacant tire plant in their hometown of Akron as a studio to record their third album, Rubber Factory. The disc was enough of a success to break on to the Billboard album charts after release and increased their fanbase by an order of magnitude.

Seven years later, Pat and Dan were celebrating ten years of rocking together after some tough times; the smash-rock album El Camino debuted as a result in 2011, with the art reflecting their hometown and beginnings as a band. Thus the album itself featured the Chrysler and Ford vans they toured in very early on; and the singles had scenes from around Akron. The most curious of these was the single for 'Lonely Boy', which featured a bulldozer on a vacant lot, with rubble piled in the background.

Turns out that the band wanted a photo of the factory where Rubber Factory had been recorded, but it had been torn down not long before they arrived! Dan quipped in an interview in 2011 that "We keep stumbling into these profound artistic expressions. That's how we roll, though." Also, I was under the impression that the factory had appeared on the Rubber Factory sleeve, but I'm not sure what building it is, mainly because none appear to be suitable candidates. If someone could clear that little mystery up for me, I'd be grateful.