Louvin Louvin Louvin

It was Ira Louvin—the older brother, the songwriter, the genius—who in 1958 designed the cover of the Louvin Brothers’ most famous album, Satan Is Real: a photograph of him and his brother, Charlie (in matching white linen suits, pink shirts, and squared-off blue ties), singing, arms outstretched, before what look to be the pits of Hell. Looming behind their backs, amid the flames: a big red devil, complete with fangs, horns, and a bloody pitchfork. As Charlie explained years later:

Ira built that set. The devil was twelve feet tall, built out of plywood. We went to this rock quarry and then took old tires and soaked them in kerosene, got them to burn good. It had just started to sprinkle rain when we got that picture taken. Those rocks, when they get hot, they blow up. They were throwing pieces of rock up into the air.


Inspired by a commenter on the Satan is Real post, I decided to do a little research on the Louvin Brothers. Here's what I found while working on my honorary degree in useless shit. Enjoy!

This pic was swiped from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.



Here's quite the article about the serious, yet theatrical nature of the gospel of Louvin.