Famous Album Cover Photos Recreated with Famous Athletes

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For a recent Music Issue of ESPN Magazine, photographer Mattias Clamer created portraits of 14 famous athletes in the style of iconic album cover photos. Clamer paid a huge amount of attention to detail, which resulted in many of the photos looking nearly identical to the covers they were meant to recreate.

The photograph above shows NFL quarterback Josh Freeman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers posing as Michael Jackson for a recreation of the album Thriller (an album that currently stands as the best-selling album of all time. At least 50 million copies of this photo are floating around the world in the form of an album cover).

Here’s a side-by-side comparison showing Clamer’s recreation next to the original:

michael jackson thriller album cover side by side

Here are some of the other photographs created for the issue, along with side-by-side comparisons showing the original album covers:

U.S. National Soccer Team Forward Alex Morgan as Katy Perry on "One of the Boys"
U.S. National Soccer Team Forward Alex Morgan as Katy Perry on “One of the Boys”

alex morgan as katy perry side by side

NFL stars Trent Richardson, LaMarr Woodley, Marshawn Lynch as Run DMC on "Ultimate Run DMC"
NFL stars Trent Richardson, LaMarr Woodley, Marshawn Lynch as Run DMC on “Ultimate Run DMC”

NFL and Run DMC1 side by side

Motocross racer James Stewart as Rick James on "Street Songs"
Motocross racer James Stewart as Rick James on “Street Songs”

james stewart as Rick James side by side

NFL stars Trent Richardson, LaMarr Woodley, Marshawn Lynch as Run DMC on "Greatest Hits"
NFL stars Trent Richardson, LaMarr Woodley, Marshawn Lynch as Run DMC on “Greatest Hits”

NFL run dmc 2 side by side

Buccaneers QG Josh Freeman recreates Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall"
Buccaneers QG Josh Freeman recreates Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall”

Josh Freeman as michael Jackson OTW side by side

Olympic gold medal swimmer Ryan Lochte as the baby in Nirvana's Nevermind
Olympic gold medal swimmer Ryan Lochte as the baby in Nirvana’s Nevermind

ryan lochte nirvana nevermind side by side

MLB stars Justin Upton, Evan Longoria, Brandon Phillips, Giancarlo Stanton and Shane Victorino as Devo on "Freedom of Choice"
MLB stars Justin Upton, Evan Longoria, Brandon Phillips, Giancarlo Stanton and Shane Victorino as Devo on “Freedom of Choice”

MLB devo album cover side by side

NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson and wife Chandra as Bob Dylan on "Freewheelin'"
NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson and wife Chandra as Bob Dylan on “Freewheelin'”

Jimmie Johnson recreates Bob Dylan side by side

Along with the final products, Clamer also created some behind-the-scenes videos and photographs during the shoots. They’re hosted by ESPN, but you can find a roundup of the BTS material over on Clamer’s blog.


Image credits: Photographs by Mattias Clamer and used with permission

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