Introduction
John Hendrickson Berg (January 12, 1932 – October 11, 2015) was an American art director who worked at Columbia Records from 1961 to 1985.
Biography
Berg was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood, where he attended Erasmus Hall High School. While in high school, Berg drew cartoons for the school newspaper. Upon graduation, he took classes at the Cooper Union. After earning his degree, he worked for Doyle Dane Bernbach and Esquire. Berg was hired by Columbia Records in 1961 and retired from the label with the title of vice president in 1985. In two and a half decades with Columbia, Berg designed four Grammy Award-winning album covers: Barbra Streisand's 1964 The Barbra Streisand Album, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits in 1968, Underground by Thelonious Monk in 1969, and 1977's Chicago X by Chicago. He died of pneumonia in Southampton, New York on October 11, 2015, aged 83.