Morning Paper, 1967

Print isn’t dead! Well, at least it wasn’t 51 years ago as seen in this poster, a rare collaboration by artists Rick Griffin and Stanley Mouse The work is referred to as "Morning Paper," but it’s really more of a take off of the comics pages.  Most of the art is by Griffin, featuring characters and references, often from commercial advertising art (Optimo cigars, Camel cigarettes, Mickey Mouse and Griffin’s own “Murph the Surf,” cartoon character) matched with actions or lettering that make no sense. This is a classic reinforcement of the sense of hippies as “tribe,” speaking their own language and understanding their own symbols.

Taj Mahal, (born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks in 1942), is an American blues musician who plays the guitar, piano, banjo, and harmonica, among many other instruments. He often incorporates elements of world music into his works and has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, and the South Pacific.

In 1967-1968 he worked with Ry Cooder and the Rolling Stones, with whom he has performed at various times throughout his career. In 1968, he performed in the film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus after releasing his first solo album, called simply Taj Mahal.