Photograph of John Cougar-Mellencamp with an orange, red and yellow sky background with white and blue text.

This a promotional button for John Cougar's (also known as John Mellencamp or John Cougar-Mellencamp) 1982 album "American Fool". The album reached number one in 1982 and was the highest selling album of the year. Featuring "Hurts So Good" and the classic rock standard "Jack and Diane" it is one of Mellencamp's most successful albums.

Boasting over 40 million album sales, 22 top 40 hits, and a Grammy Award, Mellencamp is a highly successful musician. In 2008 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Billy Joel who Mellencamp inducted in 1999.

Along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, Mellencamp is one of the founders and organizers of Farm Aid - a yearly benefit concert designed to aid American farmers.

Black and white image of John and Yoko kissing, with white text on a black background

Yoko Ono met John Lennon, member of The Beatles, in 1966 during a preview of Ono's art exhibition at a London gallery. They began an affair a year later and married in 1969. In addition to collaborating on numerous recordings, the couple held "Bed-ins for Peace" to protest the Vietnam War. It is rumored that Yoko Ono's relationship with John Lennon was the cause behind the breakup of The Beatles.

Red text encircled by black text and arrows over white background. 

The button is in reference to the debut album "Are You Experienced" from the band The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The band consisted of Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, and Noel Redding. Jimi Hendrix's electric guitar playing skills is unparalleled, the combination of his guitar and song writing skills gave the psychedelic and hard rock music a new sound. The musical style is a blend of rhythm and blues, rock, and electric blues. "Are You Experienced" reached number five on the Billboard 200 in 1976 and was also widely popular in the United Kingdom.

The four song released from the album "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe," and The Wind Cries Mary" were placed on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Song of All times. The album is ranked number 15 on 500 Greatest Albums of All Times; it is also included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for social and cultural significance. Jimi Hendrix pioneered the used of the electric guitar with controlled  sounds with smooth transition, he is considered the greatest guitarist of all times.

Black and white portrait of Jim Morrison above purple text on blue background. 

Jim Morrison was the lead singer of the rock band "The Doors." Morrison was a mysterious, charismatic, wild, sultry character that personified the quintessential qualities of a rock star. He was a writer and poet who was inspired by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, and Arthur Rimbaud, all of whom share a dark, sarcastic, tortured, and controversial theme in their works. Morrison was a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduation he immersed himself in the hippie/bohemian lifestyle. During that time, his fellow UCLA classmate Ray Manzarek suggested that they form a band, using Morrison's poetry and Manzarek's keyboard. They formed The Doors in 1965 with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Kreiger. Morrison is the only performer in rock history to be arrested on stage for indecency. After Morrison's death in 1971, the band continued as a trio. The Doors released ten albums from their inception to dismemberment in 1973, and the majority of their albums reached number one on the music charts.

Morrison was found dead at the age of 27 due to a drug overdoes in 1971 while in Paris, France. He was found by his girlfriend Pamela Courson. He is buried in Paris and his grave site is reportedly the number 4 most visited sites after the Eiffel Towel, Notre Dame, and the Louvre.

Black and white portraits of the Blues Brothers flank a police car encircled by white text over blue background. 

This is a merchandise button from the House of Blues New Orleans, a concert venue and restaurant celebrating blues music, Southern Culture, and African American artistic contributions. The button features musical group The Blues Brothers, with John Belushi as Joliet Jake and Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues. The duo sang their soul music as a warm-up act before Saturday Night Live episodes, and became legitimate musical artists after the release of their chart-topping album, A Briefcase Full of Blues in the late 1970s. The car and portraits on this button are in reference to The Blues Brothers, the 1981 film featuring the two "brothers."

White emblem below white text over black background. 

Hawkwind is an English heavy metal band that formed in the late 1960s. They are noted for the space and science-fiction motifs in their lyrics combined with bold guitar riffs and synthesizer. The lineup functioned like a revolving door, members changed constantly. The current members consist of Tim Blake, Richard Chadwick, Dead Fred, Dave Brock, Mr Dibbs, and Niall Hone.  

The button is to promote their third studio album "Doremi Fasol Latido" which was released in 1972. The album solidified their science-fiction orientation by presenting an elaborate mythology of the history of the universe. Hawkwind had already established themselves as a live act and they performed extravagant concerts named "Space Ritual" with this album.   

An illustration of Hank Williams wearing a blue suit and playing guitar with a yellow circle on a red background behind him. He is surrounded by illustrations of records, a beer bottle, stars, and a microphone with blue text underneath. 

Hank Williams, Sr (September 17, 1927 - January 1, 1953) was a country singer/song writer. He is regarded as country music's first superstar and one of the most influential and significant country musicians of all times. Born Hiram King Williams in Mount Olive, Alabama to Lon and Lillie Williams, the family struggled economically. As a child, Williams met African American street performer, Rufus Payne, who taught him how to pay the guitar and the blues. Payne was a strong musical influence. Williams made his radio debut at the age of 13, and a year later he entered talent contests and formed his own band "Hank Williams and the Drifting Cowboys." When World War II started, the band mates were drafted therefore Williams continues as a solo artist. His major hits were "Your Cheatin' Heart," "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry," and "Honkey-Tonkey."

Williams suffered from alcoholism and drug related issues later in life. He died in 1953 at the age of 29 from cardiac arrest.

The button was to promote a box set of original recording named "The Complete Hank Williams" which was released in 1998. The record company Mercury Nashville produced the button as a promotion for the box set.      

Black and white photograph of The Go-Go's on blue background, with blue text on a white background around the edge of the pin.

Beauty and the Beat is the debut album from Californian all-female band The Go-Go's. The album was released in 1981, and included the hit single "We Got The Beat." Beauty and the Beat climbed the Billboard 200 chart until it hit number one, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. The album sold over two million copies and reached double platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums of all time.

A closeup blue photograph of Garth Brooks eye with blue text. 

The right side of the button features a blue background with blue and white text. The right side features a yellow background with a picture of Elvis Presley in military regalia.

This is promotional button for Elvis Presley's 1960 album "G.I Blues". A smash hit, the album went to number one on the billboard charts. The first single of the album, "Wooden Heart", remained at number one for six weeks. Featuring songs from the Elvis Presley film of the same name, it managed to win two Grammy Awards. 

The film G.I Blues was a Paramount Studios production and reached the second place spot in national box office rankings. Presley served as the film's star alongside Juliet Prowse and Robert Ivers.

Elvis Presley is an American rock and roll musician active from 1954 until his death in 1977. Considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and of the modern United States he is one of the highest selling musicians of all time. Additionally Presley's career served as one of the most influential of the 20th as his he pushed musical, racial, and sexual boundaries through music and television.