Greyscale photograph of John Lennon and Yoko Ono on a white background. 

John Lennon married Yoko Ono, an avant-garde artist, in 1969 after his divorce from his first wife, Cynthia. The pair began a relationship and recorded the album Two Virgins in 1968. The image on this button is part of the Two Virgins album cover. Together, John and Yoko were political activists, famously protesting the Vietnam War. 

Text aligned to the upper right on a horizontally divided pink and white background. Image of a black valentine heart on bottom left.

Bad Reputation is Joan Jett's first solo album after her former band, The Runaways, disbanded. Initally released by her own, newly founded label Blackheart Records in 1980 as Joan Jett, the album was re-issued the next year by Boardwalk Records.  

Color photo of Joan Jett singing. Black background. 

Bad Reputation was Joan Jett's first solo album after her former band, The Runaways, disbanded. Initially released by her own, newly founded label Blackheart Records in 1980 as Joan Jett, the album was re-issued the next year by Boardwalk Records.  

Black and white image of Jimi Hendrix's face on a white background. Black and white block text curved along the lower portion of button.

Jimi Hendrix was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose musical styles spanned psychedelic rock, blues, and hard rock. He is best known for his work with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, which also included bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. The 1967 album, Are You Experienced featured some of Hendrix's most popular songs, including "Purple Haze." He headlined at 1969's Woodstock festival. Hendrix is also known for playing right-handed guitars upside down and re-strung for left-handed style playing. 

Illustration of a man in blue playing a woodwind instrument, surrounded by black lines indicating motion. Stylized black text on white background. 

The phrase is an instrumental pun on a woodwind's reed and the phrase "I need you."

Greyscale photographs of each band member's head. Red text on an alternating white and red background.

Herman's Hermits was a 1960s British Invasion band that sold 52 million records and had 24 gold hits. The band was formed in 1963 as "Herman and the Hermits." They outsold Beatles in 1965 with "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter," and "I'm Into Something Good." The band's lead singer was Peter Noone. Although they still tour as of 2024, Noone has left the band at various times, leading to disputes with the band's only continuous member, drummer Barry Whitwam.

Black text on blue and yellow zigzag background.

Prototype button made in 1995 for Busy Beaver Button Company's first customer, Guided By Voices.

Guided by Voices (GBV) is an alternative rock band from Dayton, Ohio. The band is known for its characteristic lo-fi sound and unusually short songs. Formed in 1983, the band released its first full-length album, Devil Between My Toes, in 1987. While the band's lineup has changed significantly over time, as of 2019, songwriter and front-man Robert Pollard has remained a constant member. 

Alien Lanes is the band's eighth full-length album, released in 1995 by Matador Records. The album features 28 tracks, including hits "Game of Pricks" and "My Valuable Hunting Knife." 

Black text centered on a light yellow background. 

James Brown, known as the Godfather of Soul, was also one of the early adopters of funk music. While he had a long a successful career, he faced multiple criminal proceedings beginning in the 1980s for drugs and domestic violence. His arrest caused a strong reaction from the music community, including the production of materials such as t-shirts and buttons. In 1989, the band Mass Appeal released a single entitled "Free James Brown."

Black and white caricature of Frank Sinatra on a white background. Sinatra is singing into a microphone and wears a hat and giant bow tie. His eyes are bright blue. Large text of the same color is curved across the upper portion of the button. 

"Ol' Blue Eyes is Back" is Frank Sinatra's 1973 album, which was released after he briefly retired in 1971. Buttons were used as a way of publicity to promote the album. While the album received gold status and was commercially successful, it did not make the Billboard top 10. 

Light green, script style text curved along lower portion of button on dark green background. Greyscale photograph of Fiske O'Hara's head and neck is centered.

Fiske O'Hara was a singer, stage and film actor, composer, and lyricist. He lived from 1878-1945. Most of his work was on the Broadway stage, where he celebrated his Irish heritage though his characters. One such notable character was Daniel Blarney in the 1906 "Mr. Blarney from Ireland." In 1934, he appeared in the film "Change of Heart" alongside Ginger Rogers and Shirley Temple.