Off the Cuff: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Record, jacket, and sleeve for Off the Cuff by Freddie Robinson from the set of Scandal.

a. The black vinyl record has a circular black label in the center with white text. There is a rainbow colored logo at the top with the word “ENTERPRISE” below. Side 1 has text which reads [D.J. Copy / Not for Sale / ENS-1035 / (ES0509) / SIDE ONE] on the proper right and [OFF THE CUFF / FREDDY ROBINSON] on the proper left side. There is a list of five song titles, their length in minutes and second, and the names of the songwriters. Side 2 has the same information except there are six songs and the text on the left side reads [(ES0510) / SIDE TWO]. There is some slight wear and tear on the labels on either side of the record.

b. The front of the jacket features a black background with a color illustration of a hand holding a guitar pick. There is blue text at the top which reads [Freddie Robinson / OFF THE CUFF]. The sleeve on the wrist is light blue and there is a square cuff link with an image of Robinson’s face on it. The hand is holding a white guitar pick. Part of a guitar can be seen. It is black, red, gold, and white. There is a small circular hole on the bottom proper left corner. There is white text along the spine that reads [ENS-1035 FREDDY ROBINSON "OFF THE CUFF" ENTERPRISE RECORDS]. The back of the jacket has three color images of Freddie Robinson. Each image is a different sized rectangle. There is blue text which reads [Freddie Robinson / OFF THE CUFF] followed by the song titles on each side of the record, production and copyright information, and the names of individuals involved in various aspects of creating the record. There is a white "Enterprise" logo on the bottom right corner. There are areas of wear and tear in several places on the jacket.

d. The outer sleeve is black. There is a red, black, grey, and off white logo near the top center which reads [stax] in red with a black and grey image of a hand snapping its fingers below. There is an off white rectangular background behind the logo. The word “RECORD” appears in red below the image. There is white text on the black sleeve which reads [where music is…]. There is white text at the bottom of the sleeve which reads [The Stax Organization, Memphis, U.S.A.]. The back of the sleeve has yellow text at the top which reads [The Memphis Sound.] There are four rows and four columns of images of album covers, each containing the title and the artist’s name typed below the image. There are some small tears and folds in several areas on the sleeve.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1973
• Produced by: Enterprise Records, American
• Recorded by: Abu Talib, American, 1939 - 2009
• Used by: Shondaland, American, founded 2005
• Type: long-playing records
• Type: 45 rpm records
• Medium: a. vinyl with ink on paper
• Medium: b. ink on cardboard
• Medium: c. paper
• Medium: d. ink on paper
• Dimensions: Diameter (a.): 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b.): 12 7/16 × 12 5/16 in. (31.6 × 31.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (c.): 12 1/16 × 12 1/8 in. (30.6 × 30.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (d.): 11 15/16 × 12 1/16 in. (30.3 × 30.6 cm)
• Place made: Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Soul (Music)
• Topic: Television
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Object number: 2019.90.12.6a-d
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Walt Disney Television
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Universal Music Group Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.