. . . when Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released on June 2, 1967, in the United States!
To say nothing of the innuendos! Concerns that some of the lyrics in Sgt. Pepper refer to recreational drug use led to the BBC banning several songs from British radio, such as A Day in the Life because of the phrase "I'd love to turn you on", with the BBC claiming that it could "encourage a permissive attitude towards drug-taking." Although Lennon and McCartney denied any drug-related interpretation of the song at the time, McCartney later suggested that the line was deliberately written to ambiguously refer to either illicit drugs or sexual activity. The meaning of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds became the subject of speculation, as many believed that the song's title was code for the hallucinogenic drug LSD. The BBC banned the track on those grounds. They also banned Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! because of the lyric, which mentions "Henry the Horse", a phrase that contains two common slang terms for heroin. Fans speculated that Henry the Horse was a drug dealer and "Fixing a Hole" was a reference to heroin use. Others noted lyrics such as "I get high" from With a Little Help from My Friends, "take some tea" – slang for cannabis use – from Lovely Rita and "digging the weeds" from When I'm Sixty-Four.
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP gatefold album
photos by Michael Cooper
photo of album by Styrous®
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP front cover above left, back cover below right
photos by Michael Cooper
photos of album by Styrous®
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP gatefold album interior
photo by Michael Cooper
photo of album interior by Styrous®
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP back cover detail above left, back cover detail below right
photo by Michael Cooper
detail photos of album by Styrous®
In November 1966, during a return flight to London from Kenya, where he had been on holiday with Beatles tour manager, Mal Evans, McCartney had an idea for a song that eventually formed the impetus of the Sgt. Pepper concept. His idea involved an Edwardian-era military band, for which Evans invented a name in the style of contemporary San Francisco based groups such as Big Brother and the Holding Company and Quicksilver Messenger Service. In February of 1967, McCartney suggested that the Beatles should record an entire album that would represent a performance by the fictional band. This alter ego group would give them the freedom to experiment musically. He explained: "I thought, let's not be ourselves. Let's develop alter egos."
"Sergeant Pepper" itself didn't appear until halfway through making the album. It was Paul's song, just an ordinary rock number ... but when we had finished it, Paul said, "Why don't we make the album as though the Pepper band really existed, as though Sergeant Pepper was making the record? We'll dub in effects and things." I loved the idea, and from that moment on it was as though Pepper had a life of its own. - Mal Evans
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP front cover detail
photo by Michael Cooper
detail photo of album by Styrous®
In 1968, rumours began to circulate that the group had decided to break up. Harrison informed their manager, Brian Epstein, that he was leaving the band, but was persuaded to stay on the assurance that there would be no more tours. The group took a three-month break, during which they focused on individual interests. Harrison travelled to India for six weeks to study the sitar under the instruction of Ravi Shankar and develop his interest in Hindu philosophy. Having been the last of the Beatles to concede that their live performances had become futile, McCartney collaborated with Beatles producer George Martin on the soundtrack for the film The Family Way. Lennon acted in the film How I Won the War and attended art showings, such as one at the Indica Gallery where he met his future wife Yoko Ono. Ringo Starr used the break to spend time with his wife Maureen and son Zak.
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP page cutouts detail
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Influences
Freak Out! by the Mothers of Invention has also been cited as having influenced Sgt. Pepper. According to the author Philip Norman, during the Sgt. Pepper recording sessions McCartney repeatedly stated: "This is our Freak Out!" The music journalist Chet Flippo states that McCartney was inspired to record a concept album after hearing Freak Out!, considered the first rock concept album.
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP page cutouts detail
the Beatles ~ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl LP page cutouts detail
The innovative recording of the album by producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick included the liberal application of sound shaping signal processing and the use of a 40-piece orchestra performing aleatoric crescendos.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1:59
A2 With A Little Help From My Friends 2:46
A3 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3:25
A4 Getting Better 2:47
A5 Fixing A Hole 2:33
A6 She's Leaving Home 3:24
A7 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite 2:36
Side 2:
B1 Within You Without You 6:03
B2 When I'm Sixty-Four 2:38
B3 Lovely Rita 2:43
B4 Good Morning Good Morning 2:35
B5 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) 1:20
B6 A Day In The Life 5:03
Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Northern Songs Ltd.
Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Jacksonville
Credits:
Cover – M C Productions, The Apple
Cover [Staged By] – Jann Haworth, Peter Blake (4)
Design, Artwork, Graphics – Peter Blake (4)
Design, Assemblage – Jann Haworth
Other [Wax Figurines] – Madame Tussauds
Photography By – Michael Cooper (8)
Producer – George Martin
Written-By – George Harrison (tracks: B1), Lennon-McCartney (tracks: A1 to A7, B2 to B6)
Notes:
This version has title printed on one line on the A-SIde and two lines on the B-Side
'thick' fonts on labels.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Rights Society: BMI
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): SMAS-X-1-2653
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): SMAS-X-2-2653
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): 0 SMAS1-2653-B16
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): 0 SMAS2 2653 A15#2
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Label: Capitol Records – SMAS 2653, Capitol Records – SMAS-2653, Capitol Records – 2653
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1967
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Personnel:
According to Mark Lewisohn and Ian MacDonald:The Beatles
- John Lennon – lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm, acoustic and lead guitars; Hammond organ and final piano E chord; harmonica, tape loops, sound effects, and comb and tissue paper; handclaps, tambourine and maracas
- Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and background vocals; bass and lead guitars; electric and acoustic pianos, Lowrey and Hammond organs; handclaps; vocalisations, tape loops, sound effects, and comb and tissue paper
- George Harrison – harmony and background vocals; lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars; sitar; tamboura; harmonica and kazoo; handclaps and maracas; lead vocals on "Within You Without You"
- Ringo Starr – drums, congas, tambourine, maracas, handclaps and tubular bells; lead vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends"; harmonica; final piano E chord
- Sounds Incorporated – the saxophone sextet on "Good Morning, Good Morning"
- Neil Aspinall – tamboura and harmonica
- Geoff Emerick – audio engineering; tape loops and sound effects
- Mal Evans – counting, harmonica, alarm clock and final piano E chord
- George Martin – producer and mixer; tape loops and sound effects; harpsichord on "Fixing a Hole", harmonium, Lowrey organ and glockenspiel on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", Hammond organ on "With a Little Help from My Friends", and piano on "Getting Better" and the piano solo in "Lovely Rita"; final harmonium chord.
- Session musicians – four French horns on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band": Neill Sanders, James W. Buck, John Burden, Tony Randall, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; string section and harp on "She's Leaving Home", arranged by Mike Leander and conducted by Martin; tabla, dilrubas, tamboura and swarmandal on "Within You Without You", played by members of the Asian Music Circle, with eight violins and four cellos arranged and conducted by Harrison and Martin; clarinet trio on "When I'm Sixty-Four": Robert Burns, Henry MacKenzie, Frank Reidy, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; saxophones on "Good Morning, Good Morning", arranged and conducted by Martin and Lennon; and forty-piece orchestra, including strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion on "A Day in the Life", arranged by Martin, Lennon and McCartney and conducted by Martin and McCartney.
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
A Day in the Life lyrics
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club technical details
People & images pictured on the cover
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Official Site
New York Times ~ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ at 50: Still Full of Joy and Whimsy
Time Magazine ~ How The Beatles Made Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Work
LA Times ~ 50th anniversary trip through 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'
USA Today ~ 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' turns 50
A Day In the Life on YouTube
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