It was 50 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper was released
It was 50 years ago today. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, regarded by most critics to be the greatest album in rock-and-roll history, was officially released in Canada June 2, 1967 (it came out a week earlier in England.) Like the two surviving members of The Beatles, it aged well.
In recognition of the anniversary, several special re-releases are now available, all of which involved creative input from surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
From the opening bars of the title song to the final chord of A Day in the Life (created with all four Beatles hitting the piano in unison), it doesn’t have an off-note.
Re-releases are nothing new for The Beatles. In 1987, capitalizing on the opening line, “It was 20 years ago today,” Pepper was released on CD for the first time with extended liner notes.
Arguably the songs on Abbey Road and Revolver are better but for an entire package and experience, Pepper remains the consummate LP, emblematic of the psychedelic era and Summer of Love.
Its cover included 57 photographs and nine waxworks of famous people enjoying a concert in the park. The band was dressed in military uniforms, McCartney's included an Ontario Provincial Police patch. They all grew mustaches for the shoot, a sign of the hippie era. The package included an inner gatefold, children’s cut-outs, and lyrics.
It’s often regarded as the pet project of McCartney but much of the credit belongs to the brilliant production of George Martin, who died last year.
Although it had several potential No. 1 songs (A Day in the Life, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, With A Little Help From My Friends, When I’m Sixty-Four), Pepper was a stand-alone experience. No singles were released to radio. Martin said in later years his only regret was surrendering Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever to the record company for release as a 45 record. Both were recorded and intended to be part of Sgt. Pepper but ended up on the second side of Magical Mystery Tour. Imagine how good the album would have been with both those tracks in the place of Fixing a Hole and Good Morning Good Morning.
Pepper was the only Beatles’ album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Peter Blake and Jann Haworth also deservedly won a Grammy for the album's artwork.
Perhaps its greatest praise was from Jimi Hendrix. The album was released in Britain on a Friday and on Sunday he played the title song live at the Saville Theatre with both McCartney and George Harrison in the audience. I’d love to turn you on...