22 Surprising Facts About Sgt. Pepper on Its 50th Anniversary
May 27, 2017 by John HarringtonIt was 50 years ago today that the Beatles changed the world of pop music forever with the release of the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” To mark the occasion, the Beatles’ masterpiece will be reissued in a single CD; double CD; double vinyl; and a super deluxe edition containing six CDs.
Iconic might be the most hackneyed word in the English language, but If there was an artist’s work fitting of the word, it is this album. “Sgt. Pepper” challenged cultural, musical, fashion, and even spiritual conventions. It ushered in the idealism of the summer of love, moved the counterculture into the mainstream, and stamped the Beatles as the spokesmen for a generation.
So, “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” as well as anyone who wore out the grooves on the record, here are 22 here are 22 anecdotes about “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
Click here to see 22 facts about “Sgt. Pepper.”
1. Let Me Take You Down
“Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” were scheduled to be on Sgt. Pepper but were left off and became singles. The songs will be included in the reissue.
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2. I Saw a Film Today
The Sgt. Pepper movie in 1978 featured Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees, Steve Martin and George Burns. Critics panned it.
3. I Read the News Today
John Lennon wrote the acclaimed “A Day in the Life” based on random images from newspaper stories, one of which referred to the automobile death of Guinness heir Tara Browne.
4. I’ve Just Seen a Face
The cover features legendary figures such as Bob Dylan, Edgar Allan Poe, Marlon Brando, and Karl Marx. Others, including Jesus Christ, Hitler, and Gandhi, were scheduled but did not make the final cut.
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5. There Will be a Show Tonight
Before heading to the studio to record the album, the band gave up performing live. Interestingly, the album itself is loosely presented as a live performance.
6. The Words You Long to Hear
The lyrics were printed in full on the back cover of the album — the first time this had been done on a rock LP.
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7. Good Vibrations
The Beach Boys’ groundbreaking album Pet Sounds, released a year earlier, influenced the making of Sgt. Pepper.
8. You Never Give Me Your Money
The final cost to make the album was approximately £25,000. The equivalent of $400,000 in today’s dollars.
9. Baby, You’re a Rich Man
The album sold 250,000 copies in Britain in the first seven days alone. It debuted in the United Kingdom on May 26, 1967 and in the United States on June 2 of that year.
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10. Here, There and Everywhere
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide.
11. A Hard Day’s Night
The Beatles put in more than 400 hours in Abbey Road’s studio over four months, finishing Sgt. Pepper in April 1967.
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12. Fab Four Signatures
A copy of the album signed by all four Beatles sold in Dallas in 2013 for $290,500.
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13. Quite the Deal
Retail price for “Sgt. Pepper” on June 2, 1967 in a Massachusetts department store was $2.86.
14. Intended to be Heard in Mono
Beatles designed the album for mono, while the mixes for stereo were thrown together without the band present. Stereo was a relatively new format in 1967.
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15. …And Still Champion
The album was ranked by Rolling Stone as greatest album of all time.
16. Long, Long, Long
“Sgt. Pepper” appeared on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States for 175 non-consecutive weeks through 1987.
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17. Picture Yourself
The BBC banned “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’’ because people believed the title stood for LSD. John Lennon said the name came from a picture his young son had drawn.
18. Third in the U.K.
Sgt. Pepper is the third-best selling album all time in the U.K. behind greatest hits albums from Queen and ABBA.
19. Paul is Dead?
Sgt. Pepper contained many clues regarding the conspiracy theory of the “death” of Paul McCartney, adding to the album’s mystique.
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20. George Martin’s Masterpiece
It was a favorite album of long-time Beatles producer George Martin, who died last year.
21. Grammy Milestone
“Sgt. Pepper” was the first rock album to be named Album of Year at the Grammy Awards in 1968.
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22. National Recognition
The Library of Congress placed Sgt. Pepper in the National Recording Registry in 2003.
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