The ‘Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is celebrating a 50th birthday this month, and PBS aired a BBC documentary called ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Musical Revolution,’ not long ago.
How popular were the Beatles in 1964? In the week ending April 4th, 1964, the Beatles had five songs in the Billboard Top 100.
George Martin the manager is all over the LP, playing tambourine and harmonicas on various tunes. Did you know that the drum skin used in the recording of the LP and in the cover photo was auctioned off in 2008 for nearly $600,000?
Did you know that Paul came up with the concept of an album centered on a concept of an Edwardian military band? Paul had been impressed with the Beach Boys and their ‘Pet Sounds’ LP, and in an almost “anything you can do, we can do better” attitude, he was looking for a way to answer the Beach Boys.
The LP cover is perhaps the most distinguishable aspect of the project, and their heated arguments over who would appear on the cover; John rumored to be most vocal and difficult to please. A photograph of Elvis was intended to be in the collage, but was voted out at the last minute.