It was 40 Years Ago Today Sgt. Pepper Came To Play

[Mark Giardina]

WOW! 40 years have passed by since the debut of the Beatles 'Sgt. Pepper's" album.

So how many of you remember the lyrics to all of the songs in that album and what is your favorite song on the album?

 

[fang39]

Although my favorite all-time band is The Beach Boys, Sgt. Peppers is my all-time favorite album. My older brother came home with the LP and began to play it, ad nauseum. I was only 7 years old at the time, yet remember it as if it were yesterday. It is without a doubt, the finest album ever produced, from start to finish, side to side. And yes, I know the words to all of the songs on the album. My favorite cut is "Sgt. Peppers Reprise/A Day In The Life."

Sgt Peppers was more than just an album, though. The album's cover is a true piece of art. I can remember spending hours trying to identify all of the faces in the crowd. I currently have a 6x6 framed tapestry of the album cover hanging in my home. It's stunning! Also, there was an insert included with the album, of Sgt. Peppers play "cut-outs" of the band's logo, Sgt.'s stripes and even a fu-manchu moustache! I don't think later pressings of the LP (and certainly not the CD) came with this.

The album's cover also featured tons of carefully manufactured "clues" that played into the whole "Paul is dead" hype. What a fabulous marketing ploy! No single album, before or since, has had the impact that Sgt. Peppers did and continues to have, even 40 years later!

 

[KevinFodor]

Sgt. Pepper was the first "concept" rock album.

I remember hearing it on my local Top 40 station 40 years ago. It was truly an oddity for those stations, as Capitol Records never released a "single" from the album. So, I thought it was both interesting, and a little wierd that so many cuts were being tracked by the Top 40 stations. Some of the cuts fit Top 40 radio, others clearly did not. But, radio did play it, at least for a little while.

Today, I teach in a broadcasting college that also has a recording program. And as I watch students in their
16 and 32 track digital studios, (and watch the broadcasting students cutting spots on the 128 tracks of Cool Edit Pro) I love to remind them that Sgt. Pepper was done on 4 tracks (with a bunch of "bounces").

It was a masterpiece triumph over the relatively primitive recording facilities of the day.

So, for what it's worth, Happy Anniversary to Sgt. Pepper's Band, Billy Shears and Sir George Martin.

 

[ixnay]

My favorite Pepper cut(s)? I'll answer that question in a moment.

First, I'll admit I never heard of it until one night in 1970 (I turned 9 that year) when my mom, then between marriages, and I visited her girlfriend's. The latter had a son and a daughter both a bit older than I. In the house was a copy of Pepper. That's when I first found out about it. Someone put it on (whose idea, I forget), and I followed the lyrics on the back of the jacket.

My favorite Pepper cuts are "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and "Good Morning Good Morning", with "Getting Better" and "Fixing a Hole" as contenders. But why did "She's Leaving Home" and "Within You Without You" ever get out of the vaults?

By 1987 I had my own plastic copy of Pepper. That year I was a participant in the volunteer adult DJ program put on by the station at the local high school in my small town. My show was on Thursday nights. The Thursday night before Pepper's 20th anniversary, I played the whole album (not continuously, but interspersed with other Fab cuts from their post-touring period, courtesy of my by-then-complete Beatle album-and-a-few-singles-collection). I even invited the lovely audience, invisible as it was, to sing along with "Mr. Kite".

ixnay

P.S. Charlie Adams played "Mr. Kite" on his morning drive show on WEEU-830 Reading PA on 6/1/07.

 

[Tom Wells]

Lovely Rita, Meter Maid.

I was 6 when this came out, and I did and didn't like it.
I was impressed by the music, but saw it signaling a change in rock-n-roll.

1965, 1966, and 1967 up to Sgt Pepper, were years when the "loud" edge of rock was in garage-punk, and I loved every bit
of the fast, loud, angry sound, even though plenty of mellow was mixed in on top 40.

After Sgt Pepper, that minor-key angst-rock died. The impact was to make all rock musicians
recalculate their trajectory.

This type of fast-n-loud rock would not resurface again until the mid-70's as punk, but this time commercial radio did not touch it,
though they embraced heavy metal, disco, and every other kind of rock derivative.

It was also the first time many top-40 stations played an album cut that was not on the top 40, sinced it wasn't released
as singles. I remember some consternation, and discussion that these were "album cuts", and when would the 45's be coming?

I bought the album in 1974, and it did not have the goodies. They were probably only in the Apple releases.

 

[ixnay]

I bought the album in 1974, and it did not have the goodies. They were probably only in the Apple releases.

The copy of mine I spoke of earlier, I received as a 1979 Christmas present (along with Abbey Road and the 1967-1970 greatest hits collection). My copy did have the goodies, but, being in college by then, I considered myself to old to put them to use. I don't remember if the copy I heard in 1970 had the goodies or not.

ixnay

 

[fang39]

I bought the album in 1974, and it did not have the goodies. They were probably only in the Apple releases.

The album was released on Capitol Records. Apple made its debut the following year.

 

[Tom Wells]

I bought the album in 1974, and it did not have the goodies. They were probably only in the Apple releases.

The album was released on Capitol Records. Apple made its debut the following year.

I bought the album in 1974, and it did not have the goodies. They were probably only in the Apple releases.

The album was released on Capitol Records. Apple made its debut the following year.

!

Someone will be able to tell us for how long the goodies were included.
The only original "far-out, man" album I have from this era is the Rolling Stones album "Their Satanic Majesties Request"
with the 3-D cover. The presses I work on now sometimes print 3-D lenticular stuff.
It's still "far out, man".