ON THIS DAY 50 YEARS AGO, THE BEATLES RELEASED THEIR NOMINAL EIGHTH ALBUM, SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

The albums concept, created by Paul McCartney, involved a fictitious band called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which allowed the group to further change and experiment with their musical styles. This freedom certainly seemed to pay off, as the album featured an eclectic list of styles, instruments and sounds from various genres like piano jazz, big band, circus and Western and Indian classical music, as well as being the first pop album to be mixed without gaps between songs allowing for a more flowing listening experience. The albums biggest inspiration however is psychedelic hard rock, apparently inspired by Jimi Hendrix, who McCartney had seen perform just prior to the albums recording. Hendrix clearly appreciated the attempt as he performed Pepper in London just two days after the albums release. 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band suffered some poor early reviews due to the drastic change of style from many of the band’s earlier releases, but it performed commercially nonetheless, debuting at #1 in the UK charts. This is especially impressive as the album received little radio play at the time due to it’s alleged references to recreational drug use. Critics soon changed their tune however and commended the album for it’s experimentation and unique sounds. The album is now remembered as an iconic release for The Beatles, and a revolutionary and legendary release in the psychedelic hard rock category. Today’s 50th Anniversary comes with a number of celebrations, including television features, a movie, the trailer of which is above and a 50th anniversary edition of the album itself. 

In other Beatles history from this day, John Lennon made the important decision that the next stop of his peace campaign should be in Canada. John and Yoko had held their first Bed-In for Peace as their honeymoon in Amsterdam on March 25, 1969. They flew to the Bahamas a couple of months later, intending on holding their next bed-in there, but after an uncomfortable night in 5-star hotel Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in Freeport, the sweltering heat and the areas distance from the United States caused the couple to doubt their decision, and after a single night they flew on to Toronto, Canada. They were detained by immigration authorities for a few hours before being released on their way. They spent the night at the King Edward Sheraton Hotel in Toronto before heading to Montreal the following day to begin the bed-in on midnight, May 26th. A firsthand account by Ritchie Yorke for Rolling Stone Magazine of the bed-in can be read here.