Paul McCartney wrote this song and sang lead, but per their custom, John Lennon also received a songwriting credit. After recording the song, Paul had the idea of doing the whole album as if Sgt. Pepper was a real band. It became the title track of what was considered a "concept" album, with the songs running seamlessly together on the record. This first song sets the stage, introducing Sgt. Pepper and his Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album was meticulously produced and took 129 days and about 700 hours to complete, an eternity in 1967. The Beatles first album, Please Please Me, was recorded in less than 10 hours.
The crowd noise was dubbed in from recordings. An irony in making the song sound like it was recorded live is, The Beatles had stopped touring. They were frustrated by poor sound quality at venues, and the screaming girls in the crowds often downed them out anyway. But in the studio they could control their output and make quality albums that would stand the test of time. The Sgt. Pepper's album stands up to repeated listening and validates that decision.
The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released in the UK on May 26, 1967, and in America on June 2. It was a highly anticipated album that even got the attention of Jimi Hendrix, who opened his concert on June 4, 1967, at the Saville Theatre in London with this title track. Paul McCartney and George Harrison were both there, and were very impressed that Hendrix learned it so quickly.
There really is an apostrophe in this song's title, although on the album cover, it is rendered without. Since the Lonely Hearts Club Band belongs to Sgt. Pepper, it is possessive, thus "Sgt. Pepper's."
The penultimate song on the album is a short
reprise of "Sgt. Pepper", tying the concept together. That's followed by the Beatles classic "
A Day In The Life," which ends with a piano note that fades out over 42 seconds.
On the album, when this song ends we hear cheering and a seamless segue in to "
With A Little Help From My Friends," sung by Ringo Starr. Because they flow seamlessly on the album, it created a problem for radio stations that want to play just one of the songs. Neither were released as singles, so DJs had to do their best to fade in and out of the tracks from the album.
George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr played this on May 19, 1979 at Eric Clapton's wedding. Clapton married Harrison's ex-wife, Pattie.
Artist Peter Blake designed the album cover as if Sgt. Pepper's band had just performed a concert. He asked The Beatles who they wanted at the concert, and put them in the cover design.
All living people depicted on the cover were asked permission. Mae West refused at first - she didn't want to be part of a "Lonely Hearts Club Band" - but The Beatles wrote her a letter and she agreed. Other characters depicted on the album cover include comedic duos Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello, Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple and W.C. Field.
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Suggestion credit:
Patrick - Tallapoosa, GA
Lennon wanted Jesus, Gandhi, and Hitler on the cover. He had recently taken a lot of heat for saying The Beatles were "Bigger than Jesus," so they decided not to.
It was rumored that the hand that is sticking out above Paul is that of Adolph Hitler. A Hitler cut out was on the set, but if you look at some side shots of the photo session, you can clearly see that the hand belongs to comic Issy Bonn, whose face is seen in between Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
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Suggestion credit:
Andre - Tampa, FL
On the cover of this album McCartney is taller than the other Beatles. This added to rumors of his death, since there is also a hand above Paul's head which is an omen of death. Also, if you take a mirror and put the edge on the center of the Lonely Hearts Club Band drum an arrow will point directly to McCartney.
Sgt. Pepper was the first pop album to come with printed lyrics on the cover.
The title is a parody of American bands who were choosing ridiculously long names for their groups.
Twelve years after "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "With a Little Help from My Friends" appeared on the
Sgt. Pepper album, they were released together as a two-song medley and reached US #71 and UK #63.
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Suggestion credit:
Jerro - New Alexandria, PA
In 2005, Bob Geldof helped organize Live 8, a set of concerts held in eight countries with the goal of promoting activism. The concerts coincided with the G-8 summit, and Geldof was hoping to send a message to world leaders that they should increase aid to Africa and institute fair trade practices. On the London stage, U2 played this with McCartney to kick off the concert. The opening line, "It was 20 years ago today," was a reference to Live Aid, which Geldof organized for famine relief in 1985.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was the first rock album to win a Grammy for Album of the Year.
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Suggestion credit:
Bertrand - Paris, France
On the album cover, Paul McCartney is wearing an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) badge on his right sleeve. You can see this better on the inside artwork.
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Suggestion credit:
Pat - Varna, Canada
The hand-painted drum skin used on the cover of the Sgt Pepper album was sold at Christie's House in London on 10th July 2008 for £541,250 ($1,071,000) - setting a record for non-lyrics Beatles memorabilia.
In 2007, the Beatles Story museum in Liverpool went on a search for real Sgt. Peppers and found seven police or army officers in the UK that were sergeants with the last name Pepper. "Being Sgt. Pepper is awesome but sometimes people think I am bogus when I call them on the phone or introduce myself," Sgt. Sean Pepper of Highfields said.
Ever wondered what was the inspiration behind the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band title? On his podcast Paul McCartney: A Life In Lyrics, Macca revealed it involved a simple misunderstanding.
"I was with our roadie Mal [Evans], a big bear of a man," he said. "I was coming back on the plane, and he said, 'Will you pass the salt and pepper?' And I misheard him. I said, 'What? Sgt. Pepper?' He said, 'No, salt and pepper.'"
McCartney chuckled, then continued. "And I always returned to one of the things about the Beatles, and me and John [Lennon], was that we noticed accidents."
The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album was reissued on CD in 1987 on its 20th anniversary, tying in with the opening line, "It was 20 years ago today..."
