OTD: The Beatles Shoot the Iconic Cover for ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
The Beatles have many iconic album covers, yet the most intriguing one is the artwork for 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The artwork is a piece of colorful psychedelia that features The Beatles in flamboyant outfits surrounded by cutouts of various historical figures. 56 years ago today, The Beatles shot the album cover that has achieved legendary status.
‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ is The Beatles’ best-selling album ever
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of The Beatles’ most experimental albums. It experimented with surreal lyrics and unique instrumentations. For example, a few songs featured the sitar, like “Within You Without You”, while others, like “A Day in the Life”, utilized orchestras. The album is also distinct because the fab four took on alter egos, pretending to be fictional characters in a band.
Fortunately, the experiment paid off as it became their most successful album ever, selling over 32 million copies. It was a success with audiences and critics, with many praising the band’s fresh direction.
The Beatles shot the cover for the album on March 30, 1967
On March 30, 1967, The Beatles went to 4 Chelsea Manor Studios in Chelsea to shoot the cover for Sgt. Pepper’s. The shoot took place in Michael Cooper’s London photographic studio, where The Beatles also posed for the back cover and sleeve images.
Prior to The Beatles arriving, artist Peter Blake and his wife Jane Haworth spent eight days setting up the famous collage of historical figures behind them. The choice of celebrities came from a list compiled by each band member. The cutout includes over 58 icons, such as Lenny Bruce, Carl Jung, Edgar Allan Poe, Fred Astaire, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, and HG Wells. In The Beatles: Off the Record, Blake said suggestions for the collage came from the fab four, but not every suggestion made the cut.
“I then said to each of The Beatles, ‘Make a list of the people who you would like most.’ It was a kind of opportunity to show off and then have the audience that you’d choose to be your favourite audience. This was the idea. I also made a list; Robert Fraser made a list, so there were six lists. George’s list was all gurus, and Ringo said, ‘Whatever the others say is fine by me,’ because he didn’t really want to be bothered. But, it was John’s that I remember the most. Amongst a great number of people, he chose Hitler and Jesus. Neither of which made the final sleeve.”
Paul McCartney named ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ as his favorite album cover
In an interview with his website, McCartney was asked what his favorite Beatles album artwork was. The “Let it Be” singer named Sgt. Pepper’s mainly because of the collaborative process involved.
“Sgt Pepper comes to mind because it was a lot of fun putting it together: designing and having our costumes made at a tailor shop (at a theatrical costume shop, actually!) and getting Peter Blake to stage the whole cover and so on,” McCartney explained. “It was very collaborative, and we all had a say. So, I think for that reason, maybe that’s a favorite.”
The artwork for Sgt. Pepper’s was already impactful upon its release, with many donning the famous outfits The Beatles wore. Today, it’s a legendary album cover that pushes beyond music into art, fashion, and pop culture.
