Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (album)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth album by The Beatles. It was released on June 1, 1967 in the United Kingdom and on June 2, 1967 in the United States. Sgt. Pepper is often said to be The Beatles best work, and one of the most influential albums of all time.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 1 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time List. In 2006, the album was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time.

About
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was recorded after the band stopped touring. The album's songs were each designed so that they could not be played live. All of The Beatles experimented with new sounds while recording the album, so each song is very different. It is rumored that drugs took a big part while the band was making the album. The song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was said to be about LSD, but the band denied it.

Album Cover
The album cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the most famous of all time. It was designed by Peter Blake and photographed by Michael Cooper. The Beatles each chose ten people they would like to perform in front of. The people chosen are displayed on the album cover. Two of John Lennon's picks, Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ, were rejected by EMI.

Tracks
All songs Lennon/McCartney except where otherwise noted.

Side one

 * 1) "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – 2:04
 * 2) "With a Little Help from My Friends" – 2:46
 * 3) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" – 3:30
 * 4) "Getting Better" – 2:49
 * 5) "Fixing a Hole" – 2:38
 * 6) "She's Leaving Home" – 3:37
 * 7) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" – 2:37

Side two

 * 1) "Within You Without You" (George Harrison) – 5:07
 * 2) "When I'm Sixty-Four" – 2:37
 * 3) "Lovely Rita" – 2:44
 * 4) "Good Morning Good Morning" – 2:43
 * 5) "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)" – 1:20
 * 6) "A Day in the Life" – 5:33

Awards

 * Won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical, Contemporary Album and Best Album Cover.
 * Nominated for Best Group Vocal Performance, Best Contemporary Vocal Group and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for "A Day in the Life."

Credits

 * John Lennon: Guitars, keyboards, piano, percussion, vocals.
 * Paul McCartney: Bass guitar, guitars, piano, keyboards, vocals.
 * George Harrison: Guitars, Fuzz, mouth organ, percussion, tambourine, sitar, piano, vocals.
 * Ringo Starr: Drums, percussion, mouth organ, bells, piano, vocals.
 * George Martin: Keyboards, piano, harmonium.
 * Geoff Emerick: Recording Engineer
 * Mal Evans: Piano, mouth organ, harmonium, percussion, vocals.
 * Neil Aspinall: Mouth organ, tamboura.
 * James Buck: horn on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
 * Neil Sanders: horn on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
 * Tony Randall: horn on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
 * John Burden: horn on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
 * Erich Gruenberg: Violin on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Derek Jacobs: Violin on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Trevor Williams: Violin on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Jose Luis García: Violin on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * John Underwood: Viola on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Stephen Shingles: Viola on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Dennis Vigay: Cello on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Alan Dalziel: Cello on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Gordon Pearce: Double Bass on "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Sheila Bromberg: Harp on "She's Leaving Home".
 * V. Lankshwarna: Swordmandel on "Within You Without You"
 * Shambu-Das: Dilruba on "Within You Without You"
 * Ravi Shankar: Dilruba and Sitar on "Within You Without You"
 * Erich Gruenberg: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Alan Loveday: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Julien Gaillard: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Paul Scherman: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Ralph Elman: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * David Wolfsthal: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Jack Rothstein: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Jack Greene: Violin on "Within You Without You"
 * Reginald Kilbey: Cello on "Within You Without You"
 * Allen Ford: Cello on "Within You Without You"
 * Peter Beavan: Cello on "Within You Without You"
 * Robert Burns: Clarinet on "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Henry Mackenzie: Clarinet on "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "A Day in the Life".
 * Frank Reidy: Clarinet on "When I'm Sixty-Four".
 * Barrie Cameron: Sax on "Good Morning Good Morning".
 * David Glyde: Sax on "Good Morning Good Morning".
 * lan Holmes: Sax on "Good Morning Good Morning".
 * John Lee: Horn on "Good Morning Good Morning".