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

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a song credited to Lennon/McCartney, and first recorded and released in 1967, on the The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's album. The song appears twice on the album: as the opening track and as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", the penultimate track. As the title track, the lyrics introduce the fictional band which performs in the album.

Since its original album release, the song has also been released on singles, on compilation albums, and has been performed by several other artists including Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, McCartney with U2, and a comic interpretation by Bill Cosby.

Authorship and recording
The song was recorded 1 February 1967.

In November 1966, on the flight back to England after a holiday, McCartney conceived an idea in which an entire album would be role-played, with each of The Beatles assuming an alter-ego in the "Lonely Hearts Club Band", which would then perform a concert in front of an audience.