Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band – The Beatles Most Important Album Cover

Webmaster for the greatest websites in the world ♦ February 6, 2012 ♦ 3 Comments

The Beatle’ s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Considered by many to be the ground-breaking concept album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band was released by the Beatles in June of 1967.  The album’s concept originated with Paul McCartney, who was inspired by the Beach Boys’ 1966 release of Pet Sounds.  Ironically, Brian Wilson had been motivated to write the songs on the Pet Sounds album after listening to the Beatles’, Rubber Soul album.

Sgt Pepper was probably one of the earliest examples of  a concept album.  It’s this overall ‘multimedia’ approach, making the music, the lyrics and the concept art link together that makes this a stunning showcase of modern rock. For the first time on a Beatles’ record, the artwork, packing and every song were connected in some way.  Ironically, although connected, the music on the album was influenced by such diverse genres as music hall, jazz, rock and roll, western classical, and traditional Indian music.

One of the most important albums in modern music history, Sgt Pepper influenced many artists including Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and Oasis.  Sgt. Pepper was a worldwide critical and commercial success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the UK Album Chart and 15 weeks at number one on the US Billboard 200.  It consistently ranks at, or near, the top of most published lists of the greatest albums of all time.  Sgt. Pepper is also one of the best selling albums of all times, with worldwide sales of 32 million copies.  Nominated for seven Grammy Awards in 1968, the album won four, including Best Album of the Year and Best Album Cover.

The Grammy-Award-winning album cover was designed by Peter Blake and, his wife and artistic partner, Jann Haworth; and photographed by Michael Cooper.  The front of the album cover shows the band posing in front of a collage of life-sized cardboard models of the band’s favorite celebrities.  The Beatles, as the Sgt. Pepper Band, are dressed in custom-made military-style outfits made of satin dyed in day-glow colors. These suits were designed by Manuel Cuevas.  The album’s lyrics were printed on the back cover, the first time this had been done on a British pop album.

Although Peter Blake later complained about the amount of the fee that he received for the design (only£200, with no subsequent royalties); the total amount spent on creating the cover was nearly £3,000, about 100 times the average cost for an album cover in the 1960s.

The Sgt. Pepper’s album cover has become an iconic work of pop art, much imitated and certainly Pete Blake’s best known work. This elaborate album cover art has spawned great interest and deep study.  The album cover features more than 70 famous people, including writers, musicians, film stars, and (at Harrison’s request) a number of Indian gurus. The final grouping included Marlene Dietrich, Carl Gustav Jung, W.C. Fields, Diana Dors, James Dean, Bob Dylan, Issy Bonn, Marilyn Monroe, Aldous Huxley, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sigmund Freud, Aleister Crowley, Edgar Allan Poe, Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, William S. Burroughs, Marlon Brando, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and Lenny Bruce.  Also included was the image of the original Beatles’ bassist, the late Stuart Sutcliffe and the wax figures of the current four Beatles.  Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ were requested by Lennon, but ultimately their images were left out.

The Beatles’ Record Albums

Studio Albums:

Please Please Me (1963)
With the Beatles (1963)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Beatles for Sale (1964)
Help! (1965)
Rubber Soul (1965)
Revolver (1966)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The Beatles (1968)
Yellow Submarine (1969)
Abbey Road (1969)
Let It Be (1970)

Compilations:
My Bonnie (with Tony Sheridan) 1962
The Beatles with Tony Sheridan & Guests (with Tony Sheridan) (1964)
The Beatles Beat (1964)
Something New (1964)
Jolly What! (with Frank Ifield) (1964)
Ain’t She Sweet 1964)
The Beatles’ Story (1964)
The Early Beatles (1965)
The Beatles (1965)
The Beatles’ Greatest (1965)
The Beatles in Italy (1965)
Dans Leurs 14 Plus Grands Succès (1965)
Los Beatles (1965)
Greatest Hits Volume 1 (1966)
A Collection of Beatles Oldies (1966)
Greatest Hits Volume 2 (1967)
The Beatles’ First (1967)
Very Together (1969)
Hey Jude (1970)
In the Beginning (Circa 1960) (1970)
From Then To You / The Beatles’ Christmas Album (1970)
Por Siempre Beatles (1971)
The Essential Beatles (1972)
1962–1966 (1973)
1967–1970 (1973)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Music (1976)
Love Songs (1977)
The Beatles Collection (1978)
Rarities (1978)
20 Golden Hits (1979)
Rarities (1980)
The Beatles’ Ballads (1980)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Volume One (1980)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Volume Two (1980)
The Beatles Box (1980)
The Beatles 1967–1970 (1980)
The Beatles EP Collection[B] (1981)
The Beatles (1982)
20 Greatest Hits (1982)
The Number Ones (1983)
The Early Tapes of the Beatles (1984)
Past Masters, Volume One (1988)
Past Masters, Volume Two (1988)
Past Masters, Volumes One & Two (1988)
The Beatles Box Set (1988)
Anthology 1 (1995)
Anthology 2 (1996)
Anthology 3 (1996)
Yellow Submarine Songtrack (1996)
1 (2000)
Beatles Bop – Hamburg Days (with Tony Sheridan) (2001)
Let It Be… Naked (2001)
The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 (2004)
The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 (2006)
Love (2006)
The Beatles in Mono (2009)
Mono Masters (2009)
The Beatles Stereo Box Set (2009)
Past Masters[C] (2009)
1962–1966 / 1967–1970 (2010)
Anthology Box Set (2010)
Anthology Highlights (2010)
Tomorrow Never Knows (2012)
I Saw Her Standing There (2013)

Live Albums:

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 (1977)
The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977)
First Live Recordings (1979)
Live at the BBC (1994)
On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 (2013)