In '67, what song(s) off Sgt. Peppers got heavy radio rotation?

Actually, just about all of them, some more than others.

 

My recollection, though possibly a bit hazy, was that KRLA got their hands on a pre-release copy of Sgt. Pepper and played several cuts for a few days, possibly every song, before it was pulled for a couple of weeks. I'm positive that they played A Day In the Life, With a Little Help, Sgt. Pepper, and Lucy regularly. Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were still in heavy rotation.

 

I don't know what album or albums you are referencing then .
If you are thinking of Sinatra albums etc.., I'm not sure if they were looked at as a complete statement at the time of release or if retrospectively critics looked back and made that observation.

I wasn't around so I am unaware of how much pop music criticism there was other than things like Playboy or Downbeat, etc. back in the 50's.

 

Although I can't remember this for definite, I reckon that the BBC Light Programme would have given When I'm Sixty-Four some airtime. That's the only track that I was really aware of until years later when I finally got to listen to the album.

 

This is entirely wrong. I heard every single track from this album on commercial top 40 radio at the time, with the exception of "A Day In the Life", which was banned from airplay in some places, including here.

Some songs got played more than others. I'd say there was a bias towards the earlier tracks, especially the opening pair. "She's leaving Home" and "Within You Without You" also got plenty of play, probably because they were both so unusual for the Beatles. The ones that got played the least were probably "Good Morning, Good Morning" and "Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite!", perhaps also "Lovely Rita".

Some of the better "top 40 stations" here were surprisingly good. Non-single album cuts from well known acts got played quite often.

 

I'm not sure how much of a role music critics would or would not have played in these assessments. There are people now who do not read music critics, just as there were then.

There must have been dozens if not hundreds of instrumental pop albums that were intended as thematic suites, some of which did not even separate tracks with individual bands (e.g., Leith Stevens' Exploring the Unknown, Dennis Farnon's Mr. Magoo Suite.) Some of these albums used novel ensemble configurations, or repeated and expanded thematic material along the way. As far as albums with lyrics and vocalists, there were things like Gordon Jenkins' Manhattan Tower from the 1940s, in which the songs and narration told a story.

My point is that pop artists were exploiting the thematic possibilities of the album medium as soon as it arrived, so from a pop perspective, there was nothing new about the "thematic" aspect of Sgt. Pepper, even if it was new to rock. Whether or not Pepper is truly thematic or conceptual has also been debated, but that's another topic.

 

Well sure.
I'm not claiming that the Beatles released the first "complete statement" pop album since the beginning of recorded music.
I'm speaking of "pop" music in the 60's and how Sgt.Pepper was viewed at that time.

I said that " Sgt Pepper was possibly the first pop album that was considered to be experienced as a complete statement "...
I'm talking about the general public in 1967, not musicologists.

I doubt that the Mr.Magoo Suite or Gordon Jenkins music from the 40's were exactly on the tip of most people's tongues in 1967.

 

I bet the Elvis Double Trouble soundtrack overshadowed the Sgt Pepper release and airplay

I mean who could pass up Old MacDonald in favor of Lucy in the sky?

 

"Pepper and a phonograph was heaven in summer 67"
As my brother would say in his experience with SPLHCB in summer 1967.

R.I.P. dear brother.

 

Respectfully, I don't see the relevance of that distinction. Record buyers who were buying pop LPs in the 1950s were quite used to thematic and conceptual LP experiences. Even if these buyers weren't the same people who bought Sgt. Pepper - and I'm sure that they weren't, given the Beatles' audience - Sgt. Pepper did not break new ground in this regard. It may have been a departure for rock, but not for pop.

 

I can only speak for what was played on AM radio in my hometown of Winnipeg, but essentially the whole album was played throughout the summer of 1967. Yes, even "Within You, Without You", but only late at night.

The most played were:

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" / "With A Little Help From My Friends"
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
"When I'm Sixty-Four"
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" / "A Day In The Life"

The rest of the album received medium to light rotation, but every track was played.

 

To be honest, I don't find it worth the time to bat this back and forth.

I'll just say that it's a departure for rock then, you'll be satisfied and everyone can get on with their day.

 

Thanks. I thought that the distinction was important to make, and I wasn't trying to be critical of you. Sorry if there was a misunderstanding.

 

SPLHCB: a psychedelic pop rock excursion.

 

No problem .
We're good .

 

Pet Sounds did not resonate with the record buying public like SP did however, PS edged out SP for airplay (AM) with hits like God Only Knows, Wouldn't It Be Nice and Sloop John B which carried over to FM when that format began. In fact, I'd wager that those three tunes accumulated more radio time than Heroes And Villains which was released in 67.

 

In NYC, WNEW did not start its progressive rock format until the fall of 1967, so they were not playing Pepper upon release.

 

I seem to recall hearing 'Lucy..' and '.Day..', there were probably others; they were the Beatles, after all - and it was "their time"!

 

That's a line I always remember so maybe I need to listen to it again

 

I seem to recall primarily "Lucy In The Sky..." & "Day In The Life" getting airplay when 'Pepper' was out in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY market, but I wasn't quite 7 years old at the time so my memory may be distorted...

I also thought is was funny that Johnny Rivers mentioned 'jukebox' on "Summer Rain" 'cos I had never seen any 45s in the stores or local jukeboxes, but my kid self kinda thought he meant 'jukebox of life' as people were playing it at outside parties & in cars on that 8-track...

Andy

 

In my area of the country (central Calif), nothing off of Sgt Pepper got airplay that I remember. I seem to remember hearing songs like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever occasionally, however. At that time, I was only listening to AM.

 

When Sergeant Pepper's was released I was attending a private school in Palo Alto California, south of San Francisco. We would listen to AM radio stations KYA & KFRC in San Francisco. I recall one of those stations having a promotion where people could phone in and cast their vote for the all-time greatest song, which was then played on the air. The winner was "A Day in the Life".

 

In the UK (or, more accurately, just outside its territorial waters) pirate station Radio London played Pepper in its entirety 20 days before its release:



Radio London - Big L Fab Forty 5th May 1997: Sgt Pepper Exclusive

The pirate radio stations played tracks from Pepper throughout the summer before being forced to stop broadcasting on 14 August 1967 as a result of the passage of the Marine Offences Act.

The last record ever played on Radio London was, appropriately, A Day In The Life. (I wrote that down in my diary at the time, little knowing that the all-remembering interweb would one day save me the trouble...)

 

I can’t understand why it’s canon that it is a concept album. I know we’re told it is but except for Pepper opening, a little help and Pepper reprise I see no concept.
BTW I’m a huge Beatles fan so I’m not hating on them but I have always felt Pepper was overrated and not as good as RS or Revolver.

 

I was just a kid, but I remember “A Little Help from My Friends” quite a bit. But I remember “All You Need is Love” a lot more (it was released a few weeks after Sgt. Pepper.)