Sgt. Pepper 40th Anniversary - June 1, 2007!

Yes, I take your point about the double e.p., but the MMT album just sounds unbeatable to me. Of course, the presence of SFF and Penny Lane on side 2 give it something of an advantage. It's the one U.S. album I listen to regularly. SP is probably my least played Beatles album. Someone posted earlier about the total sales of around 11 million. 'Live At The BBC' won't be far behind it now. Food for thought............

 

"Live At The BBC" is a double disc release. The RIAA counts each disc as a separate entity when totalling sales, so "BBC" has actually sold about half of that.

 

Pulled together all of my copies of Pepper to listen to today, and I have 13 versions! I'm sure some of you have more! Happy Pepper Day everyone.

 

The RIAA certified figure for Sgt Peppers in the US was 11 million (as of a few years ago). Abbey Road is at 12 million.

Live at the BBC is certified as 4 million shipped (and it's a double album so each copy shipped counts as 2 units). (The White Album is listed as 19 million, but it's only shipped 9.5 million units).

Soundscan figures for Beatles albums (listing US sales since 1991) are as follows (at May 2006):

1 - 10,371,400
Anthology 1 - 3,639,000
Abbey Road - 3,592,000
Sgt Pepper - 3,495,000
The Beatles - 2,945,000
1967-1970 - 2,476,000
Rubber Soul - 2,148,000
1962-1966 - 2,146,000
Revolver - 1,701,000
Live At the BBC - 1,498,000

Worldwide Sgt Peppers has sold around 33 million, including 5 million in the UK.

 

Today on WFUV in NYC...or streaming at www.WFUV.ORG between 2pm -4pm is a 2 hour special.

The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper, an Honest Appraisal...to discuss its importance - and possibly, why it doesnt matter.

though all day they are Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the landmark album, with music throughout the day, plus this special program at 2pm.

 

I have the US Mono. It needs the treble turning up a bit

 

40th Anniversary passes by with no action??

RIP Music Industry.

Just pathetic......

 

Like the day JFK was killed, I know where I was 40 years ago today. At my 8th grade buddy's house because his big sister bought the new Beatles LP and we were going to get to hear it. Four of us sat around a little one speaker record player and listened. We took turns passing the cover around trying to figure it out. The opening track was very strange to us. Hearing the Beatles sing that they were Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band was puzzeling and uncomfortable. We didn't like it. The second track was the Ringo song and it was OK. After that it was 'Lucy' and now we had something. We liked all the rest of side one. Side two started with George's Indian song that we all hated. We liked the rest of side two except for the rooster in 'Good Morning'. 'A Day In The Life' was fantastic. I think we all listened as intently as we would watch the Zapruder film many years later. I'm going to spin SPLHCB today and see if the old feelings come back for her.

 

Pretty sad, especially since we were "lucky" enough to have a 15th anniversary edition of Alanis' Jagged Little Pill!:thumbsdn:

 

Chicago Tribune Op/Ed piece on Sgt. Peppers...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-oped0601fortyjun01,1,6365190.story

 

Holy melodrama!

Some of that is a bit over the top. I still say that Pepper was "of the time", it didn't create the times. A lot of the vibe was already going on in the USA on the west coast, as Paul even says that was an influence on Pepper. To say that Pepper suddenly caused moustaches and tie dye to appear is silly. It was already going on.

 

Absolutely. Sounds kinda flat and dull to me.

 

Well, I was -16 when Sgt. Pepper came out, so all I can do is read about it. I think DSotM had a more profound effect on me in my teenage years than SPLHCB did, but I can definately see how it would have drastically influenced the times.

 

Same here, I just go by what I have read, but sometimes writers really like to re-write history. No doubt it was an influence, but look at some of the albums out just before Pepper......it was already going on.

 

Sgt Pepper just happened to be the very first CD I bought for myself, way back when I was 9 years old. What good taste I had

 

Yes, but Pepper was the first experimental album to be recognized as significant by the broader population. In stressing the importance of Pepper, writers have not been rewriting history: Pepper truly did represent a major cultural breakthrough. It was purchased--and played--by many people who had never previously taken an interest in rock albums. And it was greeted, in the press and on the radion, with a degree of excitement and interest that was entirely unprecedented.

 

No doubt, but to that writer it seems that on June 2nd he woke up and the USA suddenly changed. It was more of a culmination than a sea change.

 

It opened up ideas for others who never thought about what you could do with music. Albums changed after Peppers.

 

My picture shows Paul standing with the others.

 

You didnt listen to music at 16?

 

No, look again....he was -16. Not born yet.

 

That's correct.

 

Here's a clip of the US mono with no loading, rolloff or capacitance...it's not perfect, but it's a lot closer to tolerable. My record is shot hence the grunge.

http://www.geocities.com/vanmeterannie/better.mp3