Three Imaginary Girls

Seattle's Indie-Pop Press – Music Reviews, Film Reviews, and Big Fun

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Here are some facts about the album to help celebrate:

It was the first British album done with eight-track recording, running a pair of four-track machines in synch.

It was recorded at the Abbey Road studio in London over more than 400 hours spanning 129 days, and was released on June 1, 1967.

The album was meant to be played and experienced from start to finish.

In 1968, Sgt. Pepper was the first pop album to win the Grammy award for album of the year. It also won best contemporary album.

Rolling Stone magazine placed the album in the No. 1 slot on their list of the 500 best albums of all time.

Within weeks of its release, Jimi Hendrix was performing the title track in concert.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was treated as a real band, and the album cover art, designed by Peter Blake, shows the group presiding over the funeral of the Beatles surrounded by a congregation of pictures of famous figures such as Marlon Brando, Aldous Huxley, Oscar Wilde, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan and Karl Marx.

In honor of the 40th anniversary, the Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, the Fray and some other bands have joined to record songs from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Anyone have any good stories about this album they'd like to share with the rest of the intraweb?