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To paraphrase the Cannon, “It was 42 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper blew the world away..” On June 2, 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in the United States. The collection ranks as number 1 on the Rolling Stone list of all-time great albums<\/a>. its spawned a thousand imitators up to and including the Simpsons, and four decades later, the Beatles classic is still a household word. So why didn’t any of the album tracks ever make it to the WKNR Music Guide? What two Pepper session recordings weren’t included in the LP, but made it to number 2 on Keener before being included in The Magical Mystery Tour? Who ARE all of those people on the album cover? Which Pepper track did Russ Gibb study during his quest to solve the Paul McCartney death mystery? And what role did a famous WKNR personality play in promoting Sgt. Pepper’s release nationwide? <\/p>\nFor many who grew up listening to Keener, the Beatles and WKNR were inextricably connected. Keener sponsored the concerts<\/a> when the Four Lads came to town, and through a combination of hard work and serendipity, the Key Men were part of many Detroit Beatle firsts. So its particularly strange that the Beatles most honored album never charted on the WKNR Music Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you’re counting EMI releases, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the the Beatles eighth album, recorded over a four month period at the famed Abby Road studios<\/a>, beginning on December 6, 1966. The album’s British release happened on June 1, 1967. It hit American record stores one day later.<\/p>\n Reaction was instantaneous and effusive. The Times of London’s music critic Kenneth Tynan called the album "a decisive moment in the history of Western civilization." Everyone from Jimi Hendrix<\/a> to Frank Zappa<\/a> had an opinion on Sgt. Pepper and the LP quickly shot to number one on the Billboard charts, holding the top spot for 15 weeks and winning four Grammys, including album of the year.<\/p>\n So why didn’t any of the songs chart on WKNR? First and foremost, none of the tracks were released as singles. This wasn’t unique. 1965’s Rubber Soul<\/a> didn’t include a single and it wasn’t until later in 1967 that two tracks recorded during the Pepper sessions found their way to Keener playlists. Penny Lane<\/a> and Strawberry Fields<\/a>, both spent six weeks on the WKNR Music Guide, reaching the number 2 spot<\/a>. George Martin<\/a> originally wanted to include this double-A side in the Pepper collection and was pressured to release them in between Beatle albums. Both tracks were later included on the Magical Mystery Tour<\/a> LP. <\/p>\n Although it didn’t make a chart appearance, Sgt. Pepper got a ton of airplay on WKNR. Scott Regen<\/a> was hired to record a commercial<\/a> promoting the album which got national airplay and the Keener air staff featured album cuts throughout the broadcast day as Pepper became an instant classic. <\/p>\n An important dimension of the Paul is Dead story<\/a>, amplified to the national stage on WKNR-FM by Russ Gibb<\/a>, are the supposed clues to be found in A Day in the Life<\/a>, where some say you can hear the sound of a horrific traffic accident. In fact the Sgt. Pepper album cover is laden with symbolism for Paul is Dead detectives. The left handed guitar, depicted in yellow flowers seems to show the word "Paul" with a question mark. The three strings on the typically four stringed bass could represent the loss of one of the four band members. Some say that two dolls have a McCartney onnection, one with a "Welcome the Rolling Stones" shirt, a toy car on one knee and a bloody left-handed driving glove on the other. Another doll has a cracked head, symbolizing McCartney’s supposed fatal head injury. <\/p>\n Sgt. Pepper is cryptically mentioned in Don McLean\u2019s America Pie<\/a> opus. In the \u201c10 years we\u2019ve been on our own\u201d since \u201cthe day the music died,\u201d the Beatles had become a dominant creative force which McLean notes with the line, \u201csergeants playing a marching tune.\u201d McLean seemed to feel that the Beatles had moved music away from the danceable tunes of the Buddy Holly<\/a>, Big Bopper<\/a> era, saying, \u201cWe all got up to dance but never got the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no doubt that the record did help redefine pop music, but it wasn\u2019t until 1978 that Sgt. Pepper \/ With a Little Help From My Friends finally got its due on the singles charts. The song with A Day in the Life as a B side was released in support of the film version<\/a>, released that same year. It
\npeaked at 71, eleven years after the album first burst onto the American scene.<\/p>\n![](\"images\/logos\/logo-micro.gif\"){kind=logo}
Link:Scott Regen tells how the National Sgt Pepper Spot Happened<\/a>
\nLink:Scott Regen’s National Sgt Pepper Radio Commercial<\/a>
\nLink:The Beatles in the Keener Photo Gallery<\/a>
\nLink:Sgt. Pepper Wikipedia Entry<\/a>
\nLink:Beatles Discography<\/a><\/p>\n
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