Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is The Beatles' eighth studio album, released in UK on 26 May 1967. As with its predecessor Revolver, The Beatles heavily experimented in the studio to form different sounds and effects.

Origins
After The Beatles final tour in 1966, Paul McCartney would form an imaginative band that was influenced by Edwardian England and would call it "Sgt Pepper". After the Double-A sided "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" was released, The Beatles worked on Sgt. Pepper, containing not only contain rock and roll, but psychedelic music, symphonic pieces, circus-style music, world music, music hall music and many others. This was also the first album containing the song lyrics on its gatefold side.

Track listing

 * Side one
 * 1) "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (2:00)
 * 2) "With a Little Help from My Friends" (2:42)
 * 3) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (3:28)
 * 4) "Getting Better" (2:48)
 * 5) "Fixing a Hole" (2:36)
 * 6) "She's Leaving Home" (3:25)
 * 7) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (2:37)
 * Side two
 * 1) "Within You Without You" (5:05)
 * 2) "When I'm Sixty-Four" (2:37)
 * 3) "Lovely Rita" (2:42)
 * 4) "Good Morning Good Morning" (2:42)
 * 5) "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" (1:18)
 * 6) "A Day in the Life" (5:38)

Personnel

 * The Beatles:
 * John Lennon – vocals; rhythm, acoustic and lead guitars; Hammond organ, final piano chord; harmonica, tape loops, sound effects, comb and tissue paper; handclaps, tambourine, maracas
 * Paul McCartney – vocals; bass and lead guitars; piano, grand piano, Lowrey and Hammond organs; handclaps; vocalisations, sound effects, comb and tissue paper
 * George Harrison – vocals; lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars; sitar, tambura, swarmandal; harmonica, comb and tissue paper; handclaps, tambourine, maracas; lead vocals on "Within You Without You"
 * Ringo Starr – drums, congas, tambourine, maracas, handclaps, tubular bells; vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends"; harmonica, comb and tissue paper; final piano chord


 * Other musicians and the production team


 * Mal Evans – counting, harmonica, alarm clock, final piano chord
 * Neil Aspinall – tambura, harmonica
 * Geoff Emerick – audio engineering; tape loops, sound effects
 * Sounds Inc. – saxophones, trombones and French horn on "Good Morning Good Morning"
 * George Martin – producer, mixer; tape loops, sound effects; harpsichord on "Fixing a Hole", harmonium, Lowrey organ and glockenspiel on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", Hammond organ on "With a Little Help from My Friends", piano on "Getting Better", piano solo on "Lovely Rita"; final harmonium chord.
 * Session musicians – French horns on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band": Neill Sanders, James W. Buck, John Burden, Tony Randall, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; string section and harp on "She's Leaving Home", arranged by Mike Leander and conducted by Martin; tabla by Natwar Soni, dilrubas by Anna Joshi and Amrit Gajjar and tambura by Buddhadev Kansara on "Within You Without You", with violins and cellos arranged and conducted by Harrison and Martin; clarinets "When I'm Sixty-Four": Henry MacKenzie, Robert Burns, Frank Reidy, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; saxophones on "Good Morning Good Morning", arranged and conducted by Martin and Lennon; and forty-piece orchestra, on "A Day in the Life", arranged by Martin, Lennon and McCartney, conducted by Martin and McCartney.