Updated (18:20 CDT) My regular readers know that I sometimes enjoy a Friday afternoon break from politics for a little rock & roll. Today, the Beatles. Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the taking of the famous Abbey Road cover photograph for the last album the Beatles recorded together. As you all know, the photo was taken in the crosswalk in front of Abbey Road Studios in St. John's Wood, London. The photo is burned into the memories of all who were around when this album was released.
The cover photo was one of 6 taken by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, friend of John and Yoko Lennon, who had previously worked with Yoko on some of her off beat art projects. The police blocked the street while the Fab Four walked back and forth across the street during mid-day break on August 8, 1969. It was over in a few minutes, but the resulting photograph made the "zebra walk" the most famous in the world and a major tourist attraction in London.
What is interesting, though, are the photographs that were not used...here are a few.
Oh. And an interesting tidbit: Guess what the original name of the album was supposed to be - Everest. As in Mt. Everest. They were supposed to fly to Nepal and have their photo taken there. Rather than go toall the trouble, they just decided to go outside, have their photo taken in the street, and call it Abbey Road. And now you know the rest of the story. Have a great weekend.
Update: I ran across this video of George Harrison's Something, filmed at the time of Abbey Road. It gives great insight to each of their relationships at the time:
The cover photo was one of 6 taken by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, friend of John and Yoko Lennon, who had previously worked with Yoko on some of her off beat art projects. The police blocked the street while the Fab Four walked back and forth across the street during mid-day break on August 8, 1969. It was over in a few minutes, but the resulting photograph made the "zebra walk" the most famous in the world and a major tourist attraction in London. What is interesting, though, are the photographs that were not used...here are a few.
Oh. And an interesting tidbit: Guess what the original name of the album was supposed to be - Everest. As in Mt. Everest. They were supposed to fly to Nepal and have their photo taken there. Rather than go toall the trouble, they just decided to go outside, have their photo taken in the street, and call it Abbey Road. And now you know the rest of the story. Have a great weekend.
Update: I ran across this video of George Harrison's Something, filmed at the time of Abbey Road. It gives great insight to each of their relationships at the time:
Awesome album ! I don't know if anyone else ever heard the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theories, but this album cover was filled with purported "clues" proving that to be the case.
1. The order that they are in and the clothes they are wearing. John is first, dressed in white and represents the preacher. Ringo is second, and represents a pallbearer/mourner. Paul is third and barefoot, the way people are buried in some countries. George is last, and dressed in working man's clothes, representing the gravedigger.
2. Paul is the only one out of step, which supposedly, is to draw attention to him because he is deceased.
3. The license plate on the white Volkswagen in the background is 28IF, supposedly refering to the fact that Paul would have been 28 IF he hadn't died.
4. Paul is holding a cigarette, also known as a coffin nail, in his hand.
5. Several of the songs on the album are also said to be referring to Paul's death
There were a lot more, but those are the only ones I can remember right now. There were also clues from every other album cover starting with Sgt. Peppers, I believe. Of course I wasn't born until well after the Beatles broke up, but I remember listening to a tape that broke down the clues on every album as proof that Paul had died at age 27. I don't believe any of it for a second, but it was a very interesting tape. As for myself, I believe that the Beatles, being the geniuses that they were, came up with all this stuff themselves, possibly while under the influence of some of the finest LSD, as a way to add more mystery to themselves, and in turn, sell more records. Best band of all time.
Touche, Shortstuff! You are correct, I forgot about that "other" Beatle Richard Starkey! ;-)
Now, Bubba, you know she's actually Barbara Starkey. ;-)
I don't know that Ringo ever officially changed his name.
Well SS, since she's married to Ringo, she must be...Barbara Starr. You know, that middle aged CNN Pentagon reporter. ;-)
Barbara Bach. "The Spy Who Loved Me."
Blame it on the full moon & hangover mixture. :-)
Wasn't that lady with Ringo his first wife, Maureen?
His current wife is one of the former Bond girls....Barbara something-or-other.
Forty years. Wow. Seems like "yesterday" when we were hearing new songs and # 1 hits from the Beatles all the time (yeah, yeah, I know that was corny but I planned it that way!).
Every time I hear Layla, I think about that situation with her and Eric and George.
The Beatles still rule.
Thanks Bob for the musical history lesson and for making me feel not so old for a change. I was a ripe old 7 when the picture was taken. :-)
Nice find on the Patti Boyd video AntiSarah.
Reminds me of an age related joke (from 20 years ago or so I think) that I had read in the Village Voice (a NYC Houston Press) slightly paraphrased from memory:
"I felt old when the girl I was dating had no idea who the Beatles were. I felt REALLY old when she had no clue who Wings were also." ;-)
bob, if you're interested, here's a YouTube video with a 2007 interview of Patti Boyd that tells the story of the Harrison/Boyd/Clapton "love triangle":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFKh4rdg1fQ
She is still a beautiful woman...
I was in the 59 diner in Sugarland on the day of the last gathering, they have an original poster of that cover. I have always liked that one just for the look of the guys striding across the street.
Only one other thing to say, OMG 40 years ago. I guess time flies when you're having a good time, but this is ridiculous.
Yes, that was Layla. Her real name is Pattie Boyd and was married to George Harrison who she had met in 1966. She met Eric Clapton in 1970, and then divorced Harrison in 1977 and married Clapton. The song Layla and Wonderful Tonight are about her.
Was George Harrison's girl in this video the famous "Layla" of Eric Clapton fame? I know that both he and Clapton were in love with Layla. I just can't remember which one "stole" her from the other. If this young lady was Layla, then judging by her beauty, it's understandable why they were both in love with her.
And who is the lady with Ringo? I don't recognize her at all. That's not Marianne Faithful, is it? It was really nice to see Paul and Linda McCartney at such a happy time in their lives. I never understood why John Lennon left his wife and son for Yoko Ono. She actually stalked him for a time before he took up with her. She scared him and his wife to death, but eventually she just wore him down.
I may not remember what I ate for breakfast this morning, but I can recall things that happened to other people 40 years ago. :-)
What's really funny is that there's NO WAY you can walk across that section without stepping into the dreaded "dark zones"!
Hahahaha! As my worker would say.. "I have that album!"...
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Oh I used to have a Fahrvergnügen..like that in the photo when I lived in Germany... except mine was a few years newer and it was blue and I put cool decals on it..pink elephants and flowers.. I loooved my little bug!