![]() Pepper marked a major shift for the group. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) Almost all the songs were written in tandem by Lennon and McCartney, with the only exception being “Within You Without You” by Harrison.ġ2. Sgt. Recorded in 400 hours over a 129 day period, the album consists of 13 tracks running a total of 44 minutes. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a joint effort of Beatles members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, along with producer George Martin. Released June 1st, 1967 in the UK and June 2nd in the US, Sgt. Allusions to drug culture and depictions of controversial figures would play a large role in hindering the album’s distribution. However, this album stirred major controversy in the United Kingdom as well as abroad, becoming censored for both the content of the songs and the accompanying artwork. It also spent an astounding 175 weeks on the Billboard Top 200, 15 of which it held the coveted #1 spot. ![]() ![]() The album would be a major success for the band, acquiring 4 of the 7 Grammy Awards it was nominated for including Album of the Year. In doing so, the band produced an album that was “arguably the most creative album in rock history” ( About the Beatles). Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was a departure from all musical conventions of the time, including their own previous style, blending dissonance (clever use of stereo sound) and what Ian McDonald, author of Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties, calls “a shrewd fusion of Edwardian Variety orchestra and contemporary ‘heavy rock’” (233). The Beatles were megastars at their peak and are still considered by some as one of the most influential bands of all time. Why: Drug references and controversial album art Lay me down in the cold cold ground / Where before many more have gone / When they come / I will stand my ground / Stand my ground, I’ll not be afraid / Thoughts of home take away my fear / Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears / Once a year say a prayer for me / Close your eyes and remember me / Never more shall I see the sun / For I fell to a German’s gun.What: Sgt. MacKenzie makes the song’s lyrics all the more meaningful. Joseph MacKenzie was the founding member of the percussion band Clann An Drumma and first sang the tribute on their 2000 album, Tried & True. The nature of his great-grandfather’s death touched Joseph MacKenzie, spurring him to eventually write the moving melody. ![]() MacKenzie was then bayoneted to death in the ensuing struggle. According to his great-grandson, Joseph Kilna MacKenzie, Sgt. MacKenzie chose to remain by the side of a wounded comrade rather than leave him to the advancing Germans. MacKenzie soon returned to his unit, and in 1917, the Seaforth Highlanders were engaged in the Battle of Arras: the same battle Siegfried Sassoon famously referenced in “The General.” There, Sgt. While recuperating, he was asked what killing Germans was like, to which he responded, “What a waste of a fine body of men.” He was reportedly wounded and briefly sent back to Scotland to recover. Charles Stuart MacKenzie, served with the Seaforth Highlanders - a Scottish regiment of the British Army - during World War I. A UH-1D Iroquois helicopter climbs skyward after inserting soldiers near Ia Drang.
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