"Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - Beatles, 1967

"It was 20 years ago today." No it wasn't. It was 40 years ago today!

The BBC, among others, are commerating this historic album's anniversary.

I distinctly remember hearing "Sgt Pepper" for the very first time. It was like nothing that had come before.

I loved the Beatles. I loved their stylish pop songs. I loved their irreverent personalities. I especially loved their accents. (Perhaps that's why I'm living here in England now???) I used to spend hours listening to Beatles records through Daddy's big headphones, picking out Paul's bass guitar lines and trying to understand all of the lyrics.

"Sgt Pepper" was the first so-called "concept album" I'd ever heard. The songs linked into a story. It was so cool. And besides, the songs were terrific, even when you listened to them individually.

I was just thinking that I have three copies of the album. And I mean the LPs, too, not including the CD version. I have my original "mono" version, bought in 1967 (or perhaps it was a birthday gift, since my birthday is late-June?). I bought a "stereo" version a few years later, when I finally got the first little stereo of my own. And then somewhere along the way, I bought a UK pressing of the album. And, of course, I also have a CD. That's four copies total.

But the fact that it's the 40th anniversary is making me a little depressed...as is the fact that only two of the four Beatles are still alive.



Janet