By Martin H. Rots

The Beatles released Sergeant Peppers Lonely Heart's Club Band in June 1967 and popular music would never be the same.  McCartney, inspired by the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, realized that the Beatles' could do so much more than three minute pop songs and conceived of a thematic album that never really came to be.  Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever the first songs slated for Pepper were not included in the final mix.  They were released as singles and later included on Magical Mystery Tour. 

George Martin had expanded the musical horizons of the Beatles and the five men had become effective collaborators by the end of 1966 when work began on Pepper.  Suddenly there were orchestras and horns, calliopes and sound collages in wonderful abundance.  The Beatles were leading the pack and anything they did was sure to be widely imitated. 

At first, Pepper's release created confusion.  How would anyone perform this music in front of an audience?  What had happened to the two guitars, a bass and drums with the occasional keyboard thrown in?  The strings that had shown up in Yesterday were a forerunner of George Martin's influence on Lennon and McCartney. The studio experiments that had begun with Revolver were continued in earnest.  It no longer mattered if it had a good beat and was easy to dance to.

Popular music had turned a corner no one anticipated.

The problem was, no one knew what street they were on or what direction to go.  Six months later, it resulted in the rush release of huge numbers of ill-conceived, poorly executed imitations.  Suddenly everyone from the Rolling Stones to the Lovin' Spoonful had horns and strings, sometimes in the most inappropriate places.  Sound effects were re-discovered as we were treated to the sounds of ticking clocks and a myriad of animal noises.  As artists became "sensitive," they lost their edge.

The Lovin' Spoonful released Everything Playing in September 1967.  The Spoonful were a folk rock band that, like the Byrds, had expanded their aural palette to include the now prerequisite, horns and strings.  It featured two songs, Six O'clock and She is Still a Mystery, that broke the mold for the band.  They were great songs but the Spoonful finished discarding the folk rock label with their release.  It had begun with Summer in the City and Everything Playing completed the transition.  John Sebastian left the band soon  after its release to pursue a solo career.

The Byrds had already been doing a lot of experimentation in the studio when Pepper was released.  Eight Miles High on Fifth Dimension, released in 1966, was a breakthrough, but it was still a rock arrangement, no horns, no strings.  So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star preceded Pepper by six months and featured a horn accompaniment that just wouldn't stop.

By the time they released my personal favorite, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, they had been dosed by Pepper.  Instead of covering Dylan, their strongest material this time came from Carol King and Gerry Goffin in the form of I Wasn't Born to Follow.  Hillman and McGuinn teamed up and provided the lion's share of the new material.  By the time the album was completed, they were the only remaining members of the Byrd.  David Crosby and Michael Clarke were both fired during the course of making the album even though two of Crosby's tunes, Tribal Gathering and Dolphin's Smile remained on the final release.

Across the Atlantic, the Rolling Stones reaction to Pepper was more severe, it resulted in Their Satanic Majesties Request in December, 1967.  Brian Jones knew it was a knee jerk reaction to Pepper and it was the beginning of the end for him.  It was an album that just didn't fit.  Sandwiched in between the uninspired Between the Buttons and the superb Beggar's Banquet, Request was an anomaly in the Stones catalogue.

Almost every established rock act in 1967 attempted to emulate Pepper, some more successfully than others.  Some efforts were more embarrassing than interesting.  For many acts, it was the beginning of the end, a signal to produce their swan song and make a graceful exit from the music business.  Others continued to embarrass themselves until the record companies pulled the plug.

I, for one, was happy when the Stones went back to being the Stones.

To learn more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Their_Satanic_Majesties_Request

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notorious_Byrd_Brothers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Playing