1967:
Feb. 17: In response to a request for a single, the group releases “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever,” two songs originally intended for their next album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The single stalls at Number 2 on the charts, thanks to Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Release Me,” firmly entrenched at the top.
June 1: After the group spends over 700 hours in the studio creating it, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is released and jolts the pop music world. It was a groundbreaker in many ways, beginning with the idea that it was an album, not a collection of singles. To that end, it was probably the first LP with hardly any space between the tracks, so it almost had to be listened to as a complete work, as the Beatles played the roles of SPLHCB. It was culminated by a 53 1/2 second fadeout on “A Day in the Life” and, on the import pressing, a high frequency whistle only audible to dogs and a repeating runout groove.
Aug. 27: Brian Epstein is found dead. The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi tells the Beatles to think positively about Brian's death because negative thoughts would be transferred to his spirit. Their reaction is perhaps best summed about by John, in an interview with Ray Coleman: "Brian is just passing into the next phase. His spirit is still around, and always will be." He conceded, "We all feel very sad, but it's controlled grief, controlled emotion. As soon as I find myself depressed, I think of something nice about him. But you can't hide the hurt."
Dec. 26: British television broadcasts the Beatles new film, “Magical Mystery Tour,” a disjointed film conceived around a magical bus trip.