Happy Birthday Abbey Road

Today marks the 40th birthday of one of the most famous photographs of all time - Iain Macmillan's photo of The Beatles on Abbey Road album cover.

Taken on August 8, 1969 on the 'zebra crossing' outside the studio where The Beatles recorded their eleventh studio album, the image was then used on the album cover a month later and it swiftly became entrenched in rock and roll history.

Brian Southall, author of the history of Abbey Road Studios, reveals the cover was based on a Paul McCartney sketch.

“There's a sketch Paul McCartney did with four little stick men crossing the Zebra. It gave a pretty good idea of what they wanted," he said.

Southall continued that Macmillan had an easy time taking the shot: "He stood up a stepladder while a policeman held up the traffic, the band walked back and forth a few times and that was that."

What a simple concept, what a great album cover. Any other band and we wouldn't be having this discussion. Not only is it one of the greatest and most recognizable album covers of all time, it's easily the most parodied be it in music, television, movies, cartoons and more.

Here are some others who seem to have taken a liking to to this iconic cover.