Obviously, Sgt. pepper is an one of the most recognized covers of all time, and for good reason. Many, many man/woman hours and thought went into the creation and concept of this iconic cover art.
The cover of Sgt. Pepper's was designed by Peter Blake and put together by Blake and Jann Haworth, who diligently combed through hundreds of photos for months before the photo shoot. The photo was taken by Michael Cooper at Chelsea Manor Photographic Studios on March 30, 1967. Many of the people pictured in the cover were personal heroes of the Beatles or people they admired. However, this was not some photoshop cut, crop and paste creation, these were actual cardboard cutouts of the people and were painstakenly positioned for the shoot.
Who is pictured on the cover:
1. Sri Yukteswar (Indian Guru)
2. Aleister Crowley (black magician)
3. Mae West
4. Lenny Bruce
5. Stockhausen (modern German composer)
6. W.C. Fields
7. Carl Jung (psychologist)
8. Edgar Allen Poe
9. Fred Astaire
10. Merkin (American artist)
12. Huntz Hall (Bowery Boy)
13. Simon Rodia (creater of Watts Towers)
14. Bob Dylan
15. Aubrey Beardsly (Victorian artist)
16. Sir Robert Peel (Police pioneer)
17. Aldous Huxley (philosopher)
18. Dylan Thomas (Welsh poet)
19. Terry Southern (author)
20. Dion (American pop singer)
21. Tony Curtis
22. Wallace Berman (Los Angeles artist)
23. Tommy Handley (wartime comedian)
24. Marilyn Monroe
25. William Buroughs (author)
26. Mahavatar Babaji (Indian Guru)
27. Stan Laurel
28. Richard Lindner (New York artist)
29. Oliver Hardy
30. Karl Marx
31. H.G. Wells
32. Paramhansa Yogananda (Indian Guru)
33. Stuart Sutcliffe
35. Max Muller
37. Marlon Brando
38. Tom Mix (cowboy film star)
39. Oscar Wilde
40. Tyrone Power
41. Larry Bell (modern painter)
42. Dr. Livingstone
43. Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan)
44. Stephen Crane (American writer)
45. Issy Bonn (comedian)
46. George Bernard Shaw
47. Albert Stubbins (Liverpool footballer)
49. Lahiri Mahasaya (Indian Guru)
50. Lewis Carol
51. Sonny Liston (boxer)
52 - 55. The Beatles (in wax)
57. Marlene Dietrich
58. Diana Dors
59. Shirley Temple
60. Bobby Breen (singing prodigy)
61. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
Sgt. Pepper Notes:
Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ were requested by Lennon, but ultimately they were left out, even though a cutout of Hitler was in fact made.
The collage created legal worries for EMI's legal department, which had to contact the people who were still living to obtain their permission. Mae West initially refused — famously asking "What would I be doing in a lonely hearts club?" — but she relented after the Beatles sent her a personal letter. Actor Leo Gorcey requested payment for inclusion on the cover, so his image was removed. An image of Mohandas Gandhi was also removed at the request of EMI (it was airbrushed out), who had a branch in India and were fearful that it might cause offence there.
Originally, the group had wanted the album to include a package with badges, pencils and other small Sgt. Pepper goodies but this proved far too costly to realize. Instead, the album came with a page of cardboard cut-outs carrying the description:
The inner sleeve SGT. PEPPER CUT-OUTS
1.Moustache
2.Picture Card
3.Stripes
4.Badges
5.Stand Up
The special inner sleeve, included in the early pressings of the LP, featured a psychedelic pattern designed by the Fool.
The album project was nominated for seven Grammy Awards on the 1968 ceremony, receiving four of them, including Album of the Year, becoming the first rock/pop album to receive the prize.
The album entered the UK Albums Chart on June 3, 1967 and has remained there for a total of 201 weeks as of 2007. In the USA the album stayed in the Billboard 200 chart for an amazing 175 weeks.
In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
And the accolades will keep piling up as new generations of album cover art fans enjoy this iconic cover art.
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