Sept 10th in Pop History
On this day, September 10th, in:
• 1966 - Revolver by The Beatles shot up from # 45 to # 1 on the Billboard album chart to leave no doubt which was the top album.
Revolver was the seventh studio album by the Beatles. It was released on August 5, 1966, accompanied by a double-sided single Eleanor Rigby / Yellow Submarine. The album was the Beatles' final recording project before their retirement as live performers (no more touring!). As a result, this project marked the group's most overt use of studio technology to date, building on the advances of their late 1965 release Rubber Soul. It has since become regarded as one of the greatest and most innovative albums in the history of popular music, with recognition centered on its range of musical styles, diverse sounds, and lyrical content.
Some interesting observations by Gillian G. Gaar, goldminemag.com: “For years, it’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that’s been heralded as The Beatles’ best work. But over time, Revolver has challenged the dominance of Sgt. Pepper’s. Not that it had been overlooked; the album hit No. 1 in both the U.S. and U.K, and sold nearly 1.2 million copies in the U.S. in 1966 alone. But the rediscovery — and reassessment — of Revolver could only begin to happen once the immediate impact of the golden appearance of Sgt. Pepper’s had started to fade.
“The year 1966 would prove to be transitional for The Beatles. It was expected to be like 1964 and 1965; they’d shoot another movie, release two albums and go out on tour. Instead, The Beatles broke that pattern for good. They couldn’t find a suitable film script, so there was no movie. Touring proved to be such an unhappy experience that, after August, they’d never go out on the road again. And Revolver would be the only album released during the year.
Here’s Revolver on Spotify:
Here’s Eleanor Rigby on Spotify:
(the single released along with the album)
Here’s a little Revolver trivia: (Source: Leonie Cooper, at nme.com)
1. The album’s artwork, by Klaus Voorman – a pal of the band from Hamburg – saw him drawing the members of the band from memory.
2. He got paid £40 for the piece – which went on to win the Grammy for Best Album Cover.
3. There’s a host of amazing, but uncredited names singing backing vocals on Yellow Submarine, including the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones, Donovan, George Harrison’s first wife. the model, Pattie Boyd, and the majestic Marianne Faithfull (a pop star in England).
4. None of the songs on Revolver were ever performed live, even though it came out just before The Beatles headed out on their final tour of the US in August 1966. The reason being? They were a bit too hard to play.
5. The Beatles contract with their label EMI expired during the making of Revolver, meaning they weren’t actually under contract while recording the album. Their new contract with the label wasn’t signed until 1967 – meaning they pretty much gave Revolver to the label for “free.”
6. The original title for the album was ‘Abracadabra,’ though a cheeky Ringo suggested they call it ‘After Geography’ to follow in the footsteps of The Rolling Stones’ album entitled Aftermath.’ Get it? After math?
7. One Eleanor Rigby fact. All four Beatles contributed to the lyrics of the song, which, as all Beatles’ fans know, is pretty, pretty rare…
Revolver is a timeless psychedelic album, and is as fresh as it is classic. If you haven’t ever done so, take 35 minutes, sit down with a fresh beverage and a friend, and listen to this album in one sitting. You’ll realize why The Beatles are still selling records three generations after.
And finally
What if they added color…..
Amazing high definition detail….
What if they kept evolving… Evolver
What if the album was released today…
Also, on this day in…
• 1964 - The Kinks owned the top spot with their song You Really Got Me
• 1968 - The Beatles posted their 15th # 1 song in the U.K. with Hey Jude
• 1977 - Carly Simon (Nobody Does It Better) took over the # 1 spot on the Adult chart from then-husband James Taylor (Handy Man), believed to be the only time in the Rock Era that an artist has replaced their spouse at # 1
On this day in…
• 1983 - The album Thriller by Michael Jackson regained the # 1 position to notch week # 20 at the top spot. It would eventually become the best selling album of all time
• 1988 - Phil Collins reached # 1 on the charts with A Groovy Kind Of Love
And just for fun… (for any trivia buffs)
• 1898 - Waldo Semon, the inventor of vinyl in 1926, the substance used to make LP and 45 records, was born in Demopolis, Alabama; died May 26, 1999 at the age of 100 in Hudson, Ohio. Waldo, we salute you!
