DBWI - John Lennon doesn't die in 1967

So, everyone knows the tragic story of the Beatles "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.

In the middle of recording the album John Lennon fell off the EMI studios roof and died, and the album remained unfinished.

But what if he hadn't died?

Would the album have been as good as the legend suggests? I've heard the "Seargent Pepper sessions" set that Paul executive-produced last year, but it just doesn't convince me.

Remember, their last single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" was a bit strange - If the album had been as weird as 'Strawberry Fields Forever', I dunno how it would've gone down with the record buying public.

Has anyone here seen the film clip they filmed for those songs? Apparently it's available in some collectors' trading circles.. Man, who knows maybe they could've set music videos as a trend far earlier than the late 1970s?

And what of the rumours that John INTENDED to jump? Quite a few people actually thought that the last track on Revolver was a thinly veiled message to the fans.. "turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.. it is not dying..."


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(OOC - based in part on http://www.feelnumb.com/2009/08/23/john-lennons-acid-trip-on-the-abbey-road-roof/ - although March 11 is towards the END of Pepper sessions.

I propose the fatal fall being on Thursday 9 Feb 1967 - during sessions for the basic track of "Good Morning Good Morning".. and notably ONE DAY before the orchestral overdub for 'A Day in the Life' was due to be recorded - the session cancelled along with the remainder of work on Sgt Pepper.

The promo-clips for Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane had both been filmed, but were not released.

Oh, and Abbey Road studios is still known as 'EMI studios', thanks to there being no Beatles album of that name...)
 
Well, maybe the psychedelic movement in music and culture would continue instead of coming to an abrupt halt after the Rolling Stones' homage/memorial "His Satanic Majesty's Request," the title a wry nod to their dead compatriot. Unfortunately, it was seen as in poor taste, and the Stones never really recovered from that gaffe. No big loss, however, since they'd really done nothing major apart from Satisfaction, and that was back in 65.

Hard to imagine the intervening years without the sudden rebirth of chart-topping R&B, with Aretha Franklin, Sam and Dave and especially the legendary Stevie Wonder filling in the sudden vacancy in the pop charts. I guess they'd still have their hits with the Beatles and other rock artists still around, but wouldn't be as influential as they were in OTL.

Maybe British bands would've had an influence beyond the mid-60s, too. I don't know if the Stones would've been anything, but with the Beatles still around, certainly they'd have opened the way for more Brits to hit it big.
 
Well, maybe the psychedelic movement in music and culture would continue instead of coming to an abrupt halt after the Rolling Stones' homage/memorial "His Satanic Majesty's Request," the title a wry nod to their dead compatriot. Unfortunately, it was seen as in poor taste, and the Stones never really recovered from that gaffe. No big loss, however, since they'd really done nothing major apart from Satisfaction, and that was back in 65.


Yeah, I saw that BBC documentary on the history of rock the other night - looks like psychedelic music went from being "The next big thing" to yesterdays news pretty quickly.. Band after band tried breaking through into the charts but it just didn't happen - it just remained a fringe movement.

Mustn't have helped having so many underground musicians arrested for drug possession - how on earth could they keep bands going with members going in and out of jail?

The Beach Boys' 'Smile' album was an brave move in hindsight - trying to combine the 'wall of sound' from Pet Sounds with some psychedelic ideas & lyrics. But almost no-one bought it in July 1967 when it was released. "Brian's folly" they called it at the time.. no wonder they quickly dashed back into the studio & recorded the 'Soul Deep' album. It was an unexpected move, but it was the start of something spectacular.

Hard to imagine the intervening years without the sudden rebirth of chart-topping R&B, with Aretha Franklin, Sam and Dave and especially the legendary Stevie Wonder filling in the sudden vacancy in the pop charts. I guess they'd still have their hits with the Beatles and other rock artists still around, but wouldn't be as influential as they were in OTL.

Mmm.. well, the Beach Boys must've known something when they rush released the chart-topping "Wild Honey" single after that 'Smile' mess.

As far as blue-eyed soul goes, every 'white-boy' soul act since the 1980s has been a tribute or a copy of what the Beach Boys achieved in the 1970s with soul hit after soul hit - and then when the tide changed, they go and dominate disco! :)


Maybe British bands would've had an influence beyond the mid-60s, too. I don't know if the Stones would've been anything, but with the Beatles still around, certainly they'd have opened the way for more Brits to hit it big.

The Rolling Stones were hobbled by Mick & Keith's suspended sentence in 1967 - one more slip-up and they were done. And then what happened? The 1968 bust, and there you go.

I think The Who & The Small Faces could have had a better career post-1967. Coming out of the same 'mod' scene, they were no strangers to playing R'n'B, albeit with a guitar-rock edge.

Isn't it strange how the other ex-Beatles careers progressed after the breakup?

McCartney was smart to come clean in that interview after John died and swear off drugs - he looked as white as a ghost talking to David Frost, he really didn't want anything to do with it anymore after what happened to John. His solo career has been phenomenal though, and he's done a fine job as guardian of the Beatles legacy - buying up all the publishing rights to Lennon/McCartney tunes in the late '60s, and executive producing the archival releases, reissues & compilations. George, Ringo & Cynthia were happy to let him take control so far as the money kept coming in.

George immersed himself in religion, and well-earned himself the title of "Godfather of Christian Rock", taking John's death and turning it into some sort of positive - his anti-drug album turned many heads in the business.

Ringo was the most directionless after the breakup - drifting through acting and various supergroups, but you get the feeling he never was happy again after John died. It was kinda sad but kinda inevitable when he died after a drinking binge in the mid-70s.


{OOC - going for broke - The Beach Boys to go soul thru to the mid-70s, then steal the career of the Bee Gees for the rest of the decade. BOOYAH!}
 
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