BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP
THIS MONTH’S MEETING WILL BE THE SECOND SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13TH 2:00 PM
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 1721 OXMOOR RD BIRMINGHAM, AL 35209
NEXT MEETING, NOVEMBER 10TH 2:00 PM THE SECOND SUNDAY
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
It was really an interesting and different kind of meeting last month when Ray Reach was our guest speaker. Ray’s education in music is Jazz. He loves Jazz and the Blues and he not only talked about and educated us on these genres but had us burst into a sing-a-long with a couple of the songs he was discussing and when he began singing it was on. It was really a fun and educational time for all. Thanks, Ray.
Planned for the October meeting will be another presentation as we did in June showing and discussing LP covers, the artwork, the photos, banned covers and LP’s that had the first cover pulled and then distributed with another cover for whatever reason or another. Doug Roberts, who was part of the first presentation when we did this type program and myself will be the presenters. Plan on making this and other upcoming meetings.
For the remainder of 2024 all monthly meetings will be on the 2nd Sunday, Nov 10, Dec 8. Arrive at 2:00 PM. See you there. November will be a business type meeting with some BRC business that we need to go over. And December we plan on doing our Dirty Santa and Free For All. More on this next month.
ALIVE ‘N KICKING
Why would a rock group who, at the time is the most popular band going and is selling millions of records worldwide release an LP that the cover would lead fans to believe that one of their members is dead? If you were around in 1967 you will remember the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band LP that the Beatles put out. It didn’t take long before rumors began that Paul McCartney was dead. Some really innovative music made up the LP and why take a chance that the cover and the rumors would make the people forget about the music and just think about the cover? Well, that didn’t happen and the LP goes down as one of the best of all-time. With songs like ‘A Little Help From My Friends’, ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’, ‘A Day In The Life’ and the title track, ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ the LP left many songs that are still heard today. By the way, two songs were recorded for the LP but were not included on the LP. Instead the two songs were released as a double-sided 45 before the LP was released. Those songs were ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’. Those two songs would be included on the Beatles LP, Magical Mystery Tour.
But back to the rumors and controversy that the LP cover ignited. I cannot add an image of the LP for you to follow along with as I try and depict through words the different images on the LP that would make people ask, ‘Is Paul dead?’ Maybe you have the LP handy or can look it up on the web and check out these images depicted. So here we go.
On the front cover you have a hand raised over Paul’s head. Some say this is a sign of death. Where this started or what culture believes this I do not know and I will say that some articles do not totally agree with this. But in the late 1960’s, people bought into it. Maybe so the rumors would continue or have credence. Some say that this is a symbol of a priest’s hand blessing Paul before internment.
To the left of the guys on the cover are the guys again. So we have the Beatles center stage dressed in marching band attire, holding instruments and then next to them are wax figures of the Beatles standing there in suits looking down at the flowers on the cover and looking a little solemn and sad. Some say since the cover depicts the ‘burial’ of Paul, the figures of the guys in the suits are there paying their respects since the band is no longer the same band. The flowers on the cover and at the feet of the guys spell out the word ‘Beatles’ and if you look in front of that there is another flower arrangement in the shape of what looks to be the instrument Paul played, a left handed bass guitar but with only three rods that are there to be the strings of the instrument. Three strings for three Beatles left. And also, the bass guitar can be said it is in the shape of the letter ‘P’.
Here are a few of things that some people really looked hard for. On the front the guys are standing at an angle except for Paul. This shows that the other guys are holding Paul up since it is his funeral. Also, the guys are holding brass band instruments while Paul is holding a black, wooden English horn. Wooden for the ‘coffin’ and black for ‘death’. To the right is a doll in a chair. The doll, a figure of Shirley Temple is wearing a sweater that says ‘Welcome The Rolling Stones’. Is this is thanking the Stones for helping with the cover-up? There is a glove next to the doll’s left which is a blood stained driving glove. Paul is said to heave died in a car crash. How about the TV located at the right of the Shirley Temple doll. It is turned off. Some say that this is a symbol of Paul’s death being suppressed by the news.
Leaving the cover, let’s go to the picture of the band in their marching band attire on the inside of the gatefold cover. By the way, this LP was one of the early rock band gatefold covers. The picture inside shows a patch on the sleeve of Paul’s outfit which has what was first said to be the letter’s, ‘OPD’. Could this stand for ‘Officially Pronounced Dead’? Some say at closer look the patch may be ‘OPP’. Paul said in an interview he picked up the patch while in Canada and it is a police patch. ‘OPD’ does not stand for Ontario Police Dept since there are no patches like that. But ‘OPP’ can be an Ontario Provincial Police.
Now on to the back cover. The back cover is the first to have the lyrics printed in full on the LP cover. Except for Paul the guys are facing the camera but Paul has his back to the camera. Paul’s coat has three black buttons on it which is said to represent the mourning of the other Beatles. If you want to really carry the controversy far then this is for you. Paul, George and John were about the same height but the picture has Paul a little taller representing his ascension. And Paul’s head is next to the words ‘Without You’ which is from the song title ‘Within You, Without You’. When you look at George in this photo, his finger is pointing at the words ‘Wednesday morning at five o’clock’ which are lyrics from the song ‘She’s Leaving Home’. That is the time which conspirators say Paul had his fatal car crash. Others have said if you look at George’s hand he is making the letter ‘L’ and with John’s hand making the letter ‘V’ and Ringo’s hands making the letter ‘E’ you have L_VE without the letter ‘O’ since Paul’s hands are not seen. They are spelling ‘LOVE’ in tribute to Paul.
As far as the songs and lyrics go people ask if the song, ‘A Day In The Life’, is a quasi-dedication to Paul. John sings ‘He blew his mind out in a car’ suggesting there was a car crash. Now for a far reaching conspiracy look at the song ‘Lovely Rita’. The lyrics say, ‘I took her home/I nearly made it’. Some say Paul picked up a girl named Rita and gave her a ride and there was a crash. It gets crazy.
Another conspiracy theory is a character introduced in the title track. The character is Billy Shears. In the title track Paul sings the line ‘I don’t really want to stop the show, But I thought you might like to know, That’s the singer’s gonna sing a song, And he wants you all to sing along, So let me introduce to you, The one and only Billy Shears, And Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. Theories go that after Paul’s death their was a hunt for a look a-like. William Campbell, aka Billy Shears was Paul’s replacement. So now we have to believe that a look a-like contest was held and no one has talked about this to the press all the these years. In the song ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ with Ringo doing the lead vocals, there is a part of the lyrics where he sings, ‘What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song and I’ll try not to sing out of key’. Do these lines mean that the ‘new Paul’, William Campbell aka Billy Shears is not ready to sing as Paul was? Some say so. But it is said that the each Beatle takes on a different persona on the Sgt Pepper’s LP and that the Billy Shears character is Ringo. Thus after Billy Shears is ‘introduced’ in the Sgt Pepper lyrics, Ringo then sings ‘With A Little Help….’. I’m having fun doing this article but I am exhausted.
Here’s ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ with intro of Billy Shears at end of the title track
But it doesn’t end with the Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band LP. Fast forward 2 years later and I would say that most of the talk of Paul being dead has settled down some and then the Abbey Road LP is released. Take a look at the cover and you see the guys walking through a cross-walk. No big deal until you start to wonder why the guys are dressed as they are. Left to right you have George dressed in denim jeans and shirt. Paul is wearing a gray suit. Ringo has on a black suit and John is wearing a white suit. But then you see Paul is barefooted. Why? According to conspirators John is the preacher, Ringo is the undertaker, George is the gravedigger. And there is Paul as a barefooted corpse. John, Ringo and George are stepping forward with their left leg while Paul is out of step, stepping forward with his right leg. And Paul also has a cigarette in his right hand although he is left-handed making him an imposter. And here’s one more someone came up with. The license plate on the white Volkswagen on the cover is LMW 281F. OK, listen carefully. Paul, if killed in a car crash would have been 24 or 25 at the time. The 281F has been read as 28IF and means that Paul would have been 28 IF he was alive but in fact he would have been only 27 at the time of the release of Abbey Road. That one is really a stretch. I only write what I read in articles. I don’t make this stuff up. I guess it makes some of the conspirators feel good.
Some of it seems to give a thought that maybe Paul did die in 1967. Some of it is crazy. But what I question is why after the Sgt Peppers LP and the rumors are quieting down and most people say it is a hoax would The Beatles, their managers, their producers, etc put out Abbey Road with that cover. Were they having fun with the 1967 rumors, keeping the rumor alive, letting us know it was real or were the guys doing this knowing the end of The Beatles is near and Paul was representing the group as the corpse or was the choice of attire just a coincidence? I don’t know but I say Paul is alive, what say you?
BRC RADIO
And don’t forget that BRC radio is on the BRC website. We have three different “DJ’s” if you will. Joe Reddick, Tom Faison and myself play all kinds of music including, hit songs from the 1950’s – present, LP cuts, songs that received little or no air-play, and all genres. Check out some of the shows. Just go the birminghamrecord.com and click on the ‘RADIO’ icon.
See ya,
Charlie
1 Comment