On February 13, 1967, The Beatles released a new single, a somewhat unusual one in that it was listed as a double A-side. The songs included were “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane,” and they represented a seismic shift in the way that the band would be doing things from that point forward.
At the time they were released, the songs caused some confusion and consternation among fans and critics. We now know that “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane,” brilliant in their own right, also were the test balloons signaling the group’s new sound and look for what would become their finest year of recording.
Setting Up Shop in the Studio
Long fed up with the rigors of touring, The Beatles made the decision to stop playing live following a show at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in August 1966. Although they insisted this choice had nothing to do with them fracturing as a group, there was nonetheless speculation the Fab Four might not ever return to delight their fans.
In fact, the group took a well-deserved break, during which the most momentous event was John Lennon heading off to make a movie (How I Won the War). When they reconvened in the Abbey Road studio in November 1966, they did so knowing that they could take their sweet time making whatever their next move might be, since they wouldn’t have to break off to go out on tour.
Paul McCartney came up with the idea for an album with a concept that would allow the band to leave behind preconceived notions about what a Beatles song could be. By becoming a separate, fictional group (which, of course, became known as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), they could experiment and innovate at will. But first things first: They needed a new single that would epitomize this new, forward-thinking attitude.
The Songs
The Beatles initially floated an idea for their 1967 project to consist of songs about their formative experiences growing up. “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” were both written very much in that spirit. And they represented the dichotomy in the lyrical and musical personalities of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
McCartney took the assignment literally and remembered the sights and sounds that filled his Liverpool youth on “Penny Lane.” He attached the words to a sprightly melody and music that was immaculately tailored and stunningly melodic, with the finishing touch a piccolo trumpet part that no other rock contemporaries would even have considered.
As for Lennon, he wrote “Strawberry Fields Forever” from the perspective of his then-current self, a man unsure of his place in the world even for all his success. The titular location acted as a kind of vague reverie to which he’d retreat when reality became a drag. The music was sufficiently dream-like, one section morphing into another with seemingly no connection to what came before.
The Reaction
Since they wouldn’t be delivering these songs live, The Beatles hit upon the idea of filming promotional clips and sending them out to television outlets all over the world. Although they hadn’t yet assumed their Sgt. Pepper’s identities in the videos, their facial hair-covered visages, coupled with their psychedelic garb and the surreal imagery surrounding them, presented a starkly different image from the crisp suit/mop top look of old.
The reaction to these clips and the music was somewhat mixed at first, at least compared to the universal acclaim that generally accompanied what they did. Their run of No. 1 hits in the UK ended with the single. And a few American teenagers interviewed by Dick Clark about what they just witnessed in the clips expressed bafflement and distaste.
The “Strawberry Fields Forever”/”Penny Lane” singles might not have pleased everybody the first time around. But the influence these songs exerted on the rest of the music world was undeniable. And, considering the music the band would release for the remainder of 1967 (including Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Magical Mystery Tour, and the “All You Need is Love” single), they were clearly the opening salvo in the group’s war against the staid and predictable. History has shown they won that war in a rout.
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Photo by John Downing/Getty Images
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