It was 50 years ago today -- June 1st, 1967 -- that The Beatles released what is arguably their best album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. (The U.S. release was June 2nd, 1967).
It won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and it remains one of the most influential and best-selling albums of all time. In 2003, the U.S. Library of Congress selected Pepper for the National Recording Registry, recognizing it as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” And it topped Rolling Stone’s definitive list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
In addition to the title track, which segues into "With a Little Help From My Friends," some of the album's more notable songs are "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "When I'm Sixty-Four," and the epic final track, "A Day in the Life."
To mark the 50th anniversary, the album was re-released last week in numerous configurations. And, in celebration of today's milestone, The Beatles are asking radio stations all around the world to play the album in its entirety at some point today.