Post by New York City on Feb 14, 2007 16:20:03 GMT 1
Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane
The single was first released on 13 February 1967, in Britain, and subsequently on 17 February 1967, in the United States, as one side of a double A-side single, paired with the McCartney composition "Penny Lane".
The Beatles had originally planned to release "Strawberry Fields Forever" backed with "When I'm Sixty-Four". When manager Brian Epstein asked producer George Martin about the sessions for the single, Martin told Epstein the group had recorded what were, in his opinion, their two finest songs to date ("Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane"). Epstein suggested that Martin issue the songs as a double A-sided single, as they had done with their previous single, "Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby". Therefore, both songs, though recorded during the sessions for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, were ultimately left off it altogether – a decision Martin regrets to this day.
The single reached #2 in the UK charts, behind Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me". "Penny Lane" reached #1 in the United States, while "Strawberry Fields Forever" peaked at #8.
In the U.S., both songs were also subsequently included on the LP Magical Mystery Tour, which was only released as a six-track double-EP in the UK. The LP format is now the official version in The Beatles discography. This song also appears on the John Lennon Imagine soundtrack.
The single was first released on 13 February 1967, in Britain, and subsequently on 17 February 1967, in the United States, as one side of a double A-side single, paired with the McCartney composition "Penny Lane".
The Beatles had originally planned to release "Strawberry Fields Forever" backed with "When I'm Sixty-Four". When manager Brian Epstein asked producer George Martin about the sessions for the single, Martin told Epstein the group had recorded what were, in his opinion, their two finest songs to date ("Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane"). Epstein suggested that Martin issue the songs as a double A-sided single, as they had done with their previous single, "Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby". Therefore, both songs, though recorded during the sessions for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, were ultimately left off it altogether – a decision Martin regrets to this day.
The single reached #2 in the UK charts, behind Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me". "Penny Lane" reached #1 in the United States, while "Strawberry Fields Forever" peaked at #8.
In the U.S., both songs were also subsequently included on the LP Magical Mystery Tour, which was only released as a six-track double-EP in the UK. The LP format is now the official version in The Beatles discography. This song also appears on the John Lennon Imagine soundtrack.
