The Beatles, 1966

This was a very busy year, to say the least (and fraught with backlash and controversy).

It kicked off in high gear with the wedding of George Harrison and Patti Boyd on Jan. 21st.

Boyd was a model that Harrison met on the set of "A Hard Day's Night." (She was one of the fans on the train; she was also the one who was on the phone talking while pushing off her shoes while Harrison was watching her.)

The bride wore a mini-dress with a red fox fur coat and a big cute ribbon tied in a bow around her hair. The groom had a suit with a flower in his lapel and a black coat, I think. Millions of teens were not thrilled!

During the winter, the group made a much heralded appearance on "Hullabaloo". "They sang "DayTripper" and "We Can Work It Out"; series regular Lada Edmund Jr. danced on the "Day Tripper" number as the group performed. Lucky dog!", recalled Pamela Foster.

In March, John Lennon is interviewed by the noted British journalist Maureen Cleave, in which he is asked his opinion of the Church and the current state of Christianity. He responded: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that' I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first-rock'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
Four months later, his comments would travel over and make their way into the pages of the American publication, "Datebook".

On April 6th, the group began recording "Revolver" at Abbey Road Studios.

Within this time, Paul McCartney was in a motorcycle accident. He wasn't seriously injured, but he did have a chipped tooth resulting from the mishap. (On a June 6th "Ed Sullivan" appearance, the group performed their "Paperback Writer" and "Rain". As McCartney was singing, the injured tooth was visible.) Did you know that this actually started a mini-craze? Many girls wanted to have a chipped tooth, too!

Mid-June (June 15th) saw the release of the album, "Yesterday And Today" in the U.S., but within five days, the original album was pulled from distribution. Why? There was controversy over its cover; the Beatles were featured in white butcher coats, which were sprinkled with bits of raw red meat and cut up dolls. Many radio DJs made negative remarks about this cover. Capitol issued a withdrawal notice before the actual release date. Some copies DID get out (less than 60,000). Many more were reissued with a new photo (the group around a steamer trunk) that was PASTED over the original one. Later copies featured only the "trunk" cover.
What started all this?
When Capitol was preparing to issue this album, they sent a proposed cover design to the group, who rejected it. They sent instead a more surreal image taken by the same photographer. (It turned out that the group was bored, tired, and resentful at having to do another photo session. The picture was one of a group of three that was meant to shatter the "wholesome" image that the group was also getting tired of. In England, the butcher picture was used to promote the "Paperback Writer" single.)
The butcher cover became an instant collectors' item, and all the flap didn't hurt sales at all: "Yesterday And Today" was a no. 1 smash!

On July 3rd, the group arrived in Manila, the Philippines and on July 4th, performed at the National Football Stadium-there were at least 50,000 fans in attendance.
Later, they were invited to attend either a children's party and/or a breakfast reception at the palace of President Ferdinand and First Lady Imelda Marcos. (Accounts vary here. But they WERE invited at the palace, for certain.)
When presented with the invitation, Brian Epstein politely declined on behalf of the group (the Beatles themselves never knew about it, till afterward), for it had never been the group's policy to accept such "official" invites. But the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to "no" and became very upset. The perceived "snubbing" was widely broadcast on Philippine television and radio, and as a result, all the Beatles' police protection disappeared. The group and their entourage had to make their way back to the Manila airport the best way they could, with the authorities throwing up every road block they could. Road manager Mal Evans was beaten and kicked, and the Beatles themselves were kicked and punched by an angry mob.
Even once the group finally boarded the plane, Epstein and Evans were ordered off for a while. Epstein was forced to return all the money that the band had earned while they were there before being allowed back on the plane.

But wait, there's more.

Not long after their harrowing Philippine mishap, Lennon's comments appeared in "Datebook" on July 29th.
Within days of its publication, anti-Beatle sentiment began building up. Many U.S. DJs, particularly in the South ("the Bible Belt")started encouraging their listeners to destroy and burn Beatle records and products. There was also a ban started on Beatle records throughout the South. By August 6th, at least thirty U.S. radio stations had joined the Beatle
playing boycott.
And it spread. The South African Broadcasting Corporation temporarily banned the group; In Spain, three stations joined the boycott. Holland had one station boycott the group.
Only the Vatican seemed to be forgiving of Lennon; the Pope said that the remarks "were made off-handedly and not impiously...the protest the remark raised showed that some subjects must not be dealt with lightly and in a profane way, not even in the world of beatniks" (!).
On August 6th, Brian Epstein held a special press conference, to put some damage control on Lennon's remarks. He mentioned that Lennon's remarks had been misquoted and taken out of context of the article, and that he wasn't BOASTING about the Beatles' fame.
On August 11th, Lennon himself meets with the American press and attempted to explain what he meant.
From all eyewitness reports, Lennon was frightened and very concerned (Among all the fallout, he and his wife, Cynthia, were getting hate mail), but held up and explained himself well. A few never forgave, but most people, and more importantly, the fans, did.
One extreme bit of lunacy inspired by this controversy was that many radio stations, around August and the fall, began staging "Monkees vs. The Beatles" contests (The Monkees were the new made-for-TV group with the new upcoming TV show (that was a hit), modeled after the Fab Four.) The Monkees were good (they had a lot of help!), but PLEASE!

Actually, the Beatles had become disenchanted with touring and performing live, going back to their legendary Shea Stadium concert (Aug. 15th, 1965-this was the first stadium concert in rock history.) While it was a great, pivotal moment for their fans, it wasn't for the Beatles. They were totally unable to hear themselves play or sing, due to the screaming and cheering. And the Philippines incident was also a deciding factor.
The group's' final concert would be on Aug. 29th, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

During a three-month break from being "The Beatles", John Lennon flew to Spain on Sept. 19th to star in the movie, "How I Won The War" (in the role of Private Gripeweed; I believe MichaelCrawford was also in this.) The director was Richard Lester ("A Hard Day's Night").
"Everyone was shocked at how Lennon looked without his 'Beatle' hair" , recalled Pamela Foster. (The singer had to shave his head for the role.) "Even 'Parade' magazine, the Sunday supplement, in their 'Personality' question and answer section ran 'before' and 'after' pictures and said he had the sex appeal of a peeled grape!"

George Harrison went to India on Sept. 20th to further study the sitar with virtuoso Ravi Shankar (Harrison played the sitar on "Norwegian Wood" from the "Rubber Soul" album).

Brian Epstein, along with the group and several key entourage members, had become wealthy (or at least, quite well-to-do. I say wealthy, myself. Epstein's personal fortune was estimated to be at least seven million pounds by late 1966.) But sadly, during this time, Epstein tried to commit suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills. He recovered. This particular incident was kept quiet.

On Nov. 6th, Lennon visited the Indica Gallery in London's West End. He was particularly intrigued by the exhibit, "Unfinished Paintings And Objects", the creation of avant-garde artist Yoko Ono.
All four Beatles returned to Abbey Road Studios on Nov. 24th to begin what would be an 129-day recording period for their new album: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

There was an interview with John Lennon that was featured in "Look" magazine (published Dec. 13th, I believe). Lennon further explains his "Jesus" remarks with more insight and clarity ("I think he was on the cover, too, in his 'How I Won The War' outfit", said Foster.)

Before the American Music Awards, the MTV Video Awards, World Music Awards, and countless others, there were the Grammys (launched in 1958, the figures resembled and were named after the gramophone, an old device for playing records. They're still very important, but with SO MANY music awards out there, I don't think their influence is as great as it once was.)
The Beatles did win a few: In '64, they won for Best New Artist and Best Performance By A Vocal Group, but lost Best Rock + Roll Recording. "A Hard Day's Night", one of their best, was the entry. The winner? "Downtown" by Petula Clark (It was OK, but come on now!)
In '65, the group lost for Best Vocal Group Performance. The winner? The Anita Kerr Quartet! For this year, 1966: Song Of The Year-"Michelle" Best Contemporary Rock + Roll Solo Vocal Performance (Male or Female)-"EleanorRigby"-(the category lists just Paul.)
Best Album Cover Design-"Revolver" by Klaus Voorman (the art design student from their early days playing Hamburg!)
They lost Best Contemporary Rock + Roll Recording to the New Vaudeville Band ("Winchester Cathedral")! The group's entry? "Eleanor Rigby"-(the category lists just Paul again.)
How did THIS lose???

In spite of a very tumultuous year, the group continued their recording success with "Nowhere Man", a no. 3 smash (March 5th chart entry-this should have been no. 1; one of their best!) "Paperback Writer" made no. 1 (June 11th entry)/backed by "Rain", a no. 23 hit (June 25th). "Yellow Submarine" was a no. 2 smash (Aug. 27th entry)/backed by "Eleanor Rigby", a no. 11 hit (Sept. 10th).

Here's a look at the albums for this year:

Yesterday...And Today (released June 15th-with the butcher cover; June 20th-with the revamped steamer trunk cover)

Side 1
Drive My Car
I'm Only Sleeping
Nowhere Man
Dr. Robert
Yesterday
Act Naturally

Side 2
And Your Bird Can Sing
If I Needed Someone
We Can Work It Out
What Goes On?
Day Tripper

Revolver (released August 8th)

Side 1
Taxman
Eleanor Rigby
Love You To
Here, There and Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
She Said, She Said

Side 2
Good Day Sunshine
For No One
I Want To Tell You
Got To Get You Into My Life
Tomorrow Never Knows