Pepper trek

May 16, 1966 Pet Sounds was released.

Feb. 10, 1967 In a marathon recording session attended by a carnival atmosphere (orchestra members were in costumes) and by the comings and goings of Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, Donovan, Mike and Phyliss Nesmith, Patti Harrison and Mick Jagger, the Beatles worked on “A Day in the Life” for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

March 30, 1967 The photograph for Sgt. Pepper was taken by Michael Cooper for the Peter Blake/Jann Haworth front cover design.

May 6, 1967 Derek Taylor announced to the British press that the Beach Boys’ Smile tapes had been destroyed and would not see release.

June 1, 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band was released in England (on June 2 in the U.S.)

June 16, 1967 The three-day Monterey Pop Festival, organized by Lou Adler, Michelle Phillips and John Phillips, began at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, during which Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix registered on the pop radar for the first time, Janis Joplin performed in a major showcase for the first time as singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company, and an array of acts appeared (the Association, the Blues Project, Booker T. & The MG’s, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Canned Heat, Country Joe and the Fish, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Hugh Masekela, Moby Grape, Lou Rawls, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Ravi Shankar, the Steve Miller Band, the Who) though several acts that were expected did not appear (Donovan, the Beach Boys, Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band), the whole concert free and remembered, with the release of Sgt. Pepper two weeks earlier, as one of two principal benchmarks of the summer of love.

Dec. 10, 1967 A plane carrying Otis Redding and the Bar Kays crashed into Lake Monona in Wisconsin, killing the passengers. Redding’s hit “Dock of the Bay”, which he wrote after being inspired by Sgt. Pepper and on which he was backed up by Booker T and the M.G.’s, was released after his death.

Feb. 29, 1968 Sgt. Pepper won the Grammy for album of the year. (The other contenders: Bobbie Gentry/Ode to Billy Joe, Ed Ames /My Cup Runneth Over, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Frank Sinatra/Francis Albert Sinatra-Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vikki Carr/It Must Be Him.) It also received best contemporary album, best engineered recording (non-classical category), and best album cover (graphic arts category).

March 1, 1969 Sgt. Pepper finally ended its stay on the charts after 88 weeks.

Aug. 10, 2007 Backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and original Pepper engineer Geoff Emerick (doing sound effects), Cheap Trick marked the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band by performing the album in its entirety in the Bowl.

June 11, 2009 Cheap Trick announced plans to perform Sgt. Pepper live at the Las Vegas Hilton.

May 26, 2017 Scheduled release date for various versions of 50th anniversary edition of Sgt. Pepper (“Super Deluxe” edition, two-CD edition, two-LP edition, and single-disc edition).