Jimmy Webb Discloses A Secret Behind The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’

Singer and songwriter Jimmy Webb recently spoke about the Beatles‘ talent for creating sound effects before the music industry digitalized. He stated that their album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ harbored a secret regarding these sound effects.

The Beatles released ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band‘ in 1967 gave the world one of the most noteworthy albums of all time. The record became very influential, with power reaching out for several decades with its music and lyrics. It was released three years before the Beatles’ famous break-up and in an age when recording studios were still using tape machines.

Before the digital age, it was more difficult for music creators to record an album as they had to be careful with the number of tapes they used. The sound effects were also done manually instead of having a whole digital library ready to use. However, the Beatles made a breakthrough for ‘Sgt. Pepper’ as Jimmy Webb recently revealed their secret to these sound effects.

While recording their album, the Beatles found a vault that contained the BBC’s sound effects recordings back in the day. BBC had gone around England recording things to use in their platforms as effects, and after the Beatles discovered them, they used the products in their songs, specifically in ‘Sgt. Pepper.’

Here is what Webb said about the sound effects:

“When the Beatles did ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ for instance, Geoff Emerick’s ‘Here, There and Everywhere,’ is like a must-read because he tells in detail how they cut things like ‘A Day in the Life,’ things nobody can figure out. How did they cut this on a four-track recorder? It’s got everything on it, orchestras and choirs.

One of the things that helps explain it is they found a vault in the basement of Abbey Road that had all of the old BBC sound effects tapes on them. For decades, all the BBC did was go around England just recording stuff, just whatever stuff was there; the Beatles discovered this immense library, and they started using them on ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ they use a town banned on ‘Yellow Submarine,’ and they didn’t cut it. They found it on a tape in the basement.”

You can watch the interview and listen to the album below.