4 Beatles Songs From ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ That Would Have Been Big Hits as Singles

The Beatles made the momentous decision in 1967 not to release any singles from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. They wanted to let the album speak for itself as a whole and for audiences to discover the songs in that context.

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But what if they had chosen a more traditional release strategy and had released a few songs to radio? We’re pretty sure that these four songs would have been major hits.

“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”

At the time that Sgt. Pepper’s was released, and psychedelic music had infiltrated radio in a big way. As a result, songs like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” would have fit seamlessly on playlists of the day. John Lennon may not have intended the LSD reference that most people discovered in the title. But there’s no doubt that trippy, mind-altering experiences made a great impact on the lyrics. The group managed to tie references to “cellophane flowers” and “kaleidoscope eyes” together with a great chorus. If we needed further proof that this one would have been a hit, remember that Elton John took a cover version to No. 1 in 1974.

“With A Little Help From My Friends”

There had already been some precedent set that Ringo Starr could indeed sing lead on a Beatles’ hit single. Starr took center stage on “Yellow Submarine” in 1966. That song topped the charts in Great Britain and peaked at No. 2 in the US. “With A Little Help From My Friends” could easily have done as well. This one also became a bit hit in a cover version, as Joe Cocker took it to No. 1 in Great Britain a year after its Fab Four release. John Lennon and Paul McCartney had a knack for knowing which material would fit Ringo best. This song taps into both his sense of humor and his ability to portray a sad-sack character with charm.

“Getting Better”

Paul McCartney’s melodic ease carried the day on many a Beatles hit. It’s easy to imagine that it would have done the same on this ebullient track. McCartney took the title from Jimmie Nicol, who briefly filled in as The Beatles’ drummer for a handful of shows in 1964 while Ringo Starr dealt with tonsillitis. Nicol constantly used the phrase “it’s getting better” every time he was asked by the press about his comfort level with the group. “Getting Better” captures the dynamic between the hopeful McCartney (“It’s getting better all the time”) and the pessimistic Lennon (“It can’t get no worse”) as well as any Fab Four song.

“She’s Leaving Home”

At first listen, this string-laden ballad might not seem like a good candidate for a single release. But you need only look back to the previous few Beatles’ albums to find similar songs like “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby”, both of which did extremely well on pop charts. John Lennon and Paul McCartney built the story behind “She’s Leaving Home” from a newspaper item about a young runaway. They also had the genius idea to present the perspective of the parents, who mean the best for their daughter but go about getting it for her in all the wrong ways. We could easily imagine this one doing well in the era of baroque pop that The Beatles helped initiate.

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