The Beloved Beatles Album John Lennon Wasn’t Pleased With

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is an album that is deeply beloved by millions of Beatles fans. Among the track list are perennial Beatles hits including, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “A Day in the Life,” and more. Naturally, we would assume that all four Beatles members would’ve been thrilled with that output. However, John Lennon wasn’t extremely pleased with the record. Find out why, below.

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The Beloved Beatles Album John Lennon Wasn’t Pleased With

I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph

The Beatles’ downfall can be attributed to many things, but one of the biggest factors was Paul McCartney’s control issues. At least that was the case from the perspective of his bandmates. Lennon felt like that sense of control ran rampant on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The end result ended up being far too much of McCartney’s vision and far too little of the rest of the bands’, according to Lennon.

“[Paul] wanted it to be more a group thing, which really means more Paul,” Lennon once said. “So he never liked that album…I always preferred it to all the other albums, including Pepper, because I thought the music was better. The Pepper myth is bigger, but the music on the White Album is far superior, I think.”

He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords

Despite Lennon’s feelings about the album, it played well with fans. It has since become one of the Beatles’ biggest efforts during their short but powerful tenure. Revisit this seminal Beatles album, below. What do you think? Is there too much of McCartney’s unique vision on this record? Or is it a certified Beatles classic?

I saw a film today, oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book
I’d love to turn you on

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