10 Bands That Have Musical Alter Egos

As the Summer of Love started to get underway half a world away, the Beatles were in a state of flux. During the last tour for Revolver, the Fab Four knew that they weren’t going to be able to weather the touring life for much longer, taking a long break from the road and working in the studio day after day. The press may have said that they were washed up, but Paul McCartney had another idea for what the Beatles could be.

Having Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane under their belt, the Beatles were developing beyond their usual moptop love songs, and Sgt. Pepper became the vehicle to go even further. Made up in the style of traveling show bands, Paul envisioned their next album as being sung from the perspective of an imaginary band, with no more limitations on what you could do whenever you picked up your instrument. Though the rest of the Fabs just saw this as the next record for them, you can hear them trying to push themselves that much further in terms of what could be done in the studio, from George Harrison’s full on obsession with Indian music in Within You Without You or John Lennon creating a modern day circus song on Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.

Outside of the more extravagant songs, this was the real peak of Lennon and McCartney’s songwriting partnership, penning A Day in the Life as a back and forth of what existential dread people can feel during their everyday lives. The Fabs have always been amazing entertainers since their moptop days, but this was the kind of show that seemed to signal the new regime of rock and roll music.