A Famous Walk in History

The Story of the Abbey Road Album Cover

It’s no secret why people love the Beatles. Beatlemania (fans) went crazy for the English rock band in the 1960s when they made their first television appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. The Beatles had quite a number of creative album covers. One of the most memorable album covers is the iconic photo of George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon walk outside the studio. This photo was the famous Abbey Road album, the last album recorded by the Beatles.

The top record is the image of the Abbey Road album cover.

Abbey Road Studio currently has 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967) album cover displayed in the merchandise store.

Most don’t know the original title was intended to be labeled ‘Everest.” The title was an inside joke for the brand of cigarettes smoked by the engineer, Geoff Emerick’s. It was an effort to get the band together after the poor sessions of “Let It Be”. The plan originally was to fly to the Himalayas and take the cover photo there. However, none of the members wanted to make the trip. The group settled on a simpler concept and a new idea emerged.

View of Abbey Road Studio in session.

Painted mural in front of Abbey Road Studio.

The idea came from Paul McCartney. He drew a sketch how he imagined the cover to look. Then, on August 8, 1969, the road blocked traffic on Abbey Road for the Beatles to cross the street outside the studio. The shoot took about 10 minutes and the photographer, Iain Macmillan chose photo number 5 or 6 as the album number. It was the only photo that perfectly captures the “V” formation of the legs. The album was a huge success and reached #1 in the UK and US. Abbey Road sold all over store even without adding a title on the album.

In the 1960s, the studio was known for innovative recording techniques pioneered by the Beatles and other rock bands.

As years gone by, the crosswalk still remains to be a popular tourist attraction in London. The Abbey Road crosswalk is a busy ongoing street. However, this doesn’t stop some people to recreate the iconic photo. The city also repaints the wall in front of Abbey Road studios several times a year. The legacy of the album cover taken in 1969 lives on until this day, based on probably the most important rock band in music history.

Visitors re-creating the Abbey Road picture walk.