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The Roots & The Tonight Show Band's @questlove Reminisces About The Beatles' "Anti-Beatle-like Mixtape" Sgt. Pepper's On Its 50th Anniversary (Parlophone/Capitol Records, 5/26/1967)


"#ItWas50YearsAgoToday This LP was always in my dad's collection (Dad was a vocalist who LOVED Pop. Yeah, he looked like a member of the #BlackPanthers. Ran the house like he was #JamesEvans. But his go-to zone was some of the best dentist office music ever—feed your kids equal [Barbra Streisand] #StoneyEnd & [Rufus] #Rufusized & see what happens? lol)—I ignored #SgtPeppers because I never liked the 60's @capitolrecords logo (see how everyone is going #FigitSpinner mad? My version of that was taking records out the sleeve, & spinning them on my finger watchin' the logo rotate. Seriously, I was obsessed with all spinning rotating objects—hence, my record obsession)—If the logo was dope? I'd give the record a chance. I'd love to revision a story of singing "Within You Without You" in my 2nd grade class—but the truth is, it didn't hit me 'til 22 years AFTER its release. Sgt. Pepper's was the 4th CD I ever purchased for my high school graduation gift (CD player) (my 1st? @LivingColourofficial's #Vivid, 2nd #SlyAndTheFamilyStone's Anthology 3rd) #WalkingWithAPanther by LL [Cool J] & I think my 5th was #CookieCrew's "Born This Way"—sidenote: their "Females" was used on #ADifferentWorld, but WAS NOT ON THE LP—WHY!!?


OK, lemme stay on track—entire Summer of '89, this record blew my mind, man. It still does. I'm recording music now on 16-track machine & struggling. Meanwhile, these guys are using a 4-track machine & making some of the most timeless, futuristic long-lasting music ever. This LP INVENTED the idea of LP's being a statement. Not just a collection of 3 good hits & some cover songs. Liner notes? This album. Gatefold? This album. Matter of fact, this is the 1st "departure LP" (@TheBeatles wanted to be taken seriously & lose the "Teen Pop" tag, so they made "a mixtape" of weird, anti-Beatle-like songs experimenting [with] different genres & recording techniques & the plan backfired: they became even bigger than ever—one could say so big that this actually became their undoing?) this album inspired Stevie Wonder to dream of endless musical possibilities (I say his [catalog] picked up the torch left by The Fab 4 once they imploded in 1970) words can't express the ripple effect this caused on its release. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!"


- Questlove Gomez (@questlove)

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