What if I told you that The Beatles lied about a death within the group to boost record sales? Whether it is true or not…it worked. The Beatles were one of the most successful and influential bands of their generation. Even I, a 20 year old born in the 1990s, can't help but listen in awe as “Getting Better” or “Eight Days a Week” starts to play in my iTunes library. The Beatles not only influenced many rock artists, but also pulled one of the most devious and questionable stunts a group of musicians have ever done. So mysterious that to this day, fans still question what really is the truth. Is Paul McCartney dead? And who is this Billy Shears?
For the readers who have no idea what I am talking about, let me take you back to the 1960s when The Beatles were the most famous individuals on the planet. The band who sang of love and psychedelic drugs were on everyone’s record player and in every girl's heart as they travelled from their small town in Liverpool, England, to their big break on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in America. Towards the middle of their stardom, some mysterious music started to be released about an unknown band member and a possible death within the group. Names such as Billy Shears started being heard and sung about on the 1967 album "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as a “story” of someone getting into a car accident on the song "A Day In The Life."
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As this all was thought to be a fictional story, more music filled with clues and hints continued to be released by The Beatles insisting that their lead bassist Paul McCartney had been killed and replaced by a man named Billy Shears. Clues on album covers such as "Abbey Road," "Yesterday and Today" and "Magical Mystery Tour" support this claim and encourage the thought that something strange had happened to the beloved Brit.
Why would The Beatles do this you ask? It’s obvious that Paul McCartney is still living and making music. But why would the group try to spread this rumor? Well, in 1967, The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein died of an accidental overdose, leaving the four members alone in America with only their instruments. They knew only how to make music, not how to market or sell their sound. So they had a decision to make; either go back to London, or think of a way to sell records. They decided to start a rumor that their lead bassist had passed away. To cover it up, their label, Apple Records, held a Paul McCartney look-a-like contest to replace Paul. The winner: Billy Shears. To get the “truth” out to the fans, The Beatles attempted to put clues in their music to show what had occurred. These clues were made clear by referring to Paul as “the walrus” which in some cultures is the symbol for death, as well as having Paul barefoot on the cover of "Abbey Road" to symbolize a corpse. Many other small clues appear throughout their remaining six albums post Epstein’s death.
What The Beatles did was wrong, but it was genius. In a society without the Internet, there was no way to research or look deeper into the matter. The only way to find out more was to buy more albums and listen for clues, clues about the hoax that they had created. This not only increased record sales, but provided them with new fans who were solely interested in the "Paul is dead" rumors. To this day, the remaining Beatles claim it was the fans that started the rumors and people “reading too much into the words." Well, what do you think?
