Piece Description

For decades, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has ranked highly on many All-Time Best Album lists. Celebrated as the first quasi-concept album in rock, fans and critics have long lauded the songcraft, the pioneering production sounds, and its colorful, now iconic, cover art. Some say it both reflected and drove the burgeoning youth culture through the "Summer of Love" in 1967. In more recent years, some critics have tried to cut through the mythology of the album and reconsider it in every way. Some have ranked other Beatle albums as superior to Pepper and feel the record has been over-hyped. In this two-hour special, producer and host Paul Ingles ("Everything was Right: The Beatles' Revolver" and "The Beatles in America-1964") presents a lively ride that functions as both a celebration of a landmark recording and a balanced survey of critical opinion about "Sgt. Pepper." Listeners will experience this music in a new way as they'll hear both the stories behind the creation of these memorable tracks as well as thoughtful perspectives that place the work in context. The "Pepper Panel" assembled for the show includes musicians, writers, fans and critics. Some still love Pepper. Some "have issues." It features Steve Turner, Ashley Kahn, Anthony DeCurtis, Jim DeRogatis, Greg Kot, Scott MacNicholl, Ann Powers, Deborah Holland, Richard Goldman, Jim Fusilli, Douglas Grant, Leslie Healy, Stuart Madow, Paul Zollo, Jon Spurney, David Gans, Richie Unterberger, and Howard Massey. _____ If your station is not currently a member of the Public Radio Exchange, sign up for a starter package today and get 6 free hours of programming. And start with the Sgt. Pepper Special! ___ This program is newscast compatible. Worthwhile, optional content is provided for stations NOT wanting to run a newscast in each hour. NOTE FOR STATIONS RUNNING NEWSCASTS AND *NOT* USING THE OPTIONAL CONTENT: The Hour One Optional Content makes a nice preview feature for the special. You have our permission to trim off the opening narration and closing narration to create a preview piece to run in a newsblock or music program to promote the show.