Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band turns 50

It was 50 years ago that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," the eighth studio album by The Beatles, was released in the U.S. on June 2, 1967. Marking a distinct shift in sound for the Fab Four, "Sgt. Pepper's" was an immediate commercial and critical success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the UK albums chart and 15 weeks at number one in the United States.

The album included many of The Beatles' most-recognized songs, including the title track, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "When I'm 64," "With A Little Help From My Friends," and "A Day In The Life."

Almost as well-known as the music itself is the now-iconic album cover artwork. The front of the LP includes a collage featuring The Beatles in costume as the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, standing with a group of life-sized cardboard cut-outs of celebrities.

Over the past five decades, the album has sold tens of millions of copies - and ahead of its 50th anniversary, "Sgt. Pepper's" is once again in the top 10 album sales in both the United States and United Kingdom.