September 26 should be Abbey Road day

5 things to know about the legendary Beatles album (and photo)

The 56th anniversary of the release of the iconic Abbey Road album by The Beatles is September 26. This shoudl be Abbey Road Day, as it is an album of superlatives. Not only does it contain some of The Beates best-known songs, but the album sleeve has also become iconic in its own right, copied by countless memes.

Five things you might not know about Abbey Road!  

• First off, did you know the album didn’t always bear the iconic name Abbey Road? With a deadline looming, the Beatles were having trouble finding the perfect title. At one point, they toyed with the name ‘Everest’ (a brand of "cool" cigarettes). But no-one wanted to fly to the Himalayas for one photo.  So they decided to just snap a quick pic outside their studio instead. Voila! Abbey Road was born!
• Let’s talk photography! You might think they had hours to capture the magic, but only six photos were snapped! Ian Macmillan, the photographer, had to work fast on the busy road, and the Fab Four crossed back and forth three times, with Ian only managing one shot each time. After scrutinizing the transparencies with a magnifying glass, Paul declared shot number five the winner.
• And speaking of iconic images, take a closer peek at the photo: the four lads are walking away from their recording studio! Yep, that white building on the left is where the magic happened, and the band wanted the world to see them leaving the place that had been their creative playground for years.
• Oh, and let’s not forget about Paul’s bare feet! Contrary to wild conspiracy theories at the time, Paul’s decision to go shoeless was totally unplanned. According to John Kosh, the band’s art director, Paul kicked off his sandals because they were pinching his toes. The Beatles firmly denied that his bare feet symbolize anything deeper—just a comfy choice for a hot day!
• And to finish on a sad note, Abbey Road was the last album the band recorded together! While Let It Be was the final one released before their breakup in April 1970, most of that album was recorded before they hit the studio for Abbey Road. August 20th, 1969, was the last day all four Beatles jammed together in the studio.

(Michael Leahy. Source: Photo: UMG)