Sunrise, Sunset

Upon the release of Sgt. Pepper (June 1967) I was 14 and had The Beatles, up to this point in my life, three-and-a-half glorious years. Starting in January of 1964 with the charting of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” The Beatles had been the 800-pound gorilla of the music business.

Year after year the band delivered a steady stream of incredible music and movies. Would it, could it, ever end? I shuddered to think about it. By the time 1969 rolled around, my generation had had the band in our lives for five years and we when, one month later, the world was informed that Paul McCartney was alive and not dead, as had been reported by several news organizations. was compelled to run a story that was, in fact, titled “No, No, No, Paul McCartney Is Not Dead,” rumors to the contrary.