| "Penny Lane" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Beatles | ||||
| A-side | "Strawberry Fields Forever" (double A-side) | |||
| Released | 13 February 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 29 December 1966 – 17 January 1967 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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| Promotional film | ||||
| "Penny Lane" on YouTube | ||||
"Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. The lyrics refer to Penny Lane, a street in Liverpool, and make mention of the sights and characters that McCartney recalled from his upbringing in the city.
The Beatles began recording "Penny Lane" in December 1966, intending it as a song for their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Instead, after it was issued as a single to satisfy record company demand for a new release, the band adhered to their policy of omitting previously released singles from their albums. The song features numerous modulations that occur mid-verse and between its choruses. Session musician David Mason played a piccolo trumpet solo for its bridge section.
"Penny Lane" was a top-five hit across Europe and topped the US Billboard Hot 100. In Britain, it was the first Beatles single since "Please Please Me" in 1963 to fail to reach number 1 on the Record Retailer chart. In November 1967, "Penny Lane" was included on the US Magical Mystery Tour album. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the track at number 280 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2006, Mojo ranked the song at number 9 of "The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs".
In 2011, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[6]
- ^ Ingham 2006, p. 195.
- ^ Heylin 2007, p. 153.
- ^ Philo 2015, p. 119.
- ^ Willis 2014, p. 220.
- ^ Courrier 2009, p. 157.
- ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#p [bare URL]