Jimi Hendrix Covers Beatles' Sgt. Pepper Three Days After Release

In 1967, just three days after the UK release of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Jimi Hendrix opened his set at London's Saville Theatre with a cover of the title track. Paul McCartney and George Harrison were in the audience. McCartney later called it one of the great honors of his career and frequently reminisces about the performance, noting Hendrix's guitar went out of tune during the solo due to whammy bar use. Hendrix asked Eric Clapton, also in the audience, to retune his guitar, but Clapton demurred. It remains uncertain whether Hendrix knew the Beatles were present; NME and BBC report he did not, while the 2013 biopic Jimi: All Is by My Side depicts him knowing and deciding on the cover spontaneously. The cover is seen as an example of Hendrix's collegiality and admiration for the band.