August 08, 2009

40th Anniversary of the Abbey Road Cover Photo Shoot

Today is the 40th anniversary of the shooting of one of the most famous and most imitated photos in rock 'n' roll history. Around 11:30 am on August 8, 1969, the Beatles and Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan had just 10 minutes to capture an image that would be used for the Abbey Road album cover. The image is of John, Ringo, Paul, and George walking, in single file, across Abbey Road's zebra crossing. Macmillan had to stand on a stepladder in the middle of the road to get a suitable angle on the scene. In some of the earlier shots, McCartney is wearing sandals. By the time the famous photo used for the cover was taken, he was barefoot.

In this outtake from the photo session, notice that Paul still has his sandals on. [Click the images for a larger view]