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What 4 Fave Beatle Albums Were Almost Called

beatles abbey road

Part of a band’s greatness comes from their ability to make the best decisions – from their sound, style, name, and everything in between.

Naming an album, just like naming a band, is a process no group can ever escape, not even The Beatles (who, as fans know, had a short-lived stint as “The Silver Beatles” before shortening it a month or so later. Good move).

This brilliant bunch of guys made masterpieces – both together and in their solo careers. While they had honed their collective musicianship during many grueling years together, naming an album could still be a long process with plenty of suggestions tossed around (many, eventually ending up on the trash). But not being afraid of change and creative risk is part of what made them great.

So for everyone who ever wondered what alternate titles were considered for some of their top projects, read on.

Revolver

Before the band decided on Revolver as the title of their seventh studio album, they had Abracadabra in mind. That title seemed to be a done deal — until they found out it had been used before. Somehow, Klaus Voorman’s iconic album cover art just wouldn’t have been the same with that name.

The White Album

The White Album is actually a nickname as the project was never “officially” named. During the making of this masterpiece, the name The Doll’s House was used as a working title until the band decided not to name their iconic double album — at all.

Abbey Road

The iconic Abbey Road was almost called Everest. The band even had plans to go to the Himalayas for a cover photoshoot but decided to go with the zebra road crossing just outside the studio they were recording in. After all, as someone wisely pointed out, it was a lot closer.

Let It Be

The last studio album released by the group came out after the Beatles had already broken up — but was recorded before Abbey Road. Even though it was never finalized by the band, the album had Get Back as a working title, which after the breakup is exactly what we all hoped they might have done. Post-breakup however, Phil Spector was working in the studio to make it release-ready for the public and renaming it Let It Be proved to be the right tone to take — and the perfect message to end their storied career as a band.

-Victoria Oliveira

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8 comments on “What 4 Fave Beatle Albums Were Almost Called

  1. oscar suarez

    Look forward to your daily posts! In my mind, The Beatles still are.
    Been a fan since 1963. Have every vinyl, CD, original English vinyl, box sets from multiple countries.
    Love you guys.

  2. Thanks so much, Oscar. We so appreciate your enthusiasm and support.

  3. Neil Ferguson

    Nice! Honorable mention: The title of their second movie originally was “Eight Arms to Hold You,” which, presumably, would have been the original title of the album “Help!” as well.

  4. Daniel Richler

    If I’m not mistaken, they called themselves The Silver Beetles. The Silver Beatles is the name of a lookalike tribute band.

  5. The “Hey Jude” album I believe was called “The Beatles Again ” or something similar..Had the cassette version.

  6. Denny Coyle

    I still have my 45 of Help! that says,”from Eight Arms To Hold You…”

  7. Charles Caracciolo

    Currently reading Bryce Zabel’s fantastic “Once There Was A Way,” which imagines the band continuing to record albums through the 1970s. In the book, “The Doll’s House“ and “Everest” are the titles of 2 of the albums they put out. I had no idea those were actually ever considered as real Beatle album titles…

  8. Russ Proctor

    The White Album actually has a name on the cover: “The Beatles”

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