"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" Is A Song Written By Paul McCartney Credited To Lennon/McCartney And Recorded By The Beatles For Their 1967 Album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Appearing As The Opening And Penultimate Track. Authorship And Recording In November 1966 On The Flight Back To England After A Holiday McCartney Conceived An Idea In Which An Entire Album Would Be Role-Played With Each Of The Beatles Assuming An Alter-Ego In The "Lonely Hearts Club Band" Which Would Then Perform A Concert In Front Of An Audience. The Inspiration Is Said To Have Come When Roadie Mal Evans Innocently Asked McCartney What The Letters “S” And “P” Stood For On The Pots On Their In-Flight Meal Trays And McCartney Explained It Was For Salt And Pepper. This Then Led To The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Concept As Well As The Song. According To Producer George Martin The Song Was Recorded Before The Album But He Also Said That It Started The Idea Of A Concept Album Based Around The Main Sgt. Pepper Character. The Group's Road Manager Neil Aspinall Suggested The Idea Of Sergeant Pepper Being The Compère As Well As The Reprise At The End Of The Album. According To His Diaries Evans May Have Also Contributed To The Song. John Lennon Attributed The Idea For Sgt. Pepper To McCartney Although The Song Is Officially Credited To Lennon/McCartney. The Song Was Recorded In Abbey Road's Number 2 Studio With Martin Producing And Geoff Emerick Engineering. Work On The Song Started On 1 February 1967 And After Three Further Sessions The Recording Was Complete On 6 March 1967. Song Structure On The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album The Song Opens To The Sound Of A Chattering Audience And An Orchestra Tuning Up Which Was Taken From The 10 February Orchestra Session For "A Day In The Life". The Crowd Sounds Edited Into The Song Were Recorded In The Early '60s By Martin During A Live Recording Of The Stage Show Beyond The Fringe. When The Song Itself Begins The Band Introduces Its Members. The Song's Structure Is Introduction Instrumental Verse Bridge Instrumental Refrain Bridge Verse Instrumental Bridge And Transition Into "With A Little Help From My Friends". The Song Is In G Major With A 4/4 Meter. A Horn Quartet Was Used To Fill Out The Instrumental Sections.