Daily Dirt: The 15 minutes that changed pop music forever

Daily Dirt for Friday, June 16, 2023

I never knew “Abbey Road” was not the original title for the famous LP … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 638 of The Daily Dirt.

1. The Beatles’ 1969 “Abbey Road” arguably features the most famous album cover of all time. For those who need a bit of refreshing, it’s the one with the four lads walking across the street of the same name.

Here’s some interesting background on that picture and how it all came about:

• The crosswalk that John, George, Ringo and Paul were using was located a few moments away from the studio where the band was recording its final LP together.
• “Seven or eight” different versions were taken on Aug. 8, 1969 by photographer Iain Macmillian, who only had about 15 minutes to make the assignment work. That’s how long a police officer was willing to hold up traffic while Macmillian stood on a stepladder.
• “Abbey Road” was not the album’s original title. “Everest” was considered a possibility. That was the name of the brand of cigarette engineer Geoff Emerick smoked while the LP was being recorded.
• “Abby Road” was the first and only Beatles album not to feature the band’s name on the cover. John Kosh, who designed the cover, insisted, “We didn’t need to write the band’s name on the cover” for the simple reason that “they were the most famous band in the world.”

I think Kosh had a great point. 

2. Signs of the times:

• Gold medal: “Avoid dangerous cults. Practice safe sects.”
• Silver medal: “I wanted to be a monk, but never got the chants.”
• Bronze medal: “I like my candy canes in mint condition.”

3. The Education Data Initiative has released some interesting information about college debt. Consider that:

• Federal student loan debt totals among the 50 U.S. states, including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, averages $29.0 billion per state. The District of Columbia residents have the nation’s highest average federal student loan debt at $54,945 per borrower.
• North Dakota’s average federal student loan debt is $28,604, making it the only state where the average debt is less than $30,000.
• In every state (including D.C. and Puerto Rico), adults 25 to 34 years old are the largest indebted age group.

In our region, here are some additional facts tied to this subject:

• Illinois borrowers owe an average $37,700 in college debt, which is No. 7 in the nation.
• In Missouri, the debt specifics are $35,397 and No. 22.
• In Iowa, the numbers are $30,464 and No. 48.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
The 2003 Tigers were far worse than the infamous 1962 Mets (who actually lost one more game). A note of interest about the ’03 Tigers: Their top (yes, the term is used loosely) starters — Nate Cornejo, Jeremy Bonderman, Mike Maroth, Adam Bernero — were a combined 22-69.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Steve’s idea for the title for the famous Beatles album, “Walking to Lunch to Get a Burger,” also was rejected in favor of “Abbey Road.”