Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, yo.

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison - the Beatles. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Beatles were a "British musical quartet and a global cynosure for the hopes and dreams of a generation that came of age in the 1960s." The entirety of Britain and America was in a frenzy and had a bad case of "Beatlemania". The Beatles admired many American artists: Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Smokey Robinson and most importantly, Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan, American folk and rock and roll singer, has popularly been known not only for his unique singing voice, but also his drug use.During the summer of 1964, Al Aronowitz - a rock journalist, introduced the Beatles to Bob Dylan at the Hotel Delmonico in New York. Although the Beatles had tried marijuanaprior to meeting Dylan, they insisted that it had no effect on them. However, after smoking many joints with Dylan, they experienced an incredible high and were hooked.

The widespread use of illicit drugs, especially hallucinogens, was one of the major social changes that was brought about by the 1960s. Beat artists such as Bob Dylan, in an attempt to emulate the jazz musicians they admired, became heavily involved with marijuana. Beat poems, novels, essays and protest songs beginning in the mid 1950s were filled with references of hallucinogens. Lysergic acid diethylamide, known as LSD, was one of the most common drugs of the '60s that made it what it was. LSD was a chemical discovered in 1943 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann and although it was generally unknown in America in the '50s and early '60s, it became highly popular in the mid 1960s. In search of a new perspective on life, people also experimented with Psilocybes, also known as "Magic Mushrooms" or "Shrooms". Although Marijuana and Mushrooms had been used for thousands of years prior to the '60s, people searched for various ways to experience

these "psychedelic" drugs. The Beatles became involved in virtually all of the most popular hallucinogens during the '60s including Benzedrine, Amphetamines such as Preludin, Marijuana, LSD, Cocaine, Heroin and whatever other drugs they were introduced to at the time.

Undoubtedly, their songs were influenced by their nonstop drug use. Day in and day out, they were smoking Marijuana for breakfast, taking Amphetamines to stay awake for their concerts and taking hits of LSD for a more creative edge. Many of the members of the Beatles openly admitted to their drug use.

Some songs were even known as an "ode to pot" such as "Got to Get you into my Life" and "With a Little Help from my Friends" was known for its blantant references to getting high. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was supposedly written because John Lennon's son, Julian, came home from a school with a picture of his friend, Lucy O'Donnell, with stars in the sky. Julian Lennon called the picture "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and John Lennon says that this was the reason he wrote the song. If the title of the song is more carefully analyzed however, it spells out LSD. Lennon said during a 1975 interview that he never payed attention to what the song title spelled out and after the criticism the Beatles received for this song, he payed close attention to the song titles but they never spelled anything.

You can see from the video above that the song is normally represented as very psychedelic and shows hallucinations. It is hard to believe that

Pictures:

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Beatles/+images/5662457

http://www.layoutsparks.com/myspace-layouts/lsd_0

http://connect.in.com/julian-lennon/photos-1-1-1-ef94ed23320b2d4c55f14a04a33f56d3.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216660/Lucy-In-The-Sky-With-Diamonds-Lucy-ODonnell-inspiration-dies-battling-disease.html

Information:

http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/drugs.html

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/cst3010/drugs.html

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=120

http://www.beatlesbible.com/feaxtures/drugs/