Hey...I like the Beatles.....probably all of it with the exception of the Ravi Shankar stuff and that was not really the Beatles., but I have the same reverence for the BeachBoys and more so because I grew up with them and enjoyed the sound of the surf. I also like the entire genre of the time. Safari’s, Peter Gunn (favorite TV show) Wipeout was the first tune I ever played on a guitar.
For me, the Beatles were a distraction (I wanna hold your hand), as was Chubby checker with the Twist.
But Petula Clark, Beach Boys, Otis Redding...all had a great influence on me.
Speaking of influences, which started this conversation. There was a second major influence on Sgt Pepper and again the evidence came directly from the Beatles.
“Freak Out! by the Mothers of Invention has also been cited as having influenced Sgt. Pepper.[32] According to the author Philip Norman, during the Sgt. Pepper recording sessions McCartney repeatedly stated: “This is our Freak Out!”[33] The music journalist Chet Flippo states that McCartney was inspired to record a concept album after hearing Freak Out![32”
Ah - surf music. I remember those days. Hey — you know about Freak Out? Cool Zappa’s vocals were almost unlistenable but his instrumental writing was phenomenal. I like all highly creative music whether it be Brian Wilson, Beatles, Zappa and multitudes of others.