On This Day, February 29, 1968: The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ wins Album of the Year

On This Day, February 29, 1968 …

The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band won Album of the Year at the 10th annual Grammy Awards. The record was the first-ever rock album to win in the coveted category.

Sgt. Pepper’s also won Grammys for Best Contemporary Album and Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical, while the album’s iconic cover took home the award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts.

Over the course of their career, The Beatles won seven Grammy Awards and received 23 nominations.

Released in May 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band spent 15 weeks at #1 in the U.S. and 27 weeks on top in the U.K. It featured such classic Beatles tunes as the title track, “With a Little Help From My Friends,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “When I’m Sixty Four.”