1966 Butcher Cover
7 May 2013
Beatles’ Butcher Album Cover a Trivia Favorite of Roseville Record Shop Owner
Rik Schwinden, owner of Mr. Zero’s, says there are plenty of myths about the Fab Four’s controversial 1966 Butcher album cover.
With National Record Store Day today (Satuday, April 20), classic rock trivia master Rik Schwinden shared with Roseville Patch one of his most favorite pieces of music minutiae-the Beatles Butcher album cover.
Contrary to frequent myth, Capitol Records produced far more than just 100 copies of the Fab Four’s 1966 album that depicted the Beatles’ dressed in butcher smocks surrounded by pieces of meat and decapitated toy baby dolls, said Schwinden, owner of Mr. Zero’s in Roseville.
In fact, Capitol produced some 750,000 copies of the album “The Beatles: Yesterday and Today” with the record jacket depicting the group in butcher smocks, said Schwinden who has been in the retail music industry for more than 30 years.
Also, the album cover was produced over a five- to eight-day period in June, 1966, not the often mistaken one day, Schwinden added.
The Beatles Butcher album is among pop culture treasures that Schwinden has for sale at his shop, which celebrated its fourth anniversary this past Sunday. Schwinden’s price tag on the Beatles’ Butcher album: $679.
Of the original 750,000 copies of the Butcher album cover, some 250,000 copies of the album were disposed of in a Chicago landfill, Capitol Records’ response to public backlash over the cover, Schwinden said.
Schwinden said Capitol Records pasted a new image over the Butcher cover on some 200,000 other copies and repackaged another 200,000 copies.
On National Record Store Day, Schwinden is offering 21 percent discount on merchandise.
To read more about Schwinden and Mr. Zero’s, click on to the links on these Roseville Patch stories:
Unique Shops in Roseville: Mr. Zero’s
28 Aug 2012
When former Monkee Mickey Dolenz and other 1960s pop performers with the Happy Together tour hit the grandstand stage Monday night at the Minnesota State Fair, sponsors of the show included a Roseville shop, Mr. Zero’s.
Although not disclosing financial details, Mr. Zero’s owner Rik Schwinden said the sponsorship is a way of marketing his shop, which carries a huge array of pop culture merchandise. The items range from vintage LPs and 45 single records to video games, posters and board games and other offbeat novelties.
Located at 1744 Lexington Ave. N., Mr. Zero’s has been in business since 2009.
By: Scott Carlson
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