Died On This Date (March 24, 2008) Neil Aspinall / Beatles Road Manager

Neil Aspinall
October 13, 1942 – March 24, 2008

Neil Aspinall is best remembered as the Beatles’ road manager, personal assistant, and later, the head of their entertainment conglomerate, Apple Corps.  A childhood friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, Aspinall was first brought on board to shuffle the band from show to show in a van.  As his responsibilities grew, he became an integral  part of the band’s overall marketing.  For the package design of the Sgt. Pepper’s album for instance, it was Aspinall who went out and found the photographs of the famous people who adorn its cover.  He also contributed musically to a handful of Beatles recordings.  Aspinall can be heard playing harmonica on “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” playing an Indian lute on “Within You Without You,” and singing background on “Yellow Submarine.”  Aspinall was also involved in many aspects of the Beatles well beyond their time together as a band.  In the late 2000s, he oversaw the remastering of the band’s historic catalog re-release of 2009.  Neil Aspinall was 66 when he died of lung cancer on March 24, 2008.

Thanks to Craig Rosen of Number1Albums for the assist.