Died On This Date (September 20, 2012) Robert Whitaker / British Photographer Who Took Beatles “Butcher” Image
themusicsover Robert Whitaker
1939 – September 20, 2011
Robert Whitaker was a celebrated British photographer whose shots of the Beatles are some of the most iconic images in pop music history. Whitaker’s career in photography can be traced back to the late ’50s when he was attending college in Melbourne, Australia. It was while freelancing in 1964 that he had a chance meeting with Beatles manager, Brian Epstein while the band was in the midst of an Australian tour. That lead to numerous photo sessions with the band over the next few years, including one on March 25, 1966 where Whitaker captured the infamous image that shows John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney wearing white lab coats and covered with baby doll parts, raw meat, and false teeth. The photo was selected for the band’s Yesterday and Today cover as seen below, but Capitol records quickly recalled it, but only after several thousand got it. The cover was changed making original copies of the “Butcher” cover extremely valuable to this day. Away from the Beatles, Whitaker photographed the likes of Gerry & The Pacemakers, the Seekers, Mick Jagger, and Cream who used his photos of band members within the collage of their Disraeli Gears album cover. Robert Whitaker continued to work in photography throughout the rest of his life, at times as a photojournalist for TIME and Life magazines. He was 71 when he passed away on September 20, 2011.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus and Scott Miller for the assist.
What You Should Own
Although he also managed among others, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas and Gerry & the Pacemakers, Brian Epstein is best remembered as manager of the Beatles. Many give him credit for the early success of the band. Epstein first met the Beatles after the Cavern Club show on November 9, 1961. By late January of 1962, Epstein was officially the band’s manager. He helped facilitate many of the band’s earliest successes, but by January of 1966, the Beatles decided not to renew their contract which was due to expire the following year. Epstein was notoriously addicted to drugs, and on August 27, 1967, he died of what was ruled and accidental overdose. He was 32 years old. In later years, Paul McCartney claimed that “if anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian.” And 