# Why do you suppose The Beatles Abbey Road album picture is so iconic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2018, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314 "2018-06-02T09:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/21 "2018-06-02T22:36:39Z")
As an Artist, I like the lines. The straight road with white line down it. The cross walk, with it’s graphic stripes. Even the shape of 4 men walking upright and their legs taking that long step. It couldn’t be better posed, or poised. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/22 "2018-06-02T22:57:23Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > As an Artist, I like the lines. The straight road with white line down it. The cross walk, with it’s graphic stripes. Even the shape of 4 men walking upright and their legs taking that long step. It couldn’t be better posed, or poised. IMO. That’s a good point. And looking at the cover with that in mind, the way the legs form little triangles that match the shape of the receding road behind them is key to the compostion. A couple of the Beatles are also shaped like matching triangles… or pyramids or teepees. I’ve seen rejected [shots from the photo shoot](https://www.google.com/search?q=abbey+road+cover&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM2N3biLbbAhWj64MKHdo6BgEQ_AUIESgB&biw=1024&bih=661&dpr=2) many times, and the shots where the knees are bent or the legs aren’t extended just don’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/23 "2018-06-03T02:46:35Z")
> [@Club\_33](#): > > Some have gone so far to suggest that John is Preacher, George the Grave Digger, Ringo the Pall Bearer and Paul, with his bare feet that symbolize death, the deceased. Plus, Paul is out of step with the other three. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/24 "2018-06-03T02:57:47Z")
And a cigarette in his hand. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/25 "2018-06-04T00:04:45Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > And a cigarette in his hand. His _ **right** _ hand, no less (Paul being left-handed, this was seized upon by the “Paul is dead” crowd as some kind of secret signal that the Paul in the photo was an impostor). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/26 "2018-06-04T00:57:13Z")
Part of the appeal of the _Abbey Road_ cover photo is that it takes place in the real world, which lends it an attractive egalitarianism. Here are four immensely famous and immensely wealthy men—just walking across the street like ordinary people. It’s relatable. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/27 "2018-06-04T01:08:13Z")
Homages/Parodies are ubiquitous. [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1065&bih=821&ei=L5AUW5T3MfLP5gKyrpqgBA&q=abbey+road+homages&oq=abbey&gs\_l=img.1.0.35i39k1j0l9.1446.2435.0.4468.6.6.0.0.0.0.134.565.0j5.5.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.5.563.0...0.ln86WP6B7FY#imgrc=\_](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1065&bih=821&ei=L5AUW5T3MfLP5gKyrpqgBA&q=abbey+road+homages&oq=abbey&gs_l=img.1.0.35i39k1j0l9.1446.2435.0.4468.6.6.0.0.0.0.134.565.0j5.5.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.5.563.0...0.ln86WP6B7FY#imgrc=_) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/28 "2018-06-04T01:19:53Z")
When my brother and I were there in '87, there was too much traffic to attempt a crosswalk shot We used the [Abbey Road NW8](https://photos.app.goo.gl/JeqNDP6iEOA7chLK2) sign as the backdrop for our selfie instead. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/29 "2018-06-04T01:47:04Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > It helps that like Sgt. Pepper, it’s a cover that easily lends itself to recreations/parodies. “Dark Side of the Moon” is also an iconic album cover, but it’s not parodied nearly as often because there’s not much you can do with it. Google dark side of the moon cover parody. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/30 "2018-06-04T02:26:26Z")
Umm, it sold a butt-ton of copies? Without that, it’d just be obscure. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/31 "2018-06-04T02:32:19Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Google dark side of the moon cover parody. One of Richard Cheese’s albums used it with a martini glass instead of a triangular prism… _Lounge Against The Machine,_ maybe. Related question: Has Abbey Road been parodied more than Sgt. Pepper’s? I doubt it. Here’s my favorite Pepper Parody, thanks to Wildwood’s Al Wood: [the “Art Lives” t-shirt](https://www.ebay.com/itm/BEATLES-Cover-Art-Lives-Spoof-Parody-Large-T-Shirt-Wildwood-Vtg-90s-Sgt-Peppers/112965173683?hash=item1a4d3fc1b3:g:56sAAOSw5UVa4~JD:sc:USPSFirstClass!53705!US!-1)(artists and the subjects of their paintings). I’d ask if any other album covers have had as many homages, but I doubt it. These are iconic covers, by an iconic band. Other albums have brilliant covers, but who’s going to say “What a cool version of New Order’s \*Power, Corruption & Lies \*cover!”? ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/32 "2018-06-04T02:40:19Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > As an Artist, I like the lines. The straight road with white line down it. The cross walk, with it’s graphic stripes. Even the shape of 4 men walking upright and their legs taking that long step. It couldn’t be better posed, or poised. IMO. What’s usually missed in recreations is that the camera height for the original was probably from a ladder, maybe 7 or 8 feet. It tells in all the perspective lines on objects down the street, and people are shooting their friends with the camera at eye-height, maybe 5 feet. Won’t ever look right. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/33 "2018-06-04T02:54:20Z")
> [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > What’s usually missed in recreations is that the camera height for the original was probably from a ladder, maybe 7 or 8 feet. It tells in all the perspective lines on objects down the street, and people are shooting their friends with the camera at eye-height, maybe 5 feet. Won’t ever look right. It was also sunny. I’ve taken friends to Abbey Road, and it’s always been overcast/drizzly. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314/35 "2019-11-02T11:52:39Z")
I feel a song coming on… \* Hey Troll You’re dumb and sad And an asshole with a vendetta Remember That no-one cares what you think And your shtick stinks (Ah, that feels better) \* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-suppose-the-beatles-abbey-road-album-picture-is-so-iconic/815314.md?page=1)