Fact Check: The Beatles Posed with Decapitated Baby Dolls in Real Album Cover Photo

Claim:

A photograph used for a Beatles album cover ("Yesterday and Today") authentically showed the four band members with bloody dolls and cuts of raw meat.

Rating:

For years, claims have spread online that British rock band The Beatles' 1966 album "Yesterday & Today" featured dismembered baby dolls and cuts of raw meat on its cover.

"The Beatles, 1966," a X post said in May 2024. "Why did no one question this?" Attached to the post was the alleged album cover. We also found other social media posts about the claim on platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Reddit from 2024, as well as older posts, like one we found on X posted in 2020.

We previously fact-checked the claim in 2023 and found the image represents a genuine album cover. American record label Capitol Records promptly recalled the album after distributors and retailers said they were offended by the content of the photograph, leading the record company to paste an alternative cover picture over the original image — which has become known as "the butcher cover."

The original album cover was captured by the late British photographer Robert Whitaker. Snopes dug through the photographer's website and found the image listed there, as well as on Getty Images, which stated the "Yesterday and Today" butcher cover album was released on June 14, 1966.

According to Whitaker's 2011 New York Times obituary, the controversial album cover was "one of his most talked-about works," adding that the album cover:

"Yesterday and Today" went on sale in selected stores a few days before it was to be officially released by Capitol Records, on June 15, 1966. But the day before the planned release, Capitol recalled the record in the face of distributors' protests that the cover was in bad taste.

Rolling Stone reported in May 2019 that John Lennon's personal copy of the "butcher cover" sold for $234,000 — the third-highest price for a vinyl record at the time of the sale.

We previously fact-checked a false claim that stated the Beatles planned the cover to be a protest against Capitol Records "butchering" their album releases in America.

Sources:

Butcher Cover Beatles Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com/search/2/image?phrase=butcher%20cover%20beatles&esource=sitesearch. Accessed 14 May 2024.

Dapcevich, Madison. "Is This a Real Photo of the Beatles Posing with Bloody Dolls?" Snopes, 1 Nov. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/beatles-bloody-dolls-butcher-cover/.

Kreps, Daniel. "John Lennon-Owned, Beatles-Signed 'Butcher Cover' LP Sells for $234,000 at Auction." Rolling Stone, 11 May 2019, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-lennon-beatles-butcher-cover-lp-auction-834353/.

Martin, Douglas. "Robert Whitaker, the Beatles' Photographer, Dies at 71." The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2011. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/arts/robert-whitaker-the-beatles-photographer-dies-at-71.html.

Mikkelson, David. "Did the Beatles Plan Their Infamous 'Butcher Cover' as Protest Against Capitol Records?" Snopes, 14 May 1997, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/who-butchered-the-beatles/.

Runtagh, Jordan. "Inside Beatles' Bloody, Banned 'Butcher' Cover." Rolling Stone, 20 June 2016, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/inside-beatles-bloody-banned-butcher-cover-42504/.

The Beatles Prints | Beatles Prints for Sale | Original Beatles Prints. https://www.robertwhitakerphotography.com/images/the-beatles/. Accessed 14 May 2024.

"'The Butcher' Version of the Album Cover for Rock and Roll Band "The..." Getty Images, 23 May 2007, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-butcher-version-of-the-album-cover-for-rock-and-roll-news-photo/74253272.