Paul Is Dead Analysis

During the late 1960’s The Beatle’s were one of the nations most talked about bands and later became known as the most influential act of the rock era. The Beatle’s remain the best-selling band in history with an estimated sale of over 600 million records worldwide. In Alan Glenn’s article Paul Is Dead (Said Fred) he walks us through the truth behind a well-known rumor that lead singer, Paul McCartney, had died in a car accident and how the media had been involved in covering it up.

Fred LaBour, a U-M natural resource student, went to write a record review over The Beatle’s most recent album at the time, Abbey Road, and came out with one of the most influential record reviews of all time. The topic that had college students …show more content…
The entire article was written as if it were proven fact rather than a rumor holding no real proof to back it up. What really seemed to be catching the public’s eyes were the clues provided in LaBour’s review. By playing songs backwards LaBour claimed you could hear secret messages. For example playing the outro of “I Am the Walrus” is supposed to reveal a hidden message saying, “Ha ha! Paul is dead.” While also pointing out that “Revolution 9” rewound sounds like they are saying, “Turn me on, dead man.” Along with using song lyrics as clues LaBour persuaded his readers to believe that there were also hidden messages in The Beatle’s album covers. For example McCartney is the only one walking barefoot on the cover of Abbey Road which LaBour’s article leads us to believe is a symbol of death. LaBour conveniently also draws attention to McCartney holding a cigarette with his right hand when the “real” McCartney is left handed. Most of the articles popularity can be held accountable to the more than two dozen clues LaBour found. Young adults and teenagers everywhere spent hours with friends discussing the possibility of McCartney actually being …show more content…
When LaBour originally wrote his article he had no intention of it spreading nationally the way it did. LaBour admits to having fabricated the story on the spot. For example he identified McCartney’s doppelganger as a Scottish orphan, William Campbell, a name he completely made up. Another example being LaBour’s claim that in “the walrus was Paul” walrus is Greek for corpse. The rumor had spread from coast to coast by the weekend and was being addressed on the evening news of all three major television networks. LaBour’s article was even discussed in magazines such as Time and Life. Quickly, the rumor started to die down as almost every clue was being debunked. The rumor of Paul’s death was short-lived but continues to be a topic of discussion