Do you remember the
“Paul is dead” conspiracy? Yes, I am sure there are still many adherents to the
idea that Paul McCartney died in an automobile accident in 1966 and that a
well-trained stand- in has been fooling everyone for fifty-three years.
The conspiracy
gained traction in September of 1969 after the release of the Beatles “Abbey Road
But more bemusing to
me is that the identity of the girl in the blue dress remains a mystery. On the
back cover of the Abbey Road Abbey Road
Beatles fans,
especially this one, since the release of the album have wondered just who is
that girl.
In a world where
many people would want to take “hey, that’s me” credit for appearing on a Beatles
album cover I am perplexed as to why no one has done so. This is indeed a
mystery well beyond “Paul is dead”.
Was she supposed to be
elsewhere and claiming credit for the appearance would reveal an awkward truth?
Even if that were true, surely fifty years later the reason would have become
irrelevant.
Perhaps the girl passed away before the album was released
and never had opportunity to know of the existence of the photo bearing her
unawares intrusion.
If she was oblivious of her intrusion into a photo, perhaps
she, astoundingly, remains so thereby ranking as one of the rock world’s most
enduring mysteries.
There is a story about a fan named Rita who had been in a car
with Paul. But Paul must have been in many cars with many girls.
Another mysterious contemplation is if the presence of the
girl was unintentional; why not just take another shot?
There had to have
been many pictures from which to choose, why was this one chosen?
I have read many Beatles biographies, listened to radio
interviews read magazine stories, I have never come upon a conclusive answer.
As much detail about the Beatles individual lives, recordings, trips, and movies
has been reported, investigated, confirmed, this detail remains stubbornly
elusive!
This has been, since September of 1969, my compellingly
investigative Beatle mystery. Consign to oblivion backward tapes, hidden
messages, clues to Paul’s death, for fifty years I have pondered a question
with more rabbit hole meanderings than Dallas’ “ Who shot J.R?”
As we approach the fifty year anniversary of the creation of
this memorable event in rock history, I remain perplexed.
Who was that girl in the blue dress?
