Episode 15 – Beatles ’67 pt5

Still riding high on the critical and commercial success that Sgt. Pepper brought, the Beatles entered the so-called "summer of love" as the spokespeople for their generation. Beloved by both fan and critic alike, John, Paul, George and Ringo took to the biggest audience of their career, representing Great Britain in the worldwide telecast "Our World" and debuting for it their new smash single "All You Need Is Love". With another chart topper in the bag, the band also made great strides toward ditching the harder drugs that had begun to take a destructive toll earlier in the year under the guidance of a spiritual leader named Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Discovered by George and Patti, the Maharishi and his transcendental meditation seminars brought the boys some much needed peace of mind, especially John, whose chemical-laden escapades were starting to become a serious problem. But just as the Beatles began their retreat, tragedy struck. Manager Brian Epstein, the man most responsible for their fame and success, died suddenly of an apparent drug overdose at the age of 32. It was a terrible blow, and one that many (including the Beatles themselves) point to as the single event most responsible for the truly dark times ahead...