It Was Forty Years Ago Today, Princess Leia Taught the Band to Play

Be the first on your block to own a copy! A free download from Dan Amrich and Jude Kelley of Palette Swap Ninja – their hilarious, newly-released album “Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans”.

This year marks two important pop-culture milestones: The 40th anniversary of Star Wars on May 25, and the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band a week later, June 1. Our new album merges both into one full-length concept album titled Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans. It’s the entire Beatles album as accurately as we could record it, only now it tells the story of Star Wars: A New Hope — in order. We sweat the details on both sides in an effort to do both cultural milestones justice. Writing hyper-specific lyrics that match the original songs’ cadences; reverse-engineering everything the Beatles recorded, from distorted saxophone riffs to Indian tabla rhythms; recording everything from scratch and learning as we went — well, that’s what takes five years.

Amrich and Kelley explain:

Deftly merging two pop-culture landmarks, Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans tells the story of 1977’s Star Wars to a custom recording of The Beatles’ 1967 masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – in order. “We’ve released song parodies before, but nothing this ambitious,” says singer/guitarist Dan Amrich. “Once we settled on merging A New Hope with Sgt. Pepper’s, we completely committed ourselves to turning these two sacred cows into the ultimate double cheeseburger.”

Katrin Auch matched up the songs with Star Wars footage in this series of videos:

  • “Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans/With Illicit Help From Your Friends” – Track 1 & 2

  • “Luke is in the Desert” – Track 3 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • Never Better” – Track 4 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “Imperial Holes” – Track 5 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “He’s Leaving Home” – Track 6 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “Being From the Spaceport of Mos Eisley” – Track 7 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “The Force Within You” – Track 8 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “AA Twenty-Three” – Track 9 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “Dianoga” – Track 10 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “Keep Moving Keep Moving” – Track 11 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

  • “Reprise/A Day in the Life of Red Five” – Tracks 12 & 13 – Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans

[Thanks to David Stever for the story.]

11 thoughts on “It Was Forty Years Ago Today, Princess Leia Taught the Band to Play

  1. I don’t know which number is more disturbing: that Star Wars came out 40 years ago, or that there was only 10 years difference between the releases of Sgt Pepper and Star Wars. This is one of those weird time-distortion fields that happens when you get old, right?

  2. I’m still watching/listening my way through these, but it brought to mind the CD/MP3 collection of Star Wars parody songs by Mark Jonathan Davis, including comedy routines by [Johnny Carson] and [Bob Hope] at the Cantina Lounge, and others. Still trying to find the exact name/title (it’s on a different computer over here, and the CD (which I bought) is hiding somewhere…

  3. @Heather: Same here. Only 10 years?!

    However, these songs are delightful and everyone should watch them.

  4. I watched a few of these and then went to get some housework done. I was in the middle of washing some wool sweaters when it occurred to me that if someone did a Star Wars/Godstalk fanfic crossover fic, Leia could plausibly end up married to Luke, instead of Han.

    May the Three-Faced God be with you.

  5. These are amazing. I felt a bit cheated that they couldn’t do the final scene, though, so I fudged a bit:

    (The first few bars of the Marseillaise, as arranged by John Williams)

    We’re gathered here today because you three
    Brought freedom to the galaxy
    Yes we’re really all quite relieved you blew up the Death Star just in time
    Believe me!

    Chewie’s just too tall
    Chewie’s just too tall
    Chewie’s just too ta-all
    To get a meda-al

    It really was quite the attack
    I’m sure that Vader won’t be back
    Though there’s no body there’s no way that he could have survived
    Believe me!

    Chewie’s just too tall
    Chewie’s just too tall
    Chewie’s just too ta-all
    To get a meda-al

    Is Ben Kenobi really gone?
    Will Leia go with Luke or Han?
    If you want to find out then you’ll just have to wait ’til you see
    The sequel!

    Chewie’s just too tall
    Chewie’s just too tall
    Chewie’s just too ta-all
    To get a meda-al.

    (In my defense, “All You Need is Love” was released the same year as “Sergeant Pepper’s”, so it kinda-sorta fits.)

  6. This is cause for medals all around (including to Matthew Johnson) – fantastic work!

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