JANUARY 17, 1967 – 40-year-old David Mason (April 2, 1926 – April 29, 2011) recorded the piccolo trumpet solo for The Beatles’ “Penny Lane” at Abbey Road Studios in London. The London native landed the gig after Paul McCartney saw him performing Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major” with the New Philharmonia on the BBC in December 1966 and he asked producer George Martin to call Mason. Mason came to the studio to record his rapid solo, which he always swore wasn’t sped up as some Beatles historians claimed. He was paid £27, 10 shillings ($45) for his performance.”I did not even know who the Beatles were when I was asked to do a recording session with them,” Mason said in a 2003 interview, as the Los Angeles Times reported. “For me it was just another job.”
