“It was 50 years ago today, on August 8, 1969, that the world’s most famous band stepped out from London’s EMI Recording Studios to stride, single-file, across the black and white stripes of Abbey Road’s nearby zebra crossing,” The Music Universe reports. “With photographer Iain Macmillan balanced on a stepladder and one policeman stopping the street’s light traffic, the Beatles crossed back and forth three times, led by John Lennon, followed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Just six photos were taken, with the fifth selected as the cover shot for The Beatles’ penultimate studio album, ‘Abbey Road,’ named after the tree-lined street in which the studios are located.”

The album, released Sept. 26, 1969, is regarded by many as the band’s best, and to commemorate its 50th anniversary, the Beatles’ record companies Apple and Universal Music are overseeing the worldwide release on Sept. 27 of a series of special “Abbey Road” packages.

“The album’s 17 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo, high res stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos, accompanied by 23 session recordings and demos, most of which are previously unreleased,” the story reports.

In a written foreword to the anniversary edition packages, McCartney recalls: “The Beatles recording journey had gone through many twists and turns, learning curves and thrilling rides. Here we were — still wondering at the magic of it all.”

The Music Universe adds: “This is the first time ‘Abbey Road’ has been remixed and presented with additional session recordings and demos. The album’s sweeping new edition follows the universally acclaimed remixed and expanded anniversary editions of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ and ‘The Beatles’ (‘White Album’) released in 2017 and 2018, respectively.”

For a tracklist and more details about the upcoming special editions, click on the link above to The Music Universe.

Here’s a clip posted today about the new releases …