The conception, creation, recording, and significance of the Beatles8217 8220Penny Lane8221 and 8220Strawberry Fields Forever8221 John Lennon wrote 8220Strawberry Fields Forever8221 in Almer237a, Spain, in fall 1966, and in November, in response to that song, Paul McCartney wrote 8220Penny Lane8221 at his home in London A culmination of what was one of the most lifealtering and chaotic years in the Beatles8217 career, these two songs composed the 1967 double Aside 45 rpm record that has often been called the greatest single in the history of popular music and was, according to Beatles producer George Martin, 8220the best record we ever made 8221 In Let Me Take You Down: Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, Jonathan Cott recounts the conception and creation of these songs describes the tumultuous events and experiences that led the Beatles to call it quits as a touring band and redefine themselves solely as recording artists and details the complex, seventyhour recording process that produced seven minutes of indelible music In writing about these songs, he also focuses on them as inspired artistic expressions of two unique ways of experiencing and being in the world, as Lennon takes us down to Strawberry Fields and McCartney takes us back to Penny Lane In order to gain new vistas and multiple perspectives on these multifaceted songs, Cott also engages in conversation with five remarkable people: media artist Laurie Anderson guitarist Bill Frisell actor Richard Gere Jungian analyst Margaret Klenck and urban planner, writer, and musician Jonathan F P Rose The result is a wideranging, illuminating exploration of the musical, literary, psychological, cultural, and spiritual aspects of two of the most acclaimed songs in rock and roll history