Strawberry Fields Forever
Although the Mellotron had been a feature of Manfred Mann's late 1966 hit single "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James", its appearance on "Strawberry Fields Forever" remains the most celebrated use of the instrument on a pop or rock recording. Mike Pinder, whose band the Moody Blues went on to make extensive use of Mellotron and swarmandal in their work, said he was "in bliss" when he heard the keyboard's flute sound on the Beatles' single. Together with the resonant tone of Starr's drums, the cello arrangement on "Strawberry Fields Forever", as with "I Am the Walrus", was much admired by other musicians and producers, and proved highly influential on 1970s bands such as Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.