Klaatu

Klaatu's self-titled debut album appeared on Capitol Records in August 1976 and drew scant attention at the outset. The following February, Steve Smith, a Providence Journal writer based in Rhode Island, published an article headlined "Could Klaatu Be the Beatles? Mystery Is a Magical Mystery Tour," which launched the claim that Klaatu was "more than likely either in part or in whole the Beatles." Further speculation in trade outlets such as Billboard intensified the buzz, while Capitol chose neither to affirm nor refute the reports. Record sales climbed sharply throughout 1977, accompanied by radio contests asking "Is Klaatu the Beatles?" Alleged indicators included backward messages, Morse code passages, lyric references to the members' identities, and the word "Beatles" concealed on the jacket. After months of discussion, the musicians' identities surfaced at year's end: songwriter, vocalist, and drummer Terry Draper, John Woloschuck, and Dee Long—not the Beatles. Sales dropped at once, and the ensuing backlash from the Beatles rumor ensured that four later albums met with commercial failure. The group disbanded in 1981.