Musical alter egos: from Sgt. Pepper to Slim Shady to Sasha Fierce

The Beatles, a.k.a. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

In one of the earliest experiments in rockers assuming alter egos, the Beatles supposedly recorded their 1967 LP “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” as the group named in the title. They didn’t quite follow through with the idea, however; on the record, only drummer Ringo got a named alter ego, being introduced as Billy Shears to sing “With a Little Help From My Friends.” John Lennon later said that his contributions (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” among them) had nothing to do with the Sgt. Pepper premise, which was mainly Paul McCartney’s invention.