Editing Paul is dead (section)

==Growth==
On 12 October 1969, a caller to [[Detroit]] radio station [[WNIC|WKNR-FM]] told disc jockey [[Russ Gibb]] about the rumour and its clues.<ref name="Noden/MojoSpecial" /> Gibb and other callers then discussed the rumour on air for the next hour,<ref>{{cite news|last=Morris|first=Julie|title=The Beatle Paul Mystery – As Big as Rock Music Itself|newspaper=[[Detroit Free Press]]|date=23 October 1969|page=6}}</ref> during which Gibb offered further potential clues.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=241}} Two days later, ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' published a satirical review of ''Abbey Road'' by [[University of Michigan]] student [[Fred LaBour]], who had listened to the exchange on Gibb's show,<ref name="Noden/MojoSpecial" /> under the headline "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light".<ref name="labour">{{cite news|last=LaBour|first=Fred|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071754159/374 |title=McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light|newspaper=[[The Michigan Daily]]|date=14 October 1969|page=2}}</ref>{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=593–94}} It identified various clues to McCartney's alleged death on Beatles album covers, particularly on the ''Abbey Road'' sleeve. LaBour later said he had invented many of the clues and was astonished when the story was picked up by newspapers across the United States.<ref name=Allen>{{Cite news|url=http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2009/11/story.php?id=7565&tr=y&auid=5578331 |last=Glenn |first=Allen |title=Paul Is Dead (Said Fred) |newspaper=[[Michigan Today]]|date=11 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228202339/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2009/11/story.php?id=7565&tr=y&auid=5578331 |archive-date=28 December 2010 }}</ref> Noden writes that "Very soon, every college campus, every radio station, had a resident expert."<ref name="Noden/MojoSpecial" /> WKNR fuelled the rumour further with its two-hour programme ''The Beatle Plot'', which first aired on 19 October. The show – which has been called "infamous", a "fraud" and a "mockumentary" – brought enormous worldwide publicity to Gibb and WKNR.<ref>{{cite book | last =Coley | first =Sam | title =Music Documentaries for Radio| publisher =[[Taylor & Francis]] | series = | volume = | edition = | date = 2021| location = | pages = | language = | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZJFEAAAQBAJ&q=%22the+beatle+plot%22 | doi = | id = | isbn =9781000463989| quote=}}</ref>

The story was soon taken up by more mainstream radio stations in the New York area, [[WMCA (AM)|WMCA]] and [[WABC (AM)|WABC]].{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=127}} In the early hours of 21 October, WABC disc jockey [[Roby Yonge]] discussed the rumour on-air for over an hour before being pulled off the air for breaking format. At that time of night, WABC's signal covered a wide listening area and could be heard in 38 US states and, at times, in other countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicradio77.com/transm.html |title=Why Did WABC Have Such a Great Signal? |publisher=Musicradio 77 WABC |access-date=5 August 2007 |archive-date=19 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219005130/http://musicradio77.com/transm.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the Beatles' press office denied the rumour, McCartney's atypical withdrawal from public life contributed to its escalation.{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=262}} [[Vin Scelsa]], a student broadcaster in 1969, later said that the escalation was indicative of the [[1960s counterculture|countercultural]] influence of [[Bob Dylan]], the Beatles and [[the Rolling Stones]], since: "Every song from them – starting about late 1966 – became a personal message, worthy of endless scrutiny ... they were guidelines on how to live your life."<ref name="Noden/MojoSpecial" />

WMCA dispatched [[Alex Bennett (broadcaster)|Alex Bennett]] to the Beatles' [[Apple Corps]] headquarters in London on 23 October,{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=333}} to further his extended coverage of the "Paul is dead" theory.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=127}}{{sfn|McKinney|2003|p=291}} There, [[Ringo Starr]] told Bennett: "If people are gonna believe it, they're gonna believe it. I can only say it's not true."{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=333}} In a radio interview with John Small of WKNR, Lennon said that the rumour was "insane" but good publicity for ''Abbey Road''.{{sfn|Winn|2009|pp=332–33}}{{refn|group=nb|Estranged from McCartney, Lennon said: "Paul McCartney couldn't die without the world knowing it. The same as he couldn't get married ... [or] go on holiday without the world knowing it. It's just insanity – but it's a great plug for ''Abbey Road''."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=342}}}} On [[Halloween]] night 1969, [[WWKB|WKBW]] in [[Buffalo, New York]], broadcast a programme titled ''Paul McCartney Is Alive and Well – Maybe'', which analysed Beatles lyrics and other clues. The WKBW DJs concluded that the "Paul is dead" hoax was fabricated by Lennon.<ref name="Bisco/ReelRadio">{{cite web|first=John|last=Bisci|url=http://www.reelradio.com/gifts/pmwkbw69.html|title=WKBW: Paul McCartney Is Alive And Well – Maybe, 1969|publisher=[[Reel Top 40 Radio Repository|ReelRadio]]|access-date=15 May 2019|archive-date=7 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007170625/https://www.reelradio.com/gifts/pmwkbw69.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before the end of October 1969, several record releases had exploited the phenomenon of McCartney's alleged demise.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=127}} These included "The Ballad of Paul" by the Mystery Tour;{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=281}} "Brother Paul" by Billy Shears and the All Americans; "So Long Paul" by Werbley Finster, a pseudonym for [[José Feliciano]];{{sfn|McKinney|2003|p=292}} and Zacharias and His Tree People's "We're All Paul Bearers (Parts One and Two)".{{sfn|Clayson|2003|p=118}} Another song was [[Terry Knight]]'s "Saint Paul",{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=127}} which had been a minor hit in June that year and was subsequently adopted by radio stations as a tribute to "the late Paul McCartney".<ref name="Knight">{{cite magazine|url=http://blogcritics.org/music/article/terry-knight-speaks |title=Terry Knight Speaks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025171758/http://blogcritics.org/music/article/terry-knight-speaks/ |archive-date=25 October 2011 |magazine=[[Blogcritics]]|date=2 March 2004}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|A [[Capitol Records]] recording artist, Knight had been present during the White Album session when Starr temporarily left the band,<ref name="Knight" /> in August 1968.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=271}} In the song, the singer conveys his fears that the Beatles were about to disband.<ref name="Knight" />}} A cover version of "Saint Paul" by New Zealand singer [[Shane (New Zealand singer)|Shane]] reached the top of that nation's singles charts.<ref name="Shane">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/saint-paul-1969 |title=Saint Paul: Shane, 1969 |publisher=[[NZ On Screen]] |access-date=10 October 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013145608/https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/saint-paul-1969 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a report in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine in early November, [[Shelby Singleton|Shelby Singleton Productions]] planned to issue a documentary LP of radio segments discussing the phenomenon.<ref name="BB/DiskCoverage">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=McCartney 'Death' Gets 'Disk Coverage' Dearth|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=8 November 1969|page=3}}</ref> In Canada, [[Polydor Records]] exploited the rumour in their artwork for ''[[Very Together]]'', a repackaging of the Beatles' pre-fame recordings with [[Tony Sheridan]], using a cover that showed four candles, one of which had just been snuffed out.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=130}}