Did the Beatles really Invent Prog? Or not?

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 Svetonio wrote:

 Friday13th wrote:

Well Strawberry Fields IS strange in a good way even to modern ears now. "Strawberry fields...nothing is real." The notes hit on those words are chromatic and dissonant, and not to mention the outro. That doesn't mean no one had done that sort of thing before or that you could say "HERE! THE BIRTH OF PROG!" Psychedelic/Baroque pop had many comparable examples since '66. Good Vibrations was released earlier and is equally radical for its time, so to arbitrarily put a stake on Strawberry Fields doesn't work for me.
Strawberry Fields Forever is 'haunting' (strange-in-a-good-way, but not for everybody at that time) nothing less than e.g. Entangled by Genesis in 70s since we know how big difference in the equipment, technology of recording etc. actually is between 60s and middle of 70s, even in the case when The Beatles use that Indian harp (i.e. swarmandal, Hindustani Classical music instrument) to underline that haunting atmosphere.

Regarding Psychedelic and Baroque pop the tags, both tags are not quite suitable for Strawberry Fields Forever. Tomorow Never Knows is the great psych, and we could even describe that one as 'progressive psychedelia' aswell, but it's a 'psychedelic experience', not that haunting, pastoral and moony atmosphere of Strawbery Fields Forever. 
The Beatles' songs like Yesterday and (or) Eleanor Rigby, simply due to that usage of the strings, were called Baroque pop. By the other bands, as an example of Baroque pop, I'd like to mention Walk Away Renee (1966) by NYC band The Left Banke. So everybody can hear that Baroque pop have nothing to do with Strawberry Fields Forever, i.e. SFF is not something derived from Baroque pop.
In lack of the term 'Symphonic rock' that will be coined some years later, Strawberry Fields Forever used to be and still to be wrongly tagged as a "Psych" and "Baroque pop", although both tags never ever work well for Strawberry Fields Forever  because Strawberry Fields Forever  already was something else, a new subgenre; The Beatles were move ahead.  

And that's it. Just born English Symphonic rock.

I love The Left Banke! "Pretty Ballerina" is one of my all time favorite songs. I don't say SFF is baroque pop as a derogatory term. If there were a "Baroque Pop Archives" I would be an equally proud and opinionated member  I also understand why you say SFF took that kind of music to the next level since I agree. I just don't agree that that is where you draw the line for where psychedelic rock/baroque pop ends and symphonic prog begins. To me it's still the former though admittedly at one of its most sophisticated peaks. "A Day in a Life" I think is more clearly distinct from a psychedelic rock/baroque pop tag. 

It's really just a difference in boundaries. My boundaries for what constitutes as prog are smaller than yours, whereas my boundaries for what counts as psychedelic rock/baroque pop are wider. All are awesome genres and it doesn't diminish their value. Fair enough? 

I've also never heard an actual prog artist specifically single out "Strawberry Fields Forever" as the most influential on prog. Robert Fripp on the other hand HAS specifically mentioned "A Day in the Life" as the big moment. Sgt. Pepper's is usually mentioned by most prog artists, and I can only assume it's due to that epic final track. 