The Northern Star and The Beatles— an unlikely combination, but the two share a unique bond.

The “Paul is Dead” rumor, concerning the apparent death of bassist Paul McCartney in a car accident in November 1966, was rooted in fanatical conclusions drawn from various album covers. The story received international attention in fall 1969.

The Star has been widely regarded as the publication that broke the story 35 years ago. Recent mentions, such as those in the December issue of Mojo Magazine as well as the book “The Pages of Rock History” by Sean Brickell and Rich Rothschild, claim the rumor originated in DeKalb.

However, neither the rumor nor the NIU origin is true.

McCartney is alive and well, having just spearheaded “Let It Be … Naked” last November.

The Star article in question, “Clues hint at possible Beatle death,” was published on Sept. 23, 1969, by Barb Ulvilden.

However, an article written by Tim Harper ran six days earlier in the Drake University Times-Delphic.

“I was the first one to put it all together. I knew when I wrote the story that it wasn’t true,” Harper told the Chicago Sun-Times that same year.

A current professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Harper’s article is the earliest recorded mention of the theory.

Ulvilden’s piece in the Star hints at a prior source, beginning with “On the campus of a midwestern university, there has been much conjecturing on the present state of Beatle Paul McCartney.”

Harper appears undaunted by the occasional oversight.

“I hate to see any journalists get their facts wrong due to a lack of research,” Harper said regarding the blurb in Mojo. “But that’s something I wrote long ago. People don’t really bring it up anymore.”

Harper, who first heard about the rumors from several musician friends at house parties in August 1969, received much of the initial attention. In addition to doing countless radio interviews supporting his article, Chicago’s WLS-TV chartered a plane, so the college sophomore could be a guest on a morning talk show.

Harper was unaware of the Star article for several years after its publication. He went on to write nine books and manufactured a career as one of the world’s leading freelance journalists. Ulvilden could not be reached for comment.