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Paul McCartney can lay claim to being the greatest ever songwriter to come out of the UK. Born in Liverpool on June 18th, 1942, McCartney, along with John Lennon, wrote songs which will surely last as long as popular music itself. Whilst Lennon and McCartney songs had both names in the credits, it was often obvious which songs were mainly John's, and which were mainly Paul's. 'Yesterday' was, when Beatlegate was at its most bitter, mentioned by John Lennon in his withering 'How Do You Sleep?' attack on Macca, as the only good song McCartney ever wrote. Paul responded later with: "I was sleeping very well at the time." Most songwriters would have died happy having written 'Yesterday' - it was voted the Song of the Century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts, musicians, and listeners. Both McCartney and Lennon lost their mothers when they were teenagers, and that no doubt created a common bond, and gave them an unusual depth for young men, which would surface in songs such as Paul's 'Eleanor Rigby', and John's 'In My Life'. While John had a certain, understandable bitterness because of the loss of his mother, Paul mostly seemed to be chirpy, but this didn't always come out in his songs. McCartney was the master of the wistful ballad, and, along with 'Yesterday', these included 'Here, There And Everywhere', 'She's Leaving Home', 'The Fool On The Hill', 'Let It Be', and 'The Long And Winding Road'. He wrote arguably the greatest singalong song - 'Hey Jude', showed his avant-garde inclination with 'Revolution 9', and penned one of the first, if not the first, genuinely heavy rock songs in 'Helter Skelter'. On 'Revolver' he showed his soul influence on 'Got To Get You Into My Life', and with 'When I'm Sixty-Four' and 'Honey Pie', his ability to write in an old-fashioned Music Hall style. 'Blackbird' showed Paul McCartney's love of nature, and 'Penny Lane' his fine storytelling. His songs were often bright and sparkling, too - 'Good Day Sunshine', 'Lovely Rita', or just rocked - 'Back In The U.S.S.R.', 'Birthday', and 'Get Back'. He wrote, and co-wrote, so many others - 'All My Loving', 'Your Mother Should Know', 'She Loves You', 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', 'And I Love Her'. In fact it's not easy finding a duff Lennon and McCartney song (for more on Paul's songs post Beatles see Angelo Gravity's article below). With all the acrimony of The Beatles dissolution, it's to the credit of the four Beatles that the best solo work of all of them came within the first few years of the split. Three albums - George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass', John Lennon's 'Imagine', Paul's 'Band On The Run' with Wings, and Ringo Starr's US number one singles, all proved that the four could make it on their own. Paul McCartney's solo work, and work with Wings, is said by critics to not match up to his work with The Beatles, but that's not exactly surprising. Lennon and McCartney were two geniuses who spurred each other on to great heights, and though Lennon's early solo work was superior, he may have later lost the drive to make music without McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr around. Paul McCartney has written more good pop songs than anyone, and though he should show his teeth more often, as Pete Townshend once affectionately hinted, he can't help being a likeable guy, and his work for animal welfare, with his two wives Linda and Heather, should be commended and not sneered at. - Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com. Paul McCartney - an appreciation by Andy Savage (now known as Angelo Gravity) (Originally published in Peace & Freedom in the 1988 Autumn/Winter issue) Not many people could have predicted the astonishing success of Paul McCartney after the break-up of The Beatles (a group to whom McCartney's musical contribution is often greatly underestimated) in 1970. John Lennon sang of Paul in 1971 - "a pretty face may last a year or two, but pretty soon we'll see what you can do." Well we have seen what he can do and what he continues to do. A major star of the 70's, with his new band Wings, he enjoyed 14 top ten smashes in the UK, including everlasting brilliancies such as 'Band on the Run', 'Silly Love Songs', 'Let 'em in', 'With a Little Luck', and, of course, the monumental 'Mull of Kintyre' which he co-wrote with Denny Laine. In the 80's McCartney has not only maintained but enhanced his status as a pop music legend. The hit singles and albums have continued and Paul's impact on the 80's pop scene has been as profound as any of the newcomers. Nine more top tenners have breezed into the charts, including unforgettable numbers like 'Coming up', 'Waterfalls', 'Ebony and Ivory', 'Pipes of Peace', 'No More Lonely Nights', and the fairytale experience of the decade - 'We All Stand Together'. Slight hiccups have, of course, occurred, such as the naff partnership with Michael Jackson on 'Say, Say, Say' (although 'The Girl is Mine' is the highpoint of Jackson's vastly over-rated 'Thriller' LP - oh I know McCartney didn't actually write 'The Girl is Mine' but he's a much better singer than he's given credit for). I guess we must also mention 'Give My Regards to Broad Street' - so our Paul's no scriptwriter, but his songs were worth the money alone, the 'Eleanor Rigby' fantasia being one of my favourite parts. The main criticism most people have of Paul seems to be the fact that he is exceedingly wealthy. What business is that of anyone except Mr. McCartney? Does he donate his dosh to charity? That's his business as well. McCartney earned his money mountain and he can spend it exactly as he likes. It's a free country. This song writing genius is The pop star. Bigger than Elvis. Bigger than Lennon. The ultimate. He has delighted, and will continue to delight, millions of people worldwide, hopefully for many more years yet to come.
Angelo Gravity sites can easily be found if you Google him, but his MySpace page is a good place to start: Angelo Gravity on MySpace. Also check out the booksmusicfilmstv.com Angelo Gravity music video playlist. More
Paul McCartney Stuff available from
booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon Paul McCartney, Cavendish Avenue, NW8 - 1967 (Hardback)
Lennon
and McCartney, Together Alone (Paperback) The
Paul McCartney Encyclopedia (Paperback)
Concert
For George DVD [2003]
MACCA
RELATED DVDs FROM AMAZON.CO.UK MACCA RELATED VIDEOS FROM AMAZON.CO.UK Paul McCartney - Live At The
Cavern Club [1999]
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Paul McCartney - Official Site Our other Macca Pages booksmusicfilmstv.com
1960s Music Index Paul
McCartney CDs available from
booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon
Paul McCartney - Ecce cor meum Paul McCartney Solo/Wings Discography (including UK & US Chart Positions) Albums Wings Compilation Albums Singles Solo |
The McCartneys - Seal Protectors Hats off to Heather Mills
McCartney and husband Paul McCartney for travelling to
Canada to campaign against the barbaric clubbing of baby
seals. The seal hunt is a
blight on Canada's name. I remember being appalled as a
little boy of eight in the late 1960s, when seeing a
famous Kent Gavin photo in the British press, of a seal
clubber raising his club as a baby seal looked up at
him.. Give Seals a Chance: An Interview with Paul McCartney |
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