Icons of music: Paul McCartney
It's to time explore another icon from the world of music
Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles.
He is regarded as one of the most successful composers and performers of all time, Paul McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring styles ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical and electronica. His song writing partnership with Lennon remains the most successful in history.
Born in Liverpool, McCartney taught himself piano, guitar and song writing as a teenager, having been influenced by his father, a jazz player, and rock and roll performers such as Little Richard and Buddy Holly. He began his career when he joined Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen, in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960.
The cute one?
Sometimes called "the cute Beatle", McCartney later involved himself with the London avant-garde and spearheaded the incorporation of experimental aesthetics into the Beatles' studio productions. Starting with the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he gradually became the band's de facto leader, providing the creative impetus for most of their music and film projects. Many of his Beatles songs, including "And I Love Her", "Yesterday", "Eleanor Rigby", and "Blackbird", rank among the most covered songs in history. While primarily a bassist with the Beatles, in various songs he played a number of other instruments, including keyboards, guitars, and drums.
Solo career
After the Beatles stopped recording and touring, he debuted as a solo artist with the 1970 album McCartney and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine. Led by McCartney, Wings was one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, and he wrote or co-wrote their US or UK number-one hits "My Love", "Band on the Run", "Listen to What the Man Said", "Silly Love Songs", and "Mull of Kintyre".
He later resumed his solo career in 1980 and has toured as a solo artist since 1989. Without Wings, his UK or US number-one hits have included "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (with Linda), "Coming Up", "Pipes of Peace", "Ebony and Ivory" (with Stevie Wonder), and "Say Say Say" (with Michael Jackson). Beyond music, he has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to subjects like animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education.
Glastonbury 2022
In the summer of 2022, the Guardian reported that "Paul McCartney’s history-making Glastonbury set was hailed as one of the greatest headline performances of this generation as a crowd of more than 100,000 people gathered at the festival’s famous Pyramid stage to watch him play."
Liam, one of our contributors for our football website European Super Football, said: "The whole set was amazing. There was a great party atmosphere from the first moment he arrived on stage. What a performance!"
One YouTuber commented on the video of the performance. He said: "This band is still bringing tears to my eyes after all this time. I love Paul so much!"
Another added: "It's cliche to say this, but honestly, this moved me to tears, and I'm not one to cry easily. Seeing Paul play with his best mate again. It probably takes him back all those years."
The video above from Glasto1719 - YouTube shows how the performance looked from the crowd. What an atmosphere!
Legacy
Paul McCartney's impact on music and popular culture will truly stand the test of time. What a incredible career it has been for him!