A self-taught musician, McCartney is proficient on bass, guitar, keyboards, and drums. He is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing (mainly playing with a plectrum), his versatile and wide tenor vocal range (spanning over four octaves), and his eclecticism (exploring styles ranging from pre-rock and roll pop to classical and electronica). McCartney began his career as a member of the Quarrymen in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Starting with the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he gradually became the Beatles' de facto leader, providing the creative impetus for most of their music and film projects. His Beatles songs "And I Love Her" (1964), "Yesterday" (1965), "Eleanor Rigby" (1966) and "Blackbird" (1968) rank among the most covered songs in history.
In 1970, McCartney debuted as a solo artist with the album McCartney. Throughout the 1970s, he led Wings, one of the most successful bands of the decade, with more than a dozen international top 10 singles and albums. McCartney resumed his solo career in 1980. Since 1989, he has toured consistently as a solo artist. In 1993, he formed the music duo the Fireman with Youth of Killing Joke. Beyond music, he has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to such subjects as animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education.
McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time. He has written or co-written 32 songs that have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009, had sales of 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. His honours include two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1999), 18 Grammy Awards, an appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and a knighthood in 1997 for services to music. As of 2020, he is also one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated fortune of £800 million.
Best known for primarily using a plectrum or pick, McCartney occasionally plays fingerstyle. He was strongly influenced by Motown artists, in particular James Jamerson, whom McCartney called a hero for his melodic style. He was also influenced by Brian Wilson, as he commented: "because he went to very unusual places". Another favourite bassist of his is Stanley Clarke. McCartney's skill as a bass player has been acknowledged by bassists including Sting, Dr. Dre bassist Mike Elizondo, and Colin Moulding of XTC.
During McCartney's early years with the Beatles, he primarily used a Höfner 500/1 bass, although from 1965, he favoured his Rickenbacker 4001S for recording. While typically using Vox amplifiers, by 1967, he had also begun using a Fender Bassman for amplification. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he used a Wal 5-String, which he said made him play more thick-sounding basslines, in contrast to the much lighter Höfner, which inspired him to play more sensitively, something he considers fundamental to his playing style. He changed back to the Höfner around 1990 for that reason. He uses Mesa Boogie bass amplifiers while performing live.
McCartney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and again as a solo artist in 1999. In 1979, the Guinness Book of World Records recognised McCartney as the "most honored composer and performer in music", with 60 gold discs (43 with the Beatles, 17 with Wings) and, as a member of the Beatles, sales of over 100 million singles and 100 million albums, and as the "most successful song writer", he wrote jointly or solo 43 songs which sold one million or more records between 1962 and 1978. In 2009, Guinness World Records again recognised McCartney as the "most successful songwriter" having written or co-written 188 charted records in the United Kingdom, of which 91 reached the top 10 and 33 made it to number one.
McCartney has written, or co-written, 32 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: twenty with the Beatles; seven solo or with Wings; one as a co-writer of "A World Without Love", a number-one single for Peter and Gordon; one as a co-writer on Elton John's cover of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"; one as a co-writer on Stars on 45's "Medley"; one as a co-writer with Michael Jackson on "Say Say Say"; and one as writer on "Ebony and Ivory" performed with Stevie Wonder. As of 2009, he has 15.5 million RIAA certified units in the United States as a solo artist plus another 10 million with Wings.
Credited with more number ones in the UK than any other artist, McCartney has participated in twenty-four chart topping singles: seventeen with the Beatles, one solo, and one each with Wings, Stevie Wonder, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and "The Christians et al." He is the only artist to reach the UK number one as a soloist ("Pipes of Peace"), duo ("Ebony and Ivory" with Wonder), trio ("Mull of Kintyre", Wings), quartet ("She Loves You", the Beatles), quintet ("Get Back", the Beatles with Billy Preston) and as part of a musical ensemble for charity (Ferry Aid).
"Yesterday" is one of the most covered songs in history with more than 2,200 recorded versions, and according to the BBC, "the track is the only one by a UK writer to have been aired more than seven million times on American TV and radio and is third in the all-time list ... [and] is the most played song by a British writer [last] century in the US". His 1968 Beatles composition "Hey Jude" achieved the highest sales in the UK that year and topped the US charts for nine weeks, which is longer than any other Beatles single. It was also the longest single released by the band and, at seven minutes eleven seconds, was at that time the longest number one. "Hey Jude" is the best-selling Beatles single, achieving sales of over five million copies soon after its release.
In July 2005, McCartney's performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 became the fastest-released single in history. Available within forty-five minutes of its recording, hours later it had achieved number one on the UK Official Download Chart.
In December 2020, the release of his album McCartney III and its subsequent charting at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 earned McCartney the feat of being the first artist to have a new album in the top two chart positions in each of the last six decades.
A Day In The Life/Give Peace A Chance
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
They'd seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.
I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book.
I'd love to turn you on
Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall
The song “A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance” by Paul McCartney is a masterpiece with two different sections that address two different topics. The first section is “A Day in the Life”, which talks about a number of random events that take place throughout a day. The opening line “I read the news today oh boy” expresses the first person point of view of a narrator who is reading the news and comes across a story about a man who passed away in an accident. The singer laughs about it, a reaction that is not uncommon when someone is processing something unexpected and unsettling.
The second half of the song, “Give Peace a Chance”, was written as a protest against the Vietnam War, where McCartney and John Lennon got to lead a march of 10,000 people through London on June 25, 1967. The song was included in their album “One” which deals with unconventional topics against the popular music landscape. The song became an anthem of hope for those against the war and showed McCartney and Lennon’s stance on the issue. The line “I’d love to turn you on” marks the start of the transition to “Give Peace a Chance” and serves as a call to action to get people more involved in causes that matter.
Line by Line Meaning
I read the news today oh boy
I came across a news article that caught my attention
About a lucky man who made the grade
The news was about a fortunate man who has achieved success
And though the news was rather sad
Despite the news having a negative tone,
Well I just had to laugh
it still managed to make me laugh
I saw the photograph.
The story was accompanied by an image
He blew his mind out in a car
This man suffered a fatal accident while driving
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
He failed to notice that the traffic light had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
People in the area stopped what they were doing to look on
They'd seen his face before
Some people were familiar with him
Nobody was really sure
However, there was not a consensus on
If he was from the House of Lords.
Whether he was someone with a high social status or not.
I saw a film today oh boy
I recently viewed a movie
The English Army had just won the war
The film depicted the victory of the English army in a war
A crowd of people turned away
Many people were disinterested and unimpressed by the news
But I just had to look
However, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more
Having read the book.
The source material for the movie was a book that I had previously read
I'd love to turn you on
I would enjoy expanding your perspective and challenging your current beliefs
Woke up, fell out of bed,
I woke up, and promptly fell from my bed, as if I were still half-asleep.
Dragged a comb across my head
I ran a comb through my hair without caring about how it looked, just to get it somewhat in order.
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
I went downstairs to have a cup of a drink to help me wake up.
And looking up I noticed I was late.
When I looked at the time, I realized I was running behind schedule.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
I found my coat and quickly put it on before grabbing my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
I hurried to catch the bus and made it, although barely
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Once I arrived upstairs, I took a smoke break to calm myself.
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
While smoking, someone spoke to me, causing me to zone out and daydream.
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
An article reported that there were four thousand potholes in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire.
And though the holes were rather small
The holes supposedly weren't of significant size
They had to count them all
Authorities felt the need to individually tally up all the potholes, probably as part of an effort to fix them.
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall
The number of potholes discovered in Blackburn was so large, it was said that there were enough to fill the famous music venue of Albert Hall.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind