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.
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gather 'round me, while I preach some
Feel a sermon coming on here
The topic will be sin
And that's what I'm agin'
If you wanna hear my story
Then settle back and just sit tight
While I start reviewing
You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
E-lim-i-nate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with mister in between
You got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
And have faith, or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene
To illustrate my last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark,
What did they do, just when everything looked so dark?
Man, they said, we better
Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
E-lim-i-nate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with mister in between
In Paul McCartney's "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive," he takes on the role of a preacher, delivering a sermon on the topic of sin and the importance of doing right. He urges his listeners to focus on the positive, eliminate the negative, and latch onto the affirmative. He argues that spreading joy and having faith will help avoid pandemonium and chaos.
The lyrics of the song urge listeners to adopt a positive attitude and to focus on the good rather than dwelling on the bad. McCartney uses the biblical stories of Jonah in the whale and Noah in the ark to illustrate his point. Even in the darkest of times, these biblical figures remained positive and believed in a brighter future, which ultimately helped them survive and overcome their challenges.
The song, written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, was first published in 1944 and has been covered by numerous artists since then. It has become a popular jazz standard, with versions by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Aretha Franklin. Its message of positivity and optimism has resonated with audiences for decades, especially during trying times such as the Great Depression and World War II.
Line by Line Meaning
Gather 'round me, everybody
Paul McCartney is addressing the crowd and urging them to come close to him so that he can pass an important message.
Feel a sermon coming on here
He senses that he is about to preach an important message like a spiritual leader.
If you wanna hear my story
He is offering the audience an option to listen to his message.
The topic will be sin
He discloses that his message will be an indictment of evil deeds.
And that's what I'm agin'
He's against sins since they lead to negativity and evilness.
Then settle back and just sit tight
He tells the audience to prepare for a remarkable message and relax as they hear it.
While I start reviewing
He informs the audience that he'll take them through the right attitude while pointing out things that are positive.
You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
He urges listeners to focus primarily on the positive aspects of life, instead of the negative.
E-lim-i-nate the negative
He encourages people to remove all the negativity in their lives, which often leads to discouragement and depression.
And latch on to the affirmative
He advises people to hold onto the positives to keep them motivated.
Don't mess with mister in between
He warns against people going down the middle ground since the middle ground can be so easy to fall into yet it doesn't lead to any progress.
You got to spread joy up to the maximum
He encourages people to share their joy and happiness to the fullest with others to make life better for everyone.
Bring gloom down to the minimum
He reminds people that they should try to avoid situations that bring negativity in their lives and bring joy and happiness to the front.
And have faith, or pandemonium
He acknowledges that faith is important to keep positive thinking and avoid pandemonium that's brought about by despair and negativity.
Liable to walk upon the scene
He warns that failing to do so will lead to unforeseen circumstances or negative results in life.
To illustrate my last remark
He uses some examples to make his final point more clear to the audience.
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark,
He cites two examples of stories in the Bible that illustrate the need to accentuate positive thinking.
What did they do, just when everything looked so dark?
The characters didn't lose their faith, they chose a positive outlook, and the resulting consequences were favorable.
Man, they said, we better
He further clarifies that the characters chose to take a positive approach and did the amazing.
Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
He repeats the message of maintaining positivity as the key to success.
E-lim-i-nate the negative
He re-emphasizes the importance of cutting off negativity in our lives.
And latch on to the affirmative
He reiterates the need for us to hold onto positivity for a better life.
Don't mess with mister in between
He concludes his message of positivity by warning against wavering in the middle ground, between positivity and negativity.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind