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.
Biker Like An Icon
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There was a girl who loved a biker
She used to follow him across america
But the biker didn't like her
She didn't care, she still persisted
Though her brother said she was twisted
And the family said they wouldn't miss her anyway
She loved the biker like an icon
Gazing at his picture every day
She loved the biker like an icon
Slowly watching precious water drip away
She did her best to fix a meeting
She pulled it off one night in Hollywood
When he met her he couldn't let her get away
He didn't ask for her permission
He took advantage of her position
But he was always her ambition anyway
She loved the biker like an icon
Gazing at his picture every day
She loved the biker like an icon
Slowly watching precious water drip away
She loved that biker like an icon
Slowly watching precious water drip away, oh yeah
The family tried so hard to find her
They showed her picture 'cross America
But no trace of her sweet face was ever found
She loved the biker like an icon
Gazing at his picture every day
She loved the biker like an icon
Slowly watching precious water drip away, oh yeah
She loved the biker like an icon
Slowly watching precious water drip away, yeah, yeah
Yeah, she loved the biker like an icon
Slowly watching precious water drip away, oh yeah
She loved the biker like an icon
"Biker Like An Icon" tells the story of a girl who is infatuated with a biker, following him around the country, even though he doesn't like her. She sees the biker as an icon, something to idolize and obsess over. Despite her family's concern, she persists in her pursuit of him. Eventually, she manages to meet him in Hollywood, but he takes advantage of her and disappears. Her family searches for her, but she is never found. The song is a cautionary tale about the dangers of blind idolization and the consequences of ignoring the advice of loved ones.
The lyrics are open to interpretation, but some believe that the biker symbolizes the dangerous and alluring lifestyle that many people are drawn to. The girl's obsession with him represents the seductive power of that lifestyle and the consequences that can come from chasing it. It can also be seen as a criticism of the obsessive and consumerist society we live in, where people are encouraged to worship icons instead of building meaningful relationships and connections.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a girl who loved a biker
The story starts with a girl who loved a biker and used to follow him everywhere
She used to follow him across America
She followed the biker across America to keep up with him
But the biker didn't like her
The biker did not have any feelings for her
She didn't care, she still persisted
Even though the biker did not like her, she persisted in her love for him
Though her brother said she was twisted
Her brother said that she was crazy for following the biker
And the family said they wouldn't miss her anyway
The family did not care whether she stayed or left
She loved the biker like an icon
She loved the biker so much that she saw him as an iconic figure
Gazing at his picture every day
She would stare at his picture every day
Slowly watching precious water drip away
She watched her chances of being with the biker slip away
She did her best to fix a meeting
She tried her best to arrange a meeting with the biker
She pulled it off one night in Hollywood
She successfully arranged a meeting with the biker in Hollywood
When he met her he couldn't let her get away
When he finally met her, he was unable to let her go
He didn't ask for her permission
He did not ask for her consent before getting intimate
He took advantage of her position
He used her interest in him to take advantage of her
But he was always her ambition anyway
Despite his actions, she always idolized him and wanted to be with him
The family tried so hard to find her
Her family went to great lengths to locate her
They showed her picture 'cross America
They put up her picture all over America to find her
But no trace of her sweet face was ever found
They were not able to find her even with the picture up everywhere
Yeah, she loved the biker like an icon
The song ends with the repetition of her intense love for the biker
Slowly watching precious water drip away, oh yeah
She was slowly losing hope and chances of making a life with the biker
She loved the biker like an icon
She loved the biker so much that she saw him as an iconic figure
Slowly watching precious water drip away, yeah, yeah
Her dream of being with the biker was slowly becoming impossible
Yeah, she loved the biker like an icon
The repeated line shows the intensity of the girl's love for the biker
Slowly watching precious water drip away, oh yeah
She was losing hope and chances of being with the biker forever
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Paul James McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind