Sir James Paul McCartney CH MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, s… Read Full Bio ↴Sir James Paul McCartney CH MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record and film producer who gained worldwide fame as co-lead vocalist and bassist for the Beatles. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history. After the group disbanded in 1970, he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine.

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.

Bogey Music
Paul McCartney Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Everybody bogey
Dig that bogey beat
Man that bogey rhythm
Smells so clean and sweet
Everybody bogey
Bogey on to the street
Without bogey music
Life is incomplete

Without bogey music
Life is incomplete
Everybody bogey
Dig that bogey beat

If you little bogeys
Want to sing along
Clean your bogey act up
And learn the bogey song
Without bogey music
Life is incomplete
Without bogey music
Life is incomplete
Bogey music, bogey music
Bogey music, bogey music

Alright, here we are now
Tonight in bogey land

Bogey music, bogey music
Well, when the younger bogeys
Here that bogey sound
Every little bogey
Got to bogey down
Bogey man bogey
Bogey man bogey
Bogey man bogey on down
Bogey music, bogey music, bogey music
Bogey music, bogey music, bogey music
Bogey music, bogey man bogey on down
Bogey music

All you little bogeys
I want you to sing along
Clean your bogey act up
And learn the bogey song
Without bogey music
Life is incomplete
You know, it is suckers

Bogey music, bogey music
Bogey music, bogey music

Overall Meaning

The song "Bogey Music" by Paul McCartney, released in 1975, is a fun and upbeat track that highlights the importance of dance and music in one's life. It starts with the repetition of the phrase "everybody bogey," emphasizing the need for everyone to dance and enjoy the beat of the music. The phrase "smells so clean and sweet" indicates the freshness of the bogey music, and the fact that it is something unique and worth enjoying. The lyrics are a call to action for the listeners to join in and sing along. McCartney sings that without bogey music, life is incomplete, indicating that he considers the bogey music to be an essential part of everyone's life.

The song signifies the power of music to bring people together and make them happy, regardless of their background or social status. McCartney's encouragement to "clean your bogey act up and learn the bogey song" implies the importance of good behavior and personal improvement while indulging in the pleasures of music and dance. The lyrics also refer to the "bogey land" where everyone can be free to express themselves through music and dance, and the "bogey man" who inspires people to keep dancing and enjoying the beat.

Line by Line Meaning

Everybody bogey
Everyone should dance to the bogey beat

Dig that bogey beat
Enjoy the rhythm of the bogey music

Man that bogey rhythm
Pay attention to the beat of the bogey music

Smells so clean and sweet
The bogey music has a refreshing and pleasing scent to it

Bogey on to the street
Take the bogey music to the streets and dance

Without bogey music
Life is missing the joy and energy that comes with the bogey beat

Life is incomplete
Life is lacking something important without the bogey music

If you little bogeys
Addressing the young fans of bogey music

Want to sing along
Encouraging them to join in and sing the bogey song

Clean your bogey act up
Get ready to dance and behave accordingly

And learn the bogey song
Memorize the lyrics and melody of the bogey music