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.
Can't Buy Me Love-Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't buy me love
I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend
If it makes you feel all right
I'll get you anything my friend
If it makes you feel all right
'Cause I don't care too much for moneyFor money can't buy me love
I'll give you all I've got to give
If you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give
But what I've got I'll give to you
For I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me love
Can't buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love
No, no ,no, no
Say you don't need no diamond ring
And I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want those kind of things
That money just can't buy
For I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me love
Can't buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love
No, no ,no, no
Say you don't need no diamond ring
And I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want those kind of things
That money just can't buy
For I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me love
Ooh, can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love, no
In "Can't Buy Me Love," Paul McCartney declares that money cannot buy love or happiness. He acknowledges that he has the means to buy his love interest a diamond ring or anything she desires, but emphasizes that he doesn't care too much for money because he knows it can't buy authentic love. McCartney is willing to give everything he has as long as his love interest reciprocates his feelings: "I'll give you all I've got to give, if you say you love me too. I may not have a lot to give, but what I've got I'll give to you."
Through this song, McCartney is reminding listeners that love and happiness cannot be found through material possessions. He is suggesting that true love should not be based on the value of gifts or money, but rather on genuine feelings and actions. The repeated phrase of "Can't buy me love" emphasizes the message of the song that materialistic items are not the key to love and happiness.
In conclusion, "Can't Buy Me Love" is a timeless classic that emphasizes the importance of love over material possessions. McCartney's lyrics and message still resonate with people today and serve as a reminder that true love can't be bought with money.
Line by Line Meaning
Can't buy me love, love
Love cannot be bought with money, no matter how much you have
Can't buy me love
Money cannot buy true love, no matter how much you try
I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend
If it makes you feel all right
If buying you an expensive diamond ring makes you happy, I will do it for you, my friend
I'll get you anything my friend
If it makes you feel all right
I am willing to do anything to make you feel happy and satisfied, my friend
'Cause I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me love
I do not value money too much because I know that it cannot buy me true love
I'll give you all I've got to give
If you say you love me too
If you reciprocate my feelings and love me too, I am willing to give you everything I have
I may not have a lot to give
But what I've got I'll give to you
Even if I do not have a lot of material possessions, I am still willing to give you all that I have
Can't buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Everyone has told me that love cannot be bought with money
Say you don't need no diamond ring
And I'll be satisfied
If you tell me that you do not need an expensive diamond ring to be happy, I will be satisfied
Tell me that you want those kind of things
That money just can't buy
Let me know that you appreciate things that cannot be bought with money, and I will value that more than any material possession
Ooh, can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love, no
No amount of money can ever buy true, genuine love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@wakeup5700
As an Englishman.... he is our greatest ever export... the man is a living legend! x
@stellarVoid123
thank you britain for spitting such an amazing songwriter and performer
@philipwelsh1862
Stones please wake up
@Rogers_Ego
@@philipwelsh1862Stones you are having a laugh 😂😂😂
@philipwelsh1862
@@Rogers_Ego I suppose the Beatles are ok if you like pop and kids stuff
@Rogers_Ego
@@philipwelsh1862 Not a big Beatles fan probably choose the stones if only those two! However I put Floyd above both but we are all different but all 3 acts are in the top 5 for doing their bit for music for me whether I like them or not 🍀✌️👍
@johnnypolo1983
If it was anybody else, I’d say I can’t believe he sounds so good at 82. But I’m not surprised at all that Paul still sounds great.
@richardgithens1960
82? Are you kidding me?! Still rocking it after 65+ years. That's got to be some kind of record for longevity. And to draw that kind of crowd!!! Wow!!! Calling him a "legend" doesn't do this man justice. He's on another level. What a gift he is and are all of the Beatles to all of us. God bless him.
@mattbrem3788
Paul is singing great this tour !
@tedmindman4246
Doesn't say a lot for your hearing