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.

Comfort of Love
Paul McCartney Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Paul McCartney)

There once was a time when I thought if I had a house, I'd be happy
There once was a time when I thought if I had a car, I'd be made

One by one I achieved my ambitions
But didn't feel like I wanted to feel
Didn't feel like I wanted it to feel

I didn't feel like I wanted to feel

I needed a comfort of love
Any place and anytime
I needed a comfort of love
Just to get me some piece of mind, wo-oh

I long for the time when the world is a better place, to be happy
I long for the day when the people who went to sleep, will awake

One by one I improved my conditions
But it doesn't feel like I wanted to feel
Doesn't feel like I wanted it to feel
Doesn't feel like I wanted to feel

I needed the comfort of love
Any place and anytime
I need the comfort of love
To just to get me some piece of mind, wo-oh

I needed a comfort of love
Any place and anytime
I needed a comfort of love
To just to get me some piece of mind

Well, I needed the comfort
I needed the comfort
I needed the comfort of love

I needed the comfort
I needed the comforte

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of “Comfort of Love” by Paul McCartney explore the idea of materialistic possessions not being the key to happiness. The singer has achieved his ambitions of having a house and a car, but it hasn’t brought him the contentment he expected. He longs for a better world and the awakening of people who are asleep to societal issues. McCartney’s message in this song is that true happiness comes from the comfort of love rather than material possessions or external societal conditions. The comfort of love is a feeling that provides peace of mind and can be found any place at any time.

The song’s message is reflective of McCartney’s personal life. Despite his immense success and wealth as part of the Beatles, he suffered personal tragedies such as the death of his mother and the break-up of the band. McCartney has spoken about the importance of love in his life and how it has helped him cope with difficult times. The song features a simple melody with a repetitive chorus that emphasizes the importance of the comfort of love. It’s a reminder that happiness is not found in material possessions but rather in the people and relationships we surround ourselves with.

Line by Line Meaning

There once was a time when I thought if I had a house, I'd be happy
I used to believe that owning a house could make me happy.

There once was a time when I thought if I had a car, I'd be made
Once I believed that owning a car could make me successful.

One by one I achieved my ambitions
I accomplished all my aspirations one by one.

But didn't feel like I wanted to feel
Despite my success, I didn't feel fulfilled.

Didn't feel like I wanted it to feel
I didn't feel the way I thought I would.

I didn't feel like I wanted to feel
I didn't feel content as I hoped to.

I needed a comfort of love
I longed for the peace found in love.

Any place and anytime
It didn't matter where or when.

Just to get me some piece of mind, wo-oh
To soothe my mind and find tranquility.

I long for the time when the world is a better place, to be happy
I yearn for a better world where I can feel happy.

I long for the day when the people who went to sleep, will awake
I hope for a day when people will awaken and see a better world.

One by one I improved my conditions
I gradually enhanced my living standards.

But it doesn't feel like I wanted to feel
But I still didn't feel content despite my progress.

Doesn't feel like I wanted it to feel
My accomplishments didn't give me the satisfaction I hoped for.

Doesn't feel like I wanted to feel
I didn't feel happy despite my greater comfort.

I needed the comfort of love
I still yearn for the comfort that love can provide.

To just to get me some piece of mind, wo-oh
To find peace and calmness in my life.

Well, I needed the comfort
I needed that sense of ease.

I needed the comfort
I wanted to feel comforted.

I needed the comfort of love
I longed for the soothing relief that love brings.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Paul James McCartney

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

King Dave

3y↑3

There once was a time when I thought if I had a house, I'd be happy
There once was a time when I thought if I had a car, I'd be made
One by one I achieved my ambitions
But didn't feel like I wanted to feel
Didn't feel like I wanted it to feel
I didn't feel like I wanted to feel
I needed a comfort of love
Any place and anytime
I needed a comfort of love
Just to get me some piece of mind, wo-oh
I long for the time when the world is a better place, to be happy
I long for the day when the people who went to sleep, will awake
One by one I improved my conditions
But it doesn't feel like I wanted to feel
Doesn't feel like I wanted it to feel
Doesn't feel like I wanted to feel
I needed the comfort of love
Any place and anytime
I need the comfort of love
To just to get me some piece of mind, wo-oh
I needed a comfort of love
Any place and anytime
I needed a comfort of love
To just to get me some piece of mind
Well, I needed the comfort
I needed the comfort
I needed the comfort of love
I needed the comfort
I needed the comfort of love

All comments from YouTube:

Michael Fleming

5y↑31

I bet there will be a box set of 100 unreleased songs of Paul McCartney in the future.

Tony DiMeo

3y↑1

It’s a huge mistake he didn’t release all his B sides on a compilation

Just Another Random Crit

Kyle Hall Acappella Man It really does sound unreal but I think that’s about the right number.

Kyle Hall Acappella Man

5y↑2

Joy Stinson Are you sure of this 300 number you gave? What is your source for this information. I only ask because there are so many numbers thrown around about McCartney's prolific songwriting. 300 UNRELEASED recordings just seems unreal, to me.