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.
Confidante
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My underneath's darkest friend
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
Unlike my other so-called friends
In your reflected glory eye
Could dream of shining far off lands
Would serpents turn to bits of string
And play like kittens in my hand
In our imaginary world
Would butterflies wear army boots
And stomp around the forests
Chanting long lost anthems
Long lost anthems
You used to be my confidante
My underneath's darkest friend
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
Unlike my other so-called friends
You stood beside me as I fought
You stood beside me as I fought
You used to be my confidante
, my closest and most trusted friend who knew everything about me, even my darkest secrets. However, over time, I grew distant and fell out of love with this friend, ending our relationship. Despite this, the memories of their loyalty and support remained with me.
Through the lyrics, McCartney paints a picture of a childhood spent in an imaginative world where his confidante was his constant companion. In this world, all sorts of fantastical scenarios were possible, such as serpents turning into bits of string and even butterflies wearing army boots. The confidante was a source of comfort as McCartney navigated his way through life's challenges.
Overall, the song conveys a feeling of nostalgia for a time when things seemed simpler and more carefree. McCartney acknowledges that his confidante played a significant role in his life, but in the end, his focus shifted away from this friendship.
Line by Line Meaning
You used to be my confidante
In the past, you were the only one who I could trust and share my secrets with.
My underneath's darkest friend
You were the friend that I kept hidden in the shadows, the one who knew all my deepest, darkest secrets.
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
However, our relationship had come to an end because my affection for you had faded away.
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
I spent all my time with you, divulging every detail of my innermost thoughts and feelings.
Unlike my other so-called friends
You stood beside me as I fought
Unlike my other, fake friends who abandoned me, you stood by my side even as I struggled and fought through life's challenges.
In your reflected glory eye
Could dream of shining far off lands
Looking into your eyes, I imagined a world filled with magnificent possibilities and grand adventures.
Would serpents turn to bits of string
And play like kittens in my hand
I envisioned a reality where even the most dangerous creatures would become harmless, playful toys under my command.
In our imaginary world
Would butterflies wear army boots
And stomp around the forests
Chanting long lost anthems
Long lost anthems
In our shared imagination, we constructed a world where even the most delicate of creatures marched through the forests as warriors, shouting ancient songs of long-forgotten battles.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Paul James McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@entersMarusia
You used to be my confidante
My underneath-the-staircase friend
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
Unlike my other so-called friends
You stood beside me as I fought
In your reflected glory I
Could dream of shining far-off lands
Where serpents turned to bits of string
And played like kittens in my hand
In our imaginary world
Where butterflies wear army boots
And stomp around the forest
Chanting long lost anthems
Long lost anthems
You used to be my confidante
My underneath-the-staircase friend
But I fell out of love with you
And brought our romance to an end
I played with you throughout the day
And told you every secret thought
Unlike my other so-called friends
You stood beside me as I fought
You stood beside me as I fought
You used to be my confidante
@pratiti51
what a beautiful piece. Even without the music it's a never-ending poem. This album really is a gem
@jamessmithe5490
I've written a lot of songs(all unpublished) but honestly, Paul writes great lyrics. He's so good at everything else people seem to overlook it.
@ThinWhiteAxe
weird flex but ok
@keykrazy
@@ThinWhiteAxe I'm not the OP but it seems to me he wrote that first bit to establish credibility for the latter half -- not to boost his own ego. (I remember being taught the importance of doing so now and then in Speech class some decades ago. And i see i've inadvertently done just that same thing, lol.)
@davidbowman4259
One of his best albums. The guy is an unalloyed musical genius.
@januszcieplinski4218
Time passes and changes us, and Sir Paul Mc Cartney is still the same, dynamic, fresh, providing us with great music entertainment. Such music is always listened to with great pleasure.
@anaamelia9371
I love you so much, Sir Paul! Thank you for existing! Thank you for your music! Brazil loves you ❤️
@eppomanta
Du pur McCartney. Une pierre précieuse supplémentaire dans son incroyable catalogue...
@alejandrosanchez7943
Nací, crecí y moriré escuchando a Paul.... Hay otro mejor? Tal vez..... No para mi.
@jacquelinelissenberg4738
Beautiful song. This album is fantastic.