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.
Eleanor Rigby/Eleanor's Dream
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding was been,
Lives in a dream.
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door,
Who is it for?
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
No one comes near.
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there.
What does he care?
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Eleanor Rigby died in church and was buried along with her name;
Nobody came.
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave;
No one was saved.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
(Ah, look at all the lonely people)
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
(Ah, look at all the lonely people)
The lyrics to Paul McCartney's song "Eleanor Rigby/Eleanor's Dream" paint a somber and lonely picture of two characters - Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie. In the first verse, we see Eleanor picking up rice in a church after a wedding, emphasizing her loneliness as she does this task alone. She is described as living in a dream, possibly hinting at her desire for a different life. The wearing of a "face" in a jar could be interpreted as her adopting a façade to the outside world, perhaps to mask her loneliness or to cope with her sadness.
Father McKenzie, on the other hand, is described as writing a sermon that no one will hear. This highlights his isolation and lack of connection with the community he serves. The image of him darning his socks alone in the night reinforces the theme of loneliness.
The chorus of the song asks where all the lonely people come from and where they belong. The repetition of this question throughout the song emphasizes the universality of loneliness and the struggle to find a sense of belonging.
In the second verse, we learn of Eleanor Rigby's death. The fact that nobody came to her funeral emphasizes the theme of loneliness and isolation, while Father McKenzie's presence at her gravesite is a sad reminder of the priest's own loneliness.
Overall, "Eleanor Rigby/Eleanor's Dream" is a poignant and moving commentary on the loneliness and isolation that many people face in modern society. The two characters depicted in the song serve as a reminder of the importance of human connection and the dangers of becoming too isolated.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah, look at all the lonely people
The singer observes and points out the many individuals who are lonely.
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Eleanor Rigby attends the aftermath of a wedding, ultimately not taking part in the celebration.
Lives in a dream
Eleanor seems to exist in a world of her own imagination, losing touch with reality.
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Eleanor sits at her window, pretending to be someone she is not, wearing a mask to hide her true self.
Who is it for?
Eleanor questions the purpose of her mask and facade, wondering who she is trying to impress.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
The singer repeats the question, pondering the origins of every individual's loneliness.
Father McKenzie, writing the words to a sermon that no one will hear
Father McKenzie composes a sermon while fully aware of the fact that nobody will attend or listen.
No one comes near
Father McKenzie experiences isolation and neglect, receiving no visitors or attention.
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
Father McKenzie's loneliness causes him to take up mundane activities to occupy his time, such as mending his own clothing.
What does he care?
Father McKenzie becomes apathetic to his own misery and begins to disregard his own well-being.
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name / Nobody came
Eleanor dies alone and unloved, with no one to attend her funeral or mourn her passing.
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave / No one was saved
Father McKenzie performs Eleanor's burial ceremony alone and exits with a heavy heart, feeling as though he failed to save either her or himself from loneliness.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from? (Ah, look at all the lonely people) / All the lonely people, where do they all belong? (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
The singer repeats the same question from earlier, emphasizing the fact that loneliness is ubiquitous and requires further attention.
Contributed by Cole I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.