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.
Follow Me
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never talked too much
I tried to be so strong
I did my best
I used the gentle touch
I've done it for so long
You put me down
And act like nothing's wrong
But why pretend
I think I've heard enough
Of your familiar song
I tell you what I'm going to do
I'll try to take my mind off you
And now that you don't need my help
I'll use the time to think about myself
You're not aware
Of what you put me through
But now the feeling's gone
But I don't mind
Do what you have to do
You don't fool anyone
I'll tell you what I'm going to do
I'll take a different point of view
And now that you don't need my help
I'll use the time to think about myself
The definition of friendship
Apparently ought to be
Showing support for the one that you love
And I was open to friendship
But you didn't seem to have any to spare
While you were riding to Vanity Fair
There was a time
When every day was young
The sun would always shine
We sang along
When all the songs were sung
Believing every line
That's the trouble with friendship
For someone to feel it
It has to be real or it wouldn't be right
And I keep hoping for friendship
But I wouldn't dare to presume it was there
While you were riding to Vanity Fair
In this song, "Follow Me," Paul McCartney is recounting a friendship gone bad. He begins by admitting that he tried to be strong and maintain the friendship, despite the other person putting him down. McCartney describes how he has always taken a gentle approach with this person, only to be met with their constant negativity. However, he soon realizes that he has had enough and he needs to take some time to focus on himself.
This realization comes with a sense of relief for McCartney. He no longer feels the need to try so hard to maintain the friendship, as the other person clearly does not value it. McCartney speaks to the idea of the "definition of friendship," insinuating that the other person was not a good friend to him. He compares himself to his friend, who was "riding to Vanity Fair," most likely meaning that they were too preoccupied with shallow, materialistic things to maintain a true friendship.
By the end of the song, McCartney resigns himself to the fact that the friendship is over. He has come to terms with the fact that it was not real or valuable. In this sense, "Follow Me" is a song about growing up and realizing that not all relationships are worth maintaining.
Line by Line Meaning
I bit my tongue
I held back my true feelings and thoughts
I never talked too much
I didn't speak up often
I tried to be so strong
I attempted to appear unbreakable
I did my best
I gave it my all
I used the gentle touch
I was kind and considerate in my actions
I've done it for so long
I've been this way for a while
You put me down
You insulted me
But I can laugh it off
But it doesn't bother me
And act like nothing's wrong
And pretend everything's okay
But why pretend
But what's the point of pretending
I think I've heard enough
I think I've had my fill
Of your familiar song
Of your repetitive behavior
I tell you what I'm going to do
Here's what I plan to do
I'll try to take my mind off you
I'll attempt to stop thinking about you
And now that you don't need my help
And since you no longer require my assistance
I'll use the time to think about myself
I'll use this time to reflect on my own life
You're not aware
You are unaware
Of what you put me through
Of the hardship you caused me
But now the feeling's gone
But I no longer feel the same
But I don't mind
But it doesn't bother me
Do what you have to do
Do whatever is necessary
You don't fool anyone
You aren't fooling anyone
I'll take a different point of view
I'll approach it from a different perspective
The definition of friendship
The meaning of friendship
Apparently ought to be
Apparently should be
Showing support for the one that you love
Being there for the person you care about
And I was open to friendship
And I was willing to be a friend
But you didn't seem to have any to spare
But you didn't seem to have any to give
While you were riding to Vanity Fair
While you were chasing after an illusion of success and fame
There was a time
There used to be a moment
When every day was young
When every day held so much potential
The sun would always shine
It always felt like the sun was shining
We sang along
We sang together
When all the songs were sung
When we've heard every tune
Believing every line
Trusting in every word
That's the trouble with friendship
That's the problem with being friends
For someone to feel it
For someone to truly understand it
It has to be real or it wouldn't be right
It has to be sincere, or it would be incorrect
And I keep hoping for friendship
And I still hope for a true friendship
But I wouldn't dare to presume it was there
But I wouldn't assume it exists
While you were riding to Vanity Fair
While you were chasing after an illusion of success and fame
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind