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.
I Lost My Little Girl
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My head was in a whirl
Only then I realized
I lost my little girl
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Well, her clothes were not expensive
Her hair didn't always curl
But I love my little girl
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Well, gather 'round people
Let me tell you the story
The very first song I wrote
Well, gather 'round people
Let me tell you the story
The very first song I wrote
I woke up late this morning
My head was in a whirl
Only then I realized
I lost my little girl
Oh, oh, oh, oh, I said
The lyrics of Paul McCartney's song "I Lost My Little Girl" describes the feeling of loneliness and despair after realizing that someone special to the singer is no longer around. The song starts with the singer waking up late and feeling disoriented, but then realizing that his lover is gone. The lyrics convey a sense of confusion and loss, as the singer tries to understand why he loves her, despite her modest clothing and hairstyle. The last lines of the song repeat the opening lines, emphasizing the feeling of emptiness that comes from the loss of a loved one.
The song is interesting for several reasons. First, it was one of the earliest songs McCartney wrote, likely when he was still a teenager. Second, it was one of the few Beatles songs that McCartney composed entirely on his own. Third, the song was not released on any official Beatles album or single, but rather on a bootleg compilation of early Beatles recordings called "In the Beginning." Fourth, the song features McCartney's distinctive falsetto vocal style, which was a hallmark of many Beatles songs. Fifth, the lyrics are unusually melancholy for a McCartney song, which often tended to be more upbeat and optimistic.
Sixth, the song reflects McCartney's early influences, particularly the music of Chuck Berry and the Everly Brothers. Seventh, the song was played live by the Beatles during their early performances in Hamburg, Germany, but was never recorded in studio. Eighth, the song has been covered by several artists over the years, including Elliott Smith and John Pizzarelli. Ninth, some fans have speculated that the song may have been written about McCartney's mother, who died when he was 14 years old. Tenth, the chords for the song are relatively simple and follow a standard 12-bar blues structure (G7, C7, and D7).
Chords:
Verse: G7 C7 G7 D7 G7 C7 D7 G7
Chorus: D7 G7 D7 G7 D7 G7 D7 G7 D7 G7 D7 G7 G7
Note: some versions may have slight variations
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I woke up late this morning
The singer had a late morning awakening
My head was in a whirl
The singer's thoughts were jumbled and confused
Only then I realized
The realization only occurred after waking up
I lost my little girl
The singer has lost someone who is dear to him, likely a lover or partner
Oh, oh, oh, oh
A vocalization of sadness or remorse
Well, her clothes were not expensive
The lost girl was not wealthy
Her hair didn't always curl
The girl had hair that was not always neat or styled
I don't know why I love her
The singer is unsure of the source of his affection for the girl
But I love my little girl
Despite not understanding why, the singer deeply loves the girl he has lost
Well, gather 'round people
The singer is addressing a group of people, perhaps to tell a story
Let me tell you the story
The singer wants to share a narrative with his audience
The very first song I wrote
The upcoming story is about the singer's first composed song
Oh, oh, oh, oh, I said
The same vocalization of sadness or remorse that was heard earlier
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind