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.
Lindiana
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It all depends on what you got.
And what's the cost? how much you wanna pay?
It all depends on what it costs.
If i can be of help in matters such as these
Don't hesitate to call i'd only be too pleased to take
A look
Pleased to take a look.
Don't let go of your dream
With your head held high you would touch the sky
In your long forgotten scheme
Hold on lindiana
Don't let go of you dream
It's important to us
How much you got? how much you wanna take?
It all depends on what you got?
And what's the cost?
How much you wanna pay?
That all depends on what it costs.
If i can be of help in matters such as these
Don't hesitate to call i'd only be too pleased to take
A look
Pleased to take a look.
Hold on lindiana
Don't let go of your dream
With your head held high you would touch the sky
In your long forgotten scheme
Hold on lindiana
Don't let go of you dream
It's important to us
If i can be of help in matters such as these
Don't hesitate to call i'd only be too pleased to take
A look
Pleased to take a look
Hold on lindiana
Don't let go of your dream
With your head held high you would touch the sky
In your long forgotten scheme
Hold on lindiana
Don't lose sight of your dream
It's important (to us) to us
[ Oh oh it's important
Oh oh oh
Don't lose sight of your dream
Don't let go
It's important linda
Oh don't lose sight of your dream
Don't let go, don't let go
Lindian lindiana
Don't let go, don't let go, don't let go
Don't, hold on
Don't let go, let go
Lindiana]
The first verse of "Lindiana" by Paul McCartney is about the concept of value. It asks how much you have and how much you want to take, and states that the answer depends on what you have. Similarly, it asks about the cost and how much you are willing to pay, but again, the answer depends on the cost. These lines indicate that the singer is willing to help in these matters, which can be interpreted in multiple ways. It could be referring to tangible things like buying or selling objects or could be referring to emotions like happiness or love. Either way, the message is that how valuable something is depends on the perspective and the circumstances.
The chorus is addressed to "Lindiana," which could be a reference to McCartney's wife Linda, as he often includes her name in his songs. The message of the chorus is to not let go of your dreams because they are important. The lyrics encourage Linda, and anyone else listening to the song, to hold on to their forgotten schemes because they can still touch the sky if they keep their heads held high. The singer is offering help in whatever way they can to ensure that Linda holds on to her dreams and doesn't lose sight of them.
Overall, "Lindiana" is a song about the value of things and the importance of not giving up on your dreams. The song encourages listeners to hold onto their dreams and not let go, while also considering the value of what they have and the cost of what they want.
Line by Line Meaning
How much you got? how much you wanna take?
What resources do you have and how much do you want to acquire?
It all depends on what you got.
The answer to the previous question depends on what you currently possess.
And what's the cost? how much you wanna pay?
What is the price of what you want and how much are you willing to pay?
That all depends on what it costs.
The answer to the previous question depends on the price of what you desire.
If i can be of help in matters such as these
If I can offer assistance with regards to these issues
Don't hesitate to call i'd only be too pleased to take
Please do not hesitate to contact me, I would be happy to help.
A look
An examination of the situation at hand.
Hold on lindiana
Keep going, Linda
Don't let go of your dream
Do not give up on your aspirations
With your head held high you would touch the sky
If you remain confident and determined, you can achieve great heights
In your long forgotten scheme
In your plan that you may have disregarded or lost sight of
It's important to us
Your dream is significant to us
Don't lose sight of your dream
Do not let your goal fade away
Writer(s): PAUL MCCARTNEY
Contributed by Landon A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@garytribert9984
McCartney is my absolute inspiration, master melody maker, songsmith. The ultimate singer/songwriter/musician!
@powercut4336
I hope this gets an official release one day, this song is one of my favorite Paul songs.
@stevemclean7013
Love this beautiful song!!! Thanks for sharing it!!! It's just terrific ... with a perfect arrangement and performance!!!
@mdelaubergine8930
If the rest of this album is as good as this track, I really hope it gets released someday. Without being harsh, it seems sometimes he is not always the best judge of his own material. You wonder how many of these little gems he has stored away.
@gregorallnight371
Like all of his work,this song is so very well written,arranged,
played and the vocals excellent as always...a great song...
an exceptional artist,great musician,songwriter,singer...thanks for posting
@BrandonKuptzMusic
Great song...and leaves me scratching my head...why does Macca have so many unreleased gems that are far superior to a lot the material he has actually released?
@BlueEyes-gp8lg
Paul has often been a questionable judge of his own material. You're correct that many b-sides and unreleased tracks from his earliest solo and Wings days to the present day were better than many of the released tracks. For example - almost every unreleased track from the Off The Ground sessions is better than what's actually on the album.
@squirrelguy2195
I've been asking the same question about both Paul and The Beach Boys for years.
@LSommer
Because Apple. He's a visionary.
@michaelrapson
Has to do with marketing and future deluxe releases and bootlegs, I would say. Purely a business move.