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.
Motor of Love
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No matter how hard life seems,
There's a light in my dreams
Thanks to you.
My friends keep asking me why
There's such a smile on my face,
There's a home at my place,
I don't want anything from you,
Turn on your motor of love.
Motor of love, motor of love.
Heavenly father look down from above,
I can't get over your powerful motor of love.
I can't get over your love
No matter how lost I feel,
I know my love is real,
Thanks to you.
You simply reached out your hand
And touched me deep in my soul,
I came in out of the cold,
Thanks to you.
I won't steal anything from you,
You give me more than enough.
Motor of love, motor of love.
Heavenly father look down from above,
I can't get over your powerful motor of love.
There was a time
When I was down and counted out,
Well I remember I felt so bad
I nearly threw away,
Nearly threw away the keys.
Motor of love, motor of love.
Heavenly father look down from above,
Motor of love, motor of love.
Heavenly father look down from above,
I can't get over your powerful
Motor of love.
The lyrics to "Motor of Love" by Paul McCartney and His Group express the singer's gratitude and admiration for their love interest. Despite the difficulties and challenges in life, the love between the singer and their partner provides a sense of comfort and hope. The singer's friends notice the change in the singer's demeanor and inquire about the source of their newfound happiness. The singer rejects any materialistic desires from the love interest, only desiring the "motor of love" they possess. The love interest is credited with being like a guiding force in the singer's life, pulling them out of despair and hopelessness.
The lyrics also depict a moment where the singer felt like giving up, but their love interest saved them from it. The use of the metaphor of a "motor of love" reinforces the idea that love is a force that propels one forward and gives them strength. The references to a "Heavenly father" suggest a religious or spiritual aspect to the love being described.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't get over your love
No matter what happens, I am constantly amazed by your love for me.
No matter how hard life seems,
Even during times of great difficulty or strife,
There's a light in my dreams
I can find hope and comfort because I dream of being with you.
Thanks to you
It is all thanks to your love and affection.
My friends keep asking me why
People have noticed how happy I am these days, and they wonder why.
There's such a smile on my face,
I can't help but grin from ear to ear thanks to you.
There's a home at my place,
I feel like I have a place of my own where I belong, all thanks to you.
I don't want anything from you,
I don't care about possessions or material objects;
Turn on your motor of love.
All I need is your love to keep me going.
Heavenly father look down from above,
I feel like I have the blessing of God in experiencing this incredible love.
I can't get over your powerful motor of love.
I am constantly astounded by the strength and intensity of your love.
No matter how lost I feel,
Even when I'm unsure or adrift,
I know my love is real,
I am certain of the love I feel for you, thanks to your unwavering affection.
You simply reached out your hand
You extended your love towards me without any hesitation or reservation,
And touched me deep in my soul,
And this affection has penetrated to the deepest parts of my being.
I came in out of the cold,
Thanks to your love, I have found a warm and welcoming place to be.
I won't steal anything from you,
I won't ever take anything from you, nor do I even want to;
You give me more than enough.
You provide me with everything I could ever need or want, all thanks to your love.
There was a time
Once I was in a place
When I was down and counted out,
When things looked their bleakest and most hopeless.
Well I remember I felt so bad
I recall feeling terrible,
I nearly threw away,
To the point where I almost gave up completely.
Nearly threw away the keys.
I was on the verge of abandoning everything that mattered to me
Motor of love, motor of love.
Your powerful love is the driving force behind everything good that happens in my life.
I can't get over your powerful
I am constantly amazed and humbled by the strength of your love,
Motor of love.
Which keeps me going and fills me with hope and joy day after day.
Heavenly father look down from above,
I am grateful for God's blessings in allowing me to experience this incredible love.
I can't get over your powerful
I remain forever in awe of the amazing love you offer me,
Motor of love.
Which has helped me overcome so many struggles and kept me going in the toughest of times.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind