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 ÂŁ800 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 HĂśfner 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 HĂśfner, which inspired him to play more sensitively, something he considers fundamental to his playing style. He changed back to the HĂśfner 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.
Sally
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You`re more than the whole world to me.
Sally, Sally, don`t ever wander
Away from the alley and me.
(Spoken)
`Ladies and gentlemen, Reginald Dixon and the Blackpool Tower Orchestra.
Come on Reg! Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!
Marvellous, marvellous, I love it, I love it!`
Oh now when you`re away there are grey skies,
And when I`m away there are even more grey skies
Than the grey skies I talked about before.
Sally, Sally, don`t ever wander
Away from the alley and me. Oh.
(Spoken)
`Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you so much.
For coming here to Batley tonight.
So lovely!
Thank you so much!`
The song "Sally" by Paul McCartney is a beautiful love song about a girl named Sally who is the pride of their alley. The singer expresses his love for Sally, saying that she means more to him than the whole world. He begs her not to ever wander away from the alley and from him, hinting at the possibility of Sally leaving. When they are apart, everything seems dull and grey, particularly when the singer is away from Sally.
The spoken words in the song are McCartney giving a shout-out to the Blackpool Tower Orchestra and to Reginald Dixon, the organist. Overall, the song is straightforward, expressing the love and need for Sally to always be around.
One interesting fact about the song is that McCartney wrote it during his time with The Beatles but didn't record it until many years later. Another interesting tidbit is that the song was part of McCartney's "Russian Album" that was released only in the Soviet Union. Additionally, the "Reginald Dixon" mentioned in the spoken word part is a reference to a famous British organist who was known for his performances of popular melodies.
Line by Line Meaning
Sally, Sally, pride of our alley,
Sally, Sally, you are the most valued and cherished person in our neighborhood.
You`re more than the whole world to me.
You mean more to me than anything else in the world.
Sally, Sally, don`t ever wander
Sally, Sally, please never leave our neighborhood.
Away from the alley and me.
Stay with me and our community, never move away.
Oh now when you`re away there are grey skies,
When you're not around everything seems dull and lifeless.
And when I`m away there are even more grey skies
When I'm not with you, it's even harder to find joy in life.
Than the grey skies I talked about before.
Before, I thought the world was already colorless without you, but it's even worse now.
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
Grateful for everyone who came to listen to our music.
For coming here to Batley tonight.
Thank you for taking the time to attend our show in Batley.
So lovely!
It's been incredible to be here tonight.
Lyrics Š Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY LEON, LEO TOWERS, WILL E HAINES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Lyrics:
Somewhere to the south of New York City
Lies the friendly state of Tennessee
Down in Nashville town, I met a pretty
Who made a pretty big fool out of me
And they call her Sally
Sally G
Why dâyou wanna do the things you do to me?
Youâre my Sally
Sally G
Took the part that was the heart of me
Sally G
The night life took me down to Printers Alley
Where Sally sang a song behind a bar
I ran my eyes across her as she sang a tangled mime
I used to love to hear her sweet guitar
And they call her Sally
Sally G
Why dâyou wanna do the things you do to me?
Youâre my Sally
Sally G
Took the part that was the heart of me
Sally G
Me and Sally took up
Things began to look up
Me and her were going strong
Then she started lying
I could see our love was dying
I heard a voice say
âMove along, move alongâ
Well, now, Iâm on my own again, I wonder
If she ever really understood
I never thought to ask her what the letter âGâ stood for
But I know for sure it wasnât good
And they call her Sally
Sally G
Why dâyou wanna do the things you do to me?
Youâre my Sally
Sally G
Took the part that was the heart of me
Sally G
Take it chops
Sally G
Yeah, Sally G
Subtleblunt Duality
Definitely his most underrated song. Recorded in Nashville with some ace country musicians. Nice and laid back with a twang.
tony friend
and i remember when this little ditty came out. i was going in the 7th. grade. no computers yet..juke box 3 songs for .25 cents. and 3 games on the pinball machine for you guessed it .25 cents 5 balls per game.. The 1970s What A time 2b A Tween/Teen. Oct.3rd. 2022 8.00 am cst USA
Er indoors
Quite simply the greatest country song ever written, and there has been written a lot of excellent country songs.
dana arden
I really love this song. McCartney was such a master of musical genres that it is almost incomprehensible.
Mike Weidner
One of my favorite Paul McCartney lyrics ever âI never thought to ask her what the letter G stood for. But I know for sure it wasnât good.â
MsMS39120
OMG...I am a 53 yr old African American woman and I used to love this song when I was a kid. It used to play on AM Country radio every morning before I went to school. Of course no one in my circle remembers it. I have asked others for years if they remember it and who sang it and no one even knew what I was talking about! So glad I've kept searching. Thanks for sharing. Really great song! It brings back so many wonderful memories from my adolescent years!
Mark Porter
MsMS39120
that's cuz you got taste
EC Desperados
MsMS39120 It is a good song
Mark Porter
MsMS39120 let's get together
MASHMU
I heard this song maybe once, and years ago. Looked for it ever since and occasionally thought I must have made it up. Good to hear it again!