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.
Take It Away
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Want to hear you play
Till the lights go down
Take it away
Don't you want to stay
Till there's no one else around?
Take it away
Till the lights go down
Take it away
Don't you want to stay
Till there's no one else around?
Lonely driver
Out on the road
With a hundred miles to go
Sole survivor
Carrying the load
Switches on his radio
Take it away
Want to hear you play
Till the lights go down (down down)
Take it away
Don't you want to stay
Till there's no one else around?
Take it away
Want to hear you play
Till the lights go down (down down)
Take it away
Don't you want to stay
Till there's no one else around?
In the audience
Watching the show
With a paper in his hand
(In his hand, in his hand)
Some important impresario
Has a message for the band
Oh
Take it away
Want to hear you play
Till the lights go down (down down)
Take it away
Don't you want to stay
Till there's no one else around?
You never know who may be
Listening to you
Never know who may be
Listening to you
You never know who may be
Listening to you
Take it away, take it away
After hours
Late in the bar
By a darkened corner seat
Faded flowers wait in the jar
Till the evening is complete
Ah
Ah
Ah
Ah
The song "Take It Away" by Paul McCartney is an ode to the power and energy of music and the importance of the live experience. The chorus repeats the phrase "take it away," which can mean either "start playing" or "take it from here," indicating the desire to continue the music and the momentum it creates. McCartney urges the musician to keep playing until the lights go down and there's no one else around, expressing his love for live music and the feeling it inspires.
The song also speaks to the universal appeal of music and the way it can connect people from all walks of life. The lonely driver out on the road listening to the radio, the impresario in the audience with a message for the band, and the late-night patrons in the bar all share a love for music and the way it can speak to their souls. McCartney emphasizes that you never know who may be listening, indicating that the music has the power to touch anyone, no matter who they are or where they come from.
Overall, "Take It Away" is a celebration of the joy and power of live music and the connection it creates between people of all kinds.
Line by Line Meaning
Take it away
Begin playing music
Want to hear you play
I'm excited to listen to your music
Till the lights go down
Keep playing until the concert ends
Don't you want to stay
Do you want to continue playing music?
Till there's no one else around?
Until everyone has left the venue
Lonely driver
A driver alone on the road
Out on the road
Driving down the highway
With a hundred miles to go
Still a long way to travel
Sole survivor
The only person left after others have left or died
Carrying the load
Bearing the responsibility alone
Switches on his radio
Turns on the radio to listen to music
In the audience
Sitting and watching the show
Watching the show
Observing the live music being performed
With a paper in his hand
Holding a piece of paper or document
(In his hand, in his hand)
Repeated for emphasis
Some important impresario
An influential person who organizes performances
Has a message for the band
A message that needs to be delivered to the musicians
Oh
Exclamation of excitement or anticipation
You never know who may be
It's impossible to know who is listening
Listening to you
Hearing and enjoying the music being played
Take it away, take it away
Continue playing music
After hours
Late at night, when the venue is closed
Late in the bar
At the bar after hours
By a darkened corner seat
Next to an unlit seat in a dimly lit part of the bar
Faded flowers wait in the jar
Flowers that are no longer fresh, still in a vase
Till the evening is complete
Until the night is over
Ah
Exclamation of pleasure or satisfaction
Ah
Exclamation of pleasure or satisfaction
Ah
Exclamation of pleasure or satisfaction
Ah
Exclamation of pleasure or satisfaction
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jpskeel
I was one of the lucky Wings Fun Club members to get an invitation to attend the video shoot. It was fantastic! We were treated to a private concert as well as being the audience for the video. Greatest day for a 17 year old
@Martella-jv5bw
My God so was I and I was 17 as well. I remember trying to look cool in front of two girls and leaning against the tent wall of the supposed live set then falling straight through it onto the floor much to the amusement of the girls. I got Linda’s and Eric Stewart’s autograph. I sat on the second row behind Ringos wife Barbera Bach. Paul got swamped and had to be escorted out but his staff brought me his autograph. A day I have never forgotten.
@davidm7840
Awesome stories!
@mauriceortiz8817
I was in front of my TV when the video got played on MTV ☹️
@mailinglist2451
Lucky ducky!! 💕💕
@rickypainter1097
Awesome
@Danny-ju2ip
If i were stuck on a deserted island with only one artist's full catalog of music it would be Paul McCartney.
@davecoalwood9487
Wouldn't argue with that Mucker. 👍
@Danny-ju2ip
I love how Paul focuses on Ringo to start the video. This was a big deal when it came out in early 80s seeing a partial Beatles reunion on MTV
@ronk9830
I went back and looked, and you're right. That was great that he got Ringo involved.