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.
Twenty Flight Rock
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When it comes to rockin', she's a queen
Went to a dance on a Saturday night
All alone where I could hold her tight
She lives on the twentieth floor uptown
The elevator's broken down
So I walk one, two flight, three flight four
Up on the twelfth I'm starting to sag
Fifteen before I'm ready to drag
Get to the top and I'm too tired to rock
Well, she, she called me up on the telephone
Said, "come on over, baby, I'm all alone"
I said, "baby, you're mighty sweet
But I'm in bed with a aching feet"
This went on for a couple of days
But I couldn't stay away
So I walk one, two flight, three flight four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
Up on the twelfth I'm starting to sag
Fifteen before I'm ready to drag
Get to the top and I'm too tired to rock
Well, sent to Chicago for repairs
Till it's fixed I'm usin' the stairs
I hope they hurry, before it's too late
You know, I love my baby too much to wait
All this climbing is getting me down
They'll find my corpse draped over the rail
But I walk one, two flight, three flight four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
Up on the twelfth I'm starting to sag
Fifteen before I'm ready to drag
I get to the top and I'm too tired to rock
Ooh, oh-oh-oh
Ooh, well, I got a girl with a record machine
When it comes to rockin', you know she's a queen
Went to a dance on a Saturday night
All alone where I could hold her tight
She lives on the twentieth floor uptown
The elevator's broken down
Well, I walk one, two flight, three flight four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
Up on the twelfth I'm starting to sag
Fifteen before I'm ready to drag
I get to the top and I'm too tired to rock
The lyrics to Paul McCartney’s song “Twenty Flight Rock” tell the story of a young man’s uphill journey to visit his girlfriend on the 20th floor of her apartment building. He first introduces his girlfriend, admiring her record machine and her rockin’ skills. He then describes the situation that led him to climb the stairs to see her. The elevator is broken, so he climbs the twenty flights, a feat that exhausts him. When his girlfriend calls and invites him over, he is conflicted, as his feet are aching from the climb. However, he simply can’t resist her, so he must climb back up the stairs to see her. Finally, he laments his fate as he faces the prospect of continuing to climb the flights of stairs until the elevator is fixed.
The song demonstrates a few important themes. First, it exemplifies the youth culture’s interest in rock and roll and its rebellious, raucous spirit. This youthful angst is made clear in the song’s fast, upbeat tempo and its lyrics about a young guy trying to reach his girlfriend. Second, the song highlights the characters’ relationships and the lengths to which they are willing to go for love. Despite being totally knackered after climbing up so many flights of stairs, the singer can’t help but return to his girlfriend’s apartment when she calls for him. Lastly, it conveys the idea of perseverance and determination in the face of obstacles. Despite the strain on his body, the singer perseveres to reach the twentieth floor, demonstrating his determination not to be thwarted by the broken elevator.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, well, I got a girl with a record machine
I have a girlfriend who owns a record player
When it comes to rockin', she's a queen
She is really good at dancing to rock music
Went to a dance on a Saturday night
I went to a dance on a Saturday night
All alone where I could hold her tight
I was alone with my girlfriend and was able to hold her closely
She lives on the twentieth floor uptown
My girlfriend lives on the 20th floor of an uptown building
The elevator's broken down
Unfortunately, the elevator is not working
So I walk one, two flight, three flight four
I start walking up the stairs, one floor at a time
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
I continue walking up and up, counting each flight of stairs as I go
Up on the twelfth I'm starting to sag
By the time I get to the twelfth floor, I'm getting tired and feeling weak
Fifteen before I'm ready to drag
By the time I get to the 15th floor, I'm really struggling to keep going
Get to the top and I'm too tired to rock
Finally, I make it to the top, but I'm too exhausted to dance
Well, she, she called me up on the telephone
My girlfriend called me on the phone
Said, "come on over, baby, I'm all alone"
She invited me to come over, saying that she was home alone
I said, "baby, you're mighty sweet
I told her that she was really kind
But I'm in bed with a aching feet"
I explained that my feet were in pain and I was already in bed
This went on for a couple of days
We continued to talk on the phone for a few days
But I couldn't stay away
However, I couldn't resist her invitations and wanted to see her
Well, sent to Chicago for repairs
The record machine got sent to Chicago for repairs
Till it's fixed I'm usin' the stairs
Until the machine is fixed, I have to keep using the stairs
I hope they hurry, before it's too late
I'm hoping that the repairs are done quickly before I can't handle the stairs anymore
You know, I love my baby too much to wait
I can't wait to see my girlfriend again because I love her too much
All this climbing is getting me down
All this walking up the stairs is really depressing me
They'll find my corpse draped over the rail
I'm so exhausted that I feel like I might die on the stairs
Ooh, oh-oh-oh
A musical interlude
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Eddie Cochran, Ned Fairchild
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pilu Frog
Ooh, well I got a girl with a record machine
When it comes to rockin' she's the queen
We love to dance on a Saturday night
All alone where I can hold her tight
But she lives on the twentieth floor uptown
The elevator's broken down
So I'll walk one, two flight, three flight, four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight, more
Up on the twelfth I'm startin' to drag
Fifteenth floor I'm a-ready to sag
Get to the top, I'm too tired to rock
When she calls me up on the telephone
Say, come on over honey, I'm all alone
I said, baby you're mighty sweet
But I'm in bed with the achin' feet
This went on for a couple of days
But I couldn't stay away
So I'll walk one, two flight, three flight, four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight, more
Up on the twelfth I'm startin' to drag
Fifteenth floor I'm a-ready to sag
Get to the top, I'm too tired to rock
Well, they sent to Chicago for repairs
Till it's a-fixed I'm a-usin' the stairs
Hope they hurry up before it's too late
Want my baby too much to wait
All this climbin' is a-gettin' me down
They'll find my corpse draped over a rail
But I'll climb one, two flight, three flight, four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight, more
Up on the twelfth I'm startin' to drag
Fifteenth floor I'm a-ready to sag
Get to the top, I'm too tired to rock
Traduci in italiano
Dean Chambers
The great Sir Paul McCartney covering the supremely underrated Mr Eddie Cochran! Got to love it!!!!!
Brvckbo
you know you're a genius when you can play a right handed guitar upside down and left handed
Emma
Brvckbo At 15
sunsetsamara
I can play it like that
Jamie Wells
Brvckbo I’ve been a genius since 11
Luke Lyons
Garlic Fantasy No. Cotton picking is a style where a bass rhythm is kept by hitting the bass strings with the fingers and where the treble melody is played with the thumb. Flipping the guitar upside down doesn't just make it cotton picking.
Arnie Wince
First of all, it's easy if that's the way you start playing right from the beginning. Secondly, Paul didn't play upside down.. He wast just a left-handed guitarist. The strings were correct. Hendrix on the other hand could do what you say.
marc moribella
This is so cool. Nice homage to Eddie, one of Rock-n-roll's greatest.
Sinister_Jester
"There's a solo here, but I won't attempt it" That comment practically described me trying to play this song on the guitar. 😂
SiouxieDeetz
Rock N RollLover2002 "🎶and these is the bit where I don't know the words and I won't attempt to learn them before the end of the tour🎶" —Paul McCartney