Paul McCartney · Daily Hub

About

Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician and songwriter. He gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he was the bassist and keyboardist, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile tenor vocal range and musical eclecticism, exploring genres ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical, ballads and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon remains the most successful in music history.

Born in Liverpool, McCartney taught himself piano, guitar, and songwriting as a teenager, having been influenced by his father, a jazz player, and rock and roll performers such as Little Richard and Buddy Holly. He began his career when he joined Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen, in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the cute Beatle", McCartney later immersed himself in the London avant-garde scene and played a key role in incorporating experimental aesthetics into the Beatles' studio productions. Starting with their eighth studio album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), he gradually became the band's de facto leader, providing creative impetus for most of their music and film projects. Many of his Beatles songs, including "And I Love Her", "Yesterday", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Blackbird", rank among the most covered songs in history. Although primarily a bassist with the Beatles, he has played a number of other instruments, including keyboards, guitars and drums, on various songs with all of his associated bands and projects.
After the Beatles disbanded, he debuted as a solo artist with the 1970 album McCartney and went on to form the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine. Under McCartney's leadership, Wings became one of the most successful bands of the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote their US or UK number-one hits, such as "My Love", "Band on the Run", "Listen to What the Man Said", "Silly Love Songs" and "Mull of Kintyre". He resumed his solo career in 1980 and has been touring as a solo artist since 1989. Apart from Wings, his UK or US number-one hits include "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (with Linda), "Coming Up", "Pipes of Peace", "Ebony and Ivory" (with Stevie Wonder), and "Say Say Say" (with Michael Jackson). McCartney has been involved in projects to promote international charities related to animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education.
McCartney is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of 100 million records. He is one of only three recording artists, along with Phil Collins and Jackson, who have sold over 100 million records both as solo artists and separately as principal members of a band. He has written or co-written a record 32 songs that have topped the Billboard Hot 100 and, as of 2009, he had sales of 25.5 million RIAA certified units in the US. McCartney's 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), an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, 19 Grammy Awards, an appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965 and an appointment as Knight Bachelor in 1997 for services to music. As of 2024, he is one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated fortune of £1 billion.

From Paul McCartney on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Member of

The Quarrymen 1957–1960 guitar
The Silver Beatles 1960–1960 lead vocals, guitar
The Beatles 1960–1970 bass guitar, lead vocals
The Beat Brothers 1961–1962
Wings 1971–1981 eponymous
Twin Freaks now
The Fireman now
Sound City Players now
Rockestra now
The Justice Collective now
R.A.D.D. (Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving) now
George’s Band now

Discography

Albums 42

EPs 6

Singles 86

Showing 60 of 86. See them all on MusicBrainz

Live 62

Showing 60 of 62. See them all on MusicBrainz

Compilations 82

Showing 60 of 82. See them all on MusicBrainz

Other 30

Links

Listen

Official

paulmccartney.com

Social

Concerts

Buy

Reference

Collaboration

Involved with

Jane Asher 1963–1968

Is person

Married

Parent

Sibling

Mike McGear now

Supporting musician

Tribute

Also known as

A. Smith · Apollo C. Vermouth · Bernard Webb · James Paul McCartney · McCARTNEY, Paul · P.Makartnijs · Paul Mac Cartney · Paul MacCartney · Paul Mc Cartney · Paul Ramon · Pecan Army Cult · Pete Mitchell · Racy Tune Clamp · Sir James Paul McCartney · Superweed · Tuna Cycle Pram · Пол Маккартни · ポール・マッカートニー

Identifiers

MusicBrainz: ba550d0e-adac-4864-b88b-407cab5e76af
ISNI: 0000000121452530
IPI: 00018873266
IPI: 00080667953