PAUL MCCARTNEYBy Brooke Wakefield

oBorn in Liverpool, England on June 18, 1942

oPaul’s father, Jim McCartney, played trumpet & piano in a music group: “Jim Mac’s Jazz Band”.

oHis mother, Mary McCartney, was a nurse/midwife. She died of complications from breast cancer when Paul was 14 years old.

oHe had one younger brother, Michael McCartney.

MCCARTNEY MET GEORGE HARRISON AT SCHOOL WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD, AND JOHN LENNON AT ST. PETER’S CHURCH HALL WHEN HE WAS 15.

THE ORIGINAL BEATLES, 1960.

In 1962, Stuart Sutcliffe left the band which forced McCartney to become The Beatles’ bass player. After this change, they sang backup for Tony Sheridan where they recorded their

first single, “My Bonnie”. The exposure from this single helped

them land their first recording contract in May of 1962. The

following year, Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best on drums, and their popularity in the UK began to

skyrocket.

THE BEATLES, 1963, WITH THE ADDITION OF RINGO STARR.

IN 1963, PAUL MET JANE ASHER, A BRITISH ACTRESS. THEY BEGAN A RELATIONSHIP AND HE MOVED IN WITH JANE AT HER PARENT’S HOUSE IN LONDON, WHERE HE LIVED FOR THREE YEARS.

YESTERDAY

During this time he took piano lessons and made tapes with mixes of various songs. He also wrote several songs including “Yesterday”, “And I Love Her”, “You Won’t See Me”, and “I’m Looking Through You”.

ABOUT THE SONG: In his biography, Paul McCartney:

Many Years from Now, he recalls: “So first of all I checked this melody out, and people said to me, ‘No, it’s lovely, and I’m sure it’s all yours.’ It took me a little while to allow myself to claim it, but then like a prospector I finally staked my claim; stuck a little sign on it and said, ‘Okay, it’s mine!’ It had no words. I used to call it ‘Scrambled Eggs.’” (Miles, 1998)

“YESTERDAY”LISTENING GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS

0:00-0:06 Introduction, played on an acoustic guitar.

0:24 Verse 2; There is an addition of string instruments at this point, consisting of 2 violins, a viola and a cello.

0:41-1:00 Chorus; We now know from the words that he has just had his heart broken and he thinks it’s because of something that he said. He wishes things could go back to the way they use to be.

continued 1:01-1:17 Verse 3; The music still consists

of a guitar and a string quartette. 1:18-1:37 Chorus; Again, the arch contour

repeating for dramatic affect. 1:38-1:55 Repeat of verse 3; The words tell

us that he enjoyed being in love and now he is miserable and just wants everything to go back to how they were.

1:56-2:05 There are no words, just humming as the tempo slows down to the end of the song.

AND I LOVE HERo The second most covered Beatles song.oRecorded February 25th-27th in 1964.oTook 21 takes in the recording studio.oFeatures just one vocalist, Paul McCartney.oFirst Beatles recording using purely acoustic instruments.oRingo Starr plays bongo drums and George Harrison plays the acoustic guitar solo.

“AND I LOVE HER”LISTENING GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS

0:00-0:21 Introduction begins with a pick up beat played by the guitar.

0:22 Verse 1 starts in a minor chord. The instruments being used are an acoustic guitar, bongo drums, and an electric bass.

0:40 At this point the chord seems to change into a major key. The lyrics to this song are a typical love serenade. If you saw this girl, you’d fall in love too.

continued 0:51-1:10 Verse 2 changes back to a minor

key. 1:22-1:45 Bridge, which is in a major key. 1:46 Verse 3, again, back to a minor

chord. 2:16-2:45 Guitar solo in a different key,

same music as the previous verses.

2:46 Verse 4, back to minor. 3:05 Changes to major again. 3:16 Melody changes back and ends in a

minor key.

HEY JUDEIn Steve Turner’s book, The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song, Julian, John Lennon’s son, is quoted: “Paul told me he’d been thinking about my circumstances, about what I was going through and what I’d have to go through. Paul and I used to hang out quite a bit –more than Dad and I did. There seem to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing at that age than me and Dad… It surprises me whenever I hear the song. It’s strange to think someone has written a song about you. It still touches me.” (Turner, Updated 2005)

ABOUT THE SONG

o “Hey Jude” has a running time of 7:11.o At the time, it was the longest song ever

released.o It starts with one instrument, a keyboard,

and ends with 50.o The Beatles hired a 36 piece orchestra to

accompany them.o The fadeout at the end takes roughly 4

minutes.o The chorus repeats 19 times.o It spent 9 weeks as the number one song on

the American music charts.o It was the 4th biggest selling Beatles single.

“HEY JUDE”LISTENING GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS

0:00-0:26 No introduction. The song starts right in to the first verse on an upbeat. Paul is the only vocal and the piano is the only instrument playing. This song was written for John Lennon’s son, Julian, when his parents were going through a divorce. This first verse tells him that he can make a bad situation better if he will be open-minded.

0:27-0:51 There is an addition of instruments, the guitar and tambourine, and addition of back up vocals, and an addition of drums, which makes everyone accounted for!

Continued

0:58-1:30 The chorus begins. The lyrics here tell Julian not to close himself off from the people around him because this is not his fault.

1:34-1:58 Verse 2; Now he is telling him to do the right thing and be open to his step mom. She’s in his life regardless, so he needs to give her a chance.

2:03 The chorus begins again, then verse 1 repeats

with all instruments and vocals, ending the verse with the word, “better” repeated 6 times, climbing the scale until the singing changes to… a scream!

3:11-7:11 Instruments with vocals singing, “na na na” to the harmony, then all voices sing the words, “Hey Jude”. This repeats several more times and is the beginning of the 4 minute fade out!

IN 1969, MCCARTNEY MARRIED LINDA EASTMAN, AN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER HE HAD MET IN 1967. . PAUL ADOPTED LINDA’S DAUGHTER, HEATHER, AND THEY HAD THREE CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN: MARY, STELLA, AND JAMES. IN 1998, LINDA LOST HER BATTLE WITH BREAST CANCER AND DIED.

After the Beatles

o In 1970, Paul released a solo album, “McCartney”.

o In 1971, he worked with his wife, Linda, to record “Ram”.

o Later that year, they formed the group, “Wings”.

o Wings enjoyed 10 years of success, achieving 12 top-ten singles in the UK and 14 top-ten singles in the U.S.

o All 9 of their albums reached top-ten in either the U.S. or the U.K.

IN 2002, MCCARTNEY MARRIED, FORMER MODEL, HEATHER MILLS. IN 2003 THEY HAD A CHILD, BEATRICE. THEY WERE SEPARATED IN 2006, AND DIVORCED BY 2008.

PAUL’S MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTSo 100 Million singleso 60 Gold discso Wrote or co-wrote 188 charted records, of

which 91 reached the Top 10 and 33 made it to number 1 totaling 1662 weeks on the chart.

o Honored by the Prince of Wales as a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music.

o Received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University.

o Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.o Was knighted in England, becoming Sir Paul

McCartney, for his services to music.