It was 80 years ago today

 By Henry Lipput

Today, June 18, 2022, is James Paul McCartney’s 80^th birthday. I have been listening to his music, both with The Beatles and as a solo artist, for nearly 60 of those years.

The first mention of activity by Paul was in 1953 when he was awarded a Liverpool Public Libraries prize for his essay about Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. But it wasn’t until four years later that things really took off. On July 6, 1957 he met John Lennon and so was born one the greatest songwriting partnerships in popular music. 

Paul was the lead writer for early classics like “I Saw Her Standing There,” “All My Loving,” and “And I Love Her.” But for me he really came into his own on June 14, 1965 when the band recorded “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” “Yesterday,” and “I’m Down” in one day.

When The Beatles broke up in 1970, Paul was still in his late twenties and even if he retired from music and took up being a shop keeper or barman he would still be remembered today. His fingerprints are all over Revolver (in addition to the songs he wrote, he played lead guitar on “Taxman” and brought in the tape loops for “Tomorrow Never Knows”), the concept of Sgt. Pepper’s was his, and he cobbled together the glorious Abbey Road medley.

But as we know he didn’t stop there. His solo career began in 1970 with his self-titled album on which he played every instrument. And two years ago he released McCartney III, another (mostly) all-McCartney production. He just finished up an American tour and he’s about to headline Glastonbury, the biggest music festival in the world.

It would be very difficult to list all of my favorite McCartney songs but here are just a few: Side 2 of Wild Life, “I’m Down,” “Hey Jude,” “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five,” “Smile Away,” “Press,” “Here Today,” the Abbey Road medley, “I Will,” “Demons Dance,” “Arrow Through Me,” “Fabulous,” “Heaven On A Sunday,” and “Get Enough.” On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, there’s a special segment in which he asks guests a series of questions to get to know them better. One of the questions is: If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would that song be? For me it’s no contest: “Got To Get You Into My Life” (the mono mix of course).

Paul McCartney’s music has influenced how I think about music. His music is my default reference for how I describe music in my reviews.  Important moments in his life are hard wired into my mental calendar.

Happy Birthday, Paul. Have a wonderful day.