Singer, songwriter, musician. Born James Paul McCartney on June 18, 1942, in Liverpool, England. McCartney was the bass guitarist and vocalist for the Beatles, and a partner in a legendary song writing team with John Lennon. The Beatles comprised of McCartney, Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison were arguably the most influential rock and roll group of all time.
McCartney likely inherited his musical aptitude from his father, who played piano and trumpet. McCartney was also particularly influenced by the blues and rock and roll sounds coming from America during the 1950s, including Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. As a teen, he attended the Liverpool Institute, where he became friends with fellow student George Harrison.
John Lennon was the originator of the Beatles, starting his first band, the Quarrymen, from which the Beatles would eventually evolve. In 1957, when McCartney met Lennon at summer camp, he joined the Quarrymen on vocals and guitar. Next came George Harrison, also on guitar. In 1958, the Quarrymen became Johnny and the Moon dogs; then for a brief time in 1960, the trio called themselves the Silver Beatles before dropping 'Silver' from the name, becoming simply, The Beatles. Stuart Sutcliffe, Lennon?s friend from college, joined on bass in 1959, though McCartney filled his spot when, in 1961, Sutcliffe decided to return to art school full time. Another temporary member, drummer Pete Best, joined the band from 1960-1962, but he was kicked out and replaced with the more congenial Ringo Starr.
Within weeks of this final adjustment to the band's line-up, The Beatles recorded their premiere singles, 'Love Me Do' and 'P.S. I Love You.' In 1962, Lennon married Cynthia Powell, whom he met while attending the Liverpool College of Art in 1957. Their son, John Julian Lennon, was born in 1963. That same year, the Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me (1963), which became an overwhelming success, staying on top of the British charts for an unprecedented 30 weeks. An appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 triggered 'Beatlemania', the generally hysterical and screaming hoards of fans that met the group wherever they appeared. It also opened the floodgate for the so-called British Invasion, which included the likes of The Rolling Stones, Cream (featuring Eric Clapton), and The Animals.
The Beatles dominated the music charts throughout the 1960s as no group had ever done before or since. In April 1964, months after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the five best-selling singles and two best-selling albums on the U.S. charts belonged to The Beatles. In 1966, during the height of their popularity, Lennon infuriated religious groups in the United States when he casually asserted that The Beatles had become bigger than Jesus Christ. Demonstrations throughout the Bible Belt, in which Beatles LPs were burned, led Lennon to apologize for the remark.
The band's final concert was held on August 29, 1966, in San Francisco. Fueling rumors of a break-up, Beatles members asserted thereafter that they simply wanted to focus on recording. The rumours were not far off, however, as tensions between Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison were mounting and each was moving in a different direction artistically.
In August 1967, Brian Epstein died from an overdose of sleeping pills. The death was initially deemed a suicide but later ruled accidental. That same year, the Beatles produced and starred in Magical Mystery Tour, a television film that critics dismissed as an inept failure; moreover, reflecting the overall disorganization and lack of control in which their manager's death had left the band. Abbey Road, the group's final joint effort, was released in May 1970, although The Beatles had more or less disbanded many months earlier. Each member pursued his own solo career with varying degrees of success, though no individual ever reached the popular heights enjoyed by the group as a whole.
On December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot and killed by a deranged fan outside his apartment building in New York City, his death halting any anticipation for a Beatles reunion. In 1995, The Beatles Anthology came out, featuring previously unreleased tracks, including two of Lennon's solo works, 'Free as a Bird' and 'Real Love'.
Of all the Beatles, Paul McCartney was the most commercially successful. He married Linda Eastman in March 1969, and with her he formed the group Wings, which had considerable if not critical commercial success throughout the next 10 years. During the first 12 years of his solo career, McCartney had nine singles that reached number one in the United States and England, including 'Maybe I'm Amazed' (1970), 'Jet' (1973), 'Silly Love Songs' (1976), and 'With a Little Luck' (1978). Of the seven albums that also topped the charts during this same period were Band on the Run (1973) and London Town (1978). His collaborations with other artists included the chart toppers 'Ebony and Ivory' (1982) with Stevie Wonder; and 'The Girl is Mine' (1982), and 'Say Say Say' (1983) with Michael Jackson. McCartney's later releases include Wingspan (2001), a retrospective of his years with Wings.
In 1998, after 29 years of marriage, Linda McCartney died of breast cancer. Together, Paul and Linda had three children, Heather, Mary, Stella, and James. In July 2001, McCartney announced his engagement to Heather Mills, a British ex-model who lost her leg in a car accident and is now a spokesperson for the eradication of landmines and an advocate for victims who have lost limbs from landmines. Mills and McCartney have been dating since 1999. They have now recently married.
The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 1988. Despite the honour, McCartney chose not to attend the ceremony due to differences with his former band mates Harrison and Starr. McCartney was knighted in 1997. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo musician in 2001.
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