Paul is generally a happy person, always trying to put a good face on things. He has a sentimental side that manifests itself in his songs, such as "Hey Jude" and "Yesterday." He can be cruel at times, such as the Hamburg days, when his barbed taunts to Stu were meant to drive Stu out of the band so Paul could play bass. But he is also capable of moments of great tenderness, like when he visited Cynthia, John Lennon's then wife, and gifted her with a song ("Hey Jude") for her son Julian, a single rose, and a joking marriage proposal.
James Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942, in Walton General Hospital, to Jim and Mary McCartney. Jim, a former bandleader, was a cotton salesman who worked a series of jobs before returning to cotton selling. Mary was a health visitor. She took up midwifery after Paul's brother, Michael, was born in 1944. Later, she became a school nurse.
Paul grew up surrounded by love. His parents, relatives, and neighbors adored because he was so cute and charming. When Michael arrived, Paul learned to use his charm to stay in the center of attention. His natural charm, along with his all around cuteness, got him out of many a beating.
Paul started school at Stockton Road Primary. The classes there grew overcrowded after a time, so Paul and Michael were both transferred to Joseph Williams Primary.
Paul was a good schoolboy. He was quiet and well behaved in class, and a quick learner. His best subjects were English Compostion and Art. After he passed into Liverpool Institute, he continued to be quiet. He was not a trouble maker, though he was somewhat nonchalant about his homework. He made friends with a boy named Ivan Vaughan at the Institute.
In 1956, when Paul was fourteen, Mary McCartney died of breast cancer. She left 53-year-old Jim behind to raise two adolescent boys on his rather unconsiderable wages as a cotton salesman. He rose to the challenge, getting over his grief admirably. He taught himself how to cook, clean, and wash, and made sure the boys were fed. He had to trust Paul and Michael to go the barber's and buy their own clothes on their own with the money he provided.
Paul came home from the barber with his hair piled on his head in the hairstyle of a Teddy Boy, a breed of young men who wore clothes and hairstyles that were unheard of in Britain at that time. He bought Teddy Boy trousers, known as "drainpipes."
Around this time, Paul began to be interested in music. There had always been music in the McCartney household; indeed, Jim had formerly been the leader of a band called the Jim Mac Jazz Band. Paul was a good singer, and he had half heartedly tried to learn the trumpet, but it wasn't until he heard Lonnie Donegan that he began to beg for a guitar.
Jim, eager for his son to learn a musical instrument, bought Paul a guitar for 15 pounds. He applied himself to learned the chords and fingerings, but for some reason was having difficulty. Eventually he realized that he was left-handed as a guitarist, though he was right-handed normally. He took the guitar back to the shop and had the strings put on in reverse order. After that, he played the guitar during every spare moment of the day.
He taught himself the skiffle hits, but lost interest after a time. What he really wanted to play was real rock and roll, like he had heard on records by Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Carl Perkins. He didn't join any skiffle groups, though his friend Ivan Vaughan belonged to one in Woolton, not far from where Paul lived. Ivan finally convinced Paul to come see the group play at the Woolton fete on July 6, 1957 and meet the leader.
Paul watched the band, the Quarry Men, led by a Teddy Boy named John Lennon, perform. He was impressed in spite of himself. Ivan introduced John Lennon and Paul, who didn't seemed to have much to say to each other until Paul let on that he could tune a guitar, a skill that neither John nor the other guitarist, Eric Griffiths, knew.
John was also impressed when Paul borrowed a guitar and played "Twenty Flight Rock," an Eddie Cochran song. Not only could he play the song, but he knew all the words.
A week after that, Paul was granted entry to the Quarry Men. He spent hours with John, practicing and showing him chords. His schoolwork began to suffer, and he even cut classes at times. They began to write songs after John heard a song Paul had written, called "I Lost My Little Girl." Each tried to outdo the other.
Paul always tried to make sure everyone in the group was up to his standards. He introduced George Harrison to the group, who he considered a very good guitarist as well as a friend. The group was by now called the Beatles, as a take-off on Buddy Holly's Crickets, and as a pun on the word "beat." In 1960, when they went to Hamburg, Germany, Paul tried to make sure the Beatles were good musically. He didn't like the Beatles' new bass guitarist, Stu Sutcliffe, who was one of John's best friends, because he could barely play. He himself wanted to play the bass. He was also dissatisfied with the drumming of their new drummer, Pete Best.
The Beatles performed in Hamburg clubs twice. The second time, Stu stayed, having fell in love with a German photographer named Astrid Kirchherr. They returned to Liverpool, where they were discovered by Brian Epstein, who agreed to managed them, and tried to get them a recording session with a record company.
On April 10, 1962, Stu died of a brain hemorrhage. John, Paul, and Pete went to Hamburg, followed a day later by George. Paul was devastated. He and Stu had fought often in the Hamburg days, and Paul had taunted him unmercifully. Stu had always been too small to fight back. He tried to console, Stu's mother, but it didn't quite come out right.
There was good news, however. The Beatles were to have a recording session at Parlophone Records. Pete Best was replaced with Ringo Starr, and they recorded "Love Me Do." The song hit No. 17, and their next single, "Please Please Me," was No. 1. The Beatles were catapulted into instant popularity.
Paul met a girl, Jane Asher, who became his girlfriend. Jane was an actress, with a burgeoning career. Unlike the other Beatles' girls, she was completely independent. She didn't worship Paul mindlessly, but was intelligent and forthright.
Paul and Jane were even engaged, but the engagement was broken off when Jane supposedly found out about an affair of Paul's. He was not without a girlfriend for long, however. He met Linda Eastman for the first time in 1966, but it was not until 1968 that they fell in love. Paul brought Linda to live with him at his home in London.
The Beatles's company, Apple, was having problems. There was no proper administration. The Beatles began to search for someone to manage the entire empire that had grown up around them. At first, Paul wanted to recruit Allen Klein, a man who had worked miracles for other pop stars in matters of money. Paul also wanted to do a live concert tour again. The other Beatles refused, but Paul was able to convince them to make a live album: they would do their studio work before movie cameras, then perform a live concert. The material would be edited into a movie, which would be released along with an album.
It seemed like a good idea. The Beatles' however, found that nothing had changed. They were falling apart, and the new environment, as well as the fact that they were being filmed did not help. George even quit temporarily, but he was back; he couldn't quit while the album was half finished.
After this, they moved out of Twickenham Studios, where filming had been taking place, and returned their own recording studios. In January 1969, the Beatles jammed together, recording over a hundred songs. Only a few were ever released. However, the breakdown picked up where it left off.
With rumors that the Beatles were broke going around, John met with Allen Klein. Paul met Linda's parents, and put forth Lee and John Eastman, Linda's father and brother, as potential managers. John Eastman was accepted to act on matters concerning money.
Meanwhile, John, George, and Ringo were won over by Allen Klein. For a time, John Eastman and Allen Klein tried to work together, but they didn't like one another, and John Eastman soon returned to New York. The Beatles continued discussions with Allen Klein, but Paul just sent his lawyer to the meetings.
Paul and Linda Eastman married on March 12, 1969, in a ceremony meant to be small and quiet, but which swelled into a media frenzy.
Finally, after the Beatles had produced one last gem (Abbey Road), they broke up. Each launched into his own solo career. Paul released his first solo album, McCartney, on April 17, 1970.
He followed it with a steady stream of albums, many under the name of his new band, Wings. After Wings broke up, he continued to release albums that have to this day sold millions of copies. His most recent release, Flaming Pie, debuted at No. 2. He has also experimented with other forms of musical expression by composing three classical pieces: "A Leaf," "Liverpool Oratorio," and "Standing Stone."
Paul is also a philanthropist and an advocate for vegetarianism and animal rights. As a crowning moment to all his achievements, Paul became Sir Paul McCartney on March 11, 1997, when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
A serious blow was dealt to Paul when his wife of 29 years, Linda, died of cancer on April 17, 1998. Linda was more than just a wife to him. She was with him constantly, on every issue. She was a member of Wings, and
collaborated with him on his other albums.
Here is a list of Paul's albums (solo and Wings):