The Beatles Boxed Set (10 page)

            Apple,
the company that the Beatles had formed, was besieged with calls from reporters,
writers and just about anyone. The rumors helped the sale of
Abbey Road
and other Beatle albums.

            Paul,
who was very much alive, was on his farm spending his days aimlessly. One day,
he had two unexpected visitors: Dorothy Bacon, correspondent of
Life
magazine and photographer Terence Spencer who flew all the way to Scotland to
find proof that Paul was still among the living.

            When
Paul opened the door to them, he had with him a bucket of kitchen slop which he
threw over Spencer. Spencer recalled, “He was absolutely red in the face with
fury. He had one look at me and hurled the slop bucket. The irony was that I
definitely got a shot of that. And he missed me, but then he stepped forward
and hit me across the shoulder… So I told Dorothy, ‘I think we’ve run out of
our hospitality,’ and we turned around and left.”

            But
Paul finally realized that if he wanted a new life, he was going to need these
people. So he called them back and offered to grant them an interview.

            The
rumors about Paul’s supposed death was finally dispelled after
Life
ran
a story on Paul under the title “Paul Is Still With Us.” He said that the rumor
regarding his death “is all bloody stupid” and that the rumors began because he
had withdrawn from the scene.

The Life
magazine article dispelled the
rumors that Paul was dead

            Paul
eventually decided to return to the world of music and packed his things again
and returned to London with his wife and children. He had a four-track tape
machine installed in the Cavendish music room and saw about writing a few
tunes.

Paul’s
first solo album,
McCartney
, was a success, hitting number one in the
United States for three weeks and was certified double platinum. In the UK, it
failed to reach the top spot because it was occupied by the best-selling album
of 1970, Simon and Garfunkel’s
Bridge Over Troubled Water
. Paul’s album
remained at number two for three weeks.

            With
the exception of some vocal contributions from Linda McCartney, the album was a
self-performed album where Paul also provided all the instrumentation. Husband
and wife again collaborated on another album,
Ram
, which reached number
one in the UK and included the US number one hit single,
Uncle
Albert/Admiral Halsey.
Paul also won a Grammy for Best Arrangement
Accompanying Vocalists.

            Paul
and Linda joined with ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny
Seiwell to form their group, Wings, and released their first album as a group,
Wild
Life
. Paul said of the group’s formation, “Wings was always a difficult
idea … any group having to follow [the Beatles’] success would have a hard job
… I found myself in that very position. However, it was a choice between going
on or finishing, and I loved music too much to think of stopping.”

Wings

            Wings
became a success in their own right, particularly with the success of the
group’s first US number one,
My Love
, which Paul wrote. The single was
included on Wings’ second LP,
Red Rose Speedway
. Paul also collaborated
with Linda and former Beatles producer George Martin with the James Bond theme
song and Wings hit,
Live and Let Die.
The single was nominated for an
Oscar and subsequently earned Martin a Grammy for his orchestral arrangement. The
single was also a top-ten UK hit for Wings in 1973, with music professor and
author Vincent Benitez describing the single as “symphonic rock at its best.”

            While
Paul enjoyed a successful career with his new band, there was always the
possibility of a Beatles reunion. In 1974, Paul collaborated with Ringo on the
latter’s album, with the other Beatles throwing in some contributions as well,
though they didn’t appear in the studio together. Though Paul, as did the other
Beatles, denied the rumors of a possible reunion, he also mused about the
possibility. Each of them had his own solo careers, and maybe coming together as
The Beatles once again was in the cards.

            And
that was how it seemed when Paul showed up unexpectedly at one of John’s
recording sessions in Los Angeles. They had “a little jam”, with Paul behind
the drum kit, Linda on the organ, and a musician from next door strapped on the
bass. Stevie Wonder, who was just down the hall, joined the group and sat
behind the electric piano. That became a memorable jamming session,
particularly for Paul and John, who felt like it was old times.

            Meanwhile,
Wings achieved more success, particularly with their second US number one,
Band
on the Run
. Their album of the same name was such a success that it became
the band’s first platinum LP. They didn’t stop there. They released more chart
topping LPs, including
Venus and Mars
in 1975 and
Wings at the Speed
of Sound
in 1976.

            By
September 1977, the single
Mull of Kintyre
that Paul co-wrote with Laine
was becoming one of the best-selling singles in UK chart history. The single
became Paul’s most successful single of his solo career when it achieved double
sales of the previous record holder,
She Loves You
.
Mull of Kintyre
sold 2.5 million copies and held the UK sales record until 1984.

            The
album
London Towns
, released in 1978
,
and
Back to the Egg
,
released in 1979, were less than successful. The latter album was a
collaboration between Paul and a rock supergroup named “the Rockestra”.

            Wings
was active through 1981 and produced seven studio albums, five of which topped
the US charts. The band’s live triple LP,
Wings Over America
, was one of
few live albums that claimed the top spot in America.

            Among
the six US number one singles that the band produced were
Listen to What the
Man Said, Silly Love Songs, With a Little Luck,
and
Coming Up.
Paul
and the rest of the Wings disbanded in 1981. Laine claimed that the disbandment
was partly due to Paul’s reluctance to tour. He feared for his personal safety
after John’s murder in 1980.

            Before
Wings disbanded, Paul had released his second solo LP,
McCartney II
which he produced and where he composed all the music and performed all the
instrumentation. He collaborated with Stevie Wonder on the number one hit,
Ebony
and Ivory
and with Michael Jackson on
The Girl is Mine
.
Ebony and
Ivory
became the fourth-biggest hit of 1982.       

Paul and Stevie Wonder collaborated for
the song that became a big hit,
Ebony and Ivory

Paul also worked with Jackson on the US number one,
Say
Say Say,
and earned for himself a UK number one with the single
Pipes of
Peace.

            He
did collaborations with various artists between 1986 and 1994. In 1994, Paul went
on a hiatus that lasted four years from his solo career so that he could work
on Apple’s the Beatles Anthology with George, Ringo and George Martin.

            In
1995, Paul received an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Music,
presented by Britain’s Prince Charles. In December 1996, it was brought to
Paul’s attention that he was to be awarded the 1997 New Year Honors and was to
be knighted for services to music. The ceremony took place in March 1997.

            One
of the most significant awards that Paul received as a solo artist was when he
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 1999. And just a year
later, he was awarded a Fellowship by the British Academy of Songwriters,
Composers and Authors.

            And
while Paul was surrounded with success, he was also besieged by loneliness when
he learned of John’s murder in 1980. Paul had written
Here Today
to
celebrate a man whose friendship had meant so much to Paul, more than anyone
else except his wife. Paul looked back on their younger years, of the brotherly
love that sustained them for years and the hurdles on the road as they faced
their future.

            George
Harrison also passed away in 2001, leaving Paul and Ringo as the remaining
ex-Beatles. On the first anniversary of George’s death, Paul performed at the
Concert for George.

            The
2000s era passed by like a blur in Paul’s busy life. He released one album
after another and continued collaborating with artists. He released
Ecce Cor
Meum
in 2006,
Memory Almost Full
in 2007, and
Electric Arguments
in 2008. In 2009, more than 45 years since the Beatles first appeared on American
television on the
Ed Sullivan Show
, Paul returned to the same New York
theatre and performed on the
Late Show with David Letterman.

Paul (in blue) closed the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee Concert in 2012

            In
2010, US President Barack Obama presented Paul McCartney with the Gershwin
Prize for his contributions to popular music. He returned to the White House
that same year to receive the Kennedy Center Honors award.

            Paul’s
fame continued, and he became the popular choice to open new venues. In 2009 alone,
he performed at three sold-out concerts at Citi Field in Queens, New York,
which was constructed to replace Shea Stadium. Following these concerts, Paul
released a double live album called
Good Evening New York City
.