Stratos' Beatle Bios: Paul
_________________________________________
"I'd never really been keen on the trumpet, but I liked the guitar because I could play it after just learning a few chords." --Paul McCartney
_________________________________________
James Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 to James and Mary McCartney in Allerton, not far from John Lennon's home in Woolton. An advanced musical culture flourished in Paul's home, as his father was a self-taught pianist who actually led his own Jim Mac Jazz Band in the 1920's. Because of this, he was incouraged to learn to play the trumpet, which Paul was only able to play out a few tunes on. What really excited him was American pop records, which he heard on Radio Luxembourg and he soon traded in his trumpet for a guitar. There was one problem, however: being left-handed, he had trouble coaxing his fingers to make the chord shapes he was trying to learn. His solution was to restring the guitar backwards, so that he could play it upside down. Afterward, he spent night and day picking at the guitar and perfecting an imitation of Little Richard's screaming vocal style.
Paul was introduced to John Lennon on July 6, 1957 as his band, The Quarrymen, were performing at a local church. After showing John his musical abilities as a guitarist and a singer, Paul was asked to join the band. By early 1958, some members of the Quarrymen began to leave, so Paul introduced John to a fellow classmate by the name of George Harrison. It wasn't long before George, too, made his way into the group.
After John's mother Julia was killed in a car accident, his relationship with Paul became stronger. Paul's mother Mary had died of cancer on October 31, 1956 when he was 14, so he could relate to what John was thinking and feeling. This bond between the two was to last for several more years, as the Quarrymen became the Beatles, and began to get more and more well known. Paul, still playing the guitar, had to switch to playing the bass after Stuart Sutcliffe left the group in 1961.
Paul helped boost the Beatles' popularity with such songs as 'Yesterday' , which is considered by most to be the Beatles most successful song. As the Beatles became more and more popular around the world, the public began taking great interest in the band's love lives. Paul regularly denied rumors that he was about to marry his longtime flame, the actress Jane Asher. Their relationship was to last until late 1967, shortly after Paul met American photographer Linda Eastman. The couple were married on March 12, 1968 with Linda three months pregnant with their first child.
As the Beatles began to fall apart in late 1968, it was Paul who tried to keep them together. He tried to set up possible tour dates, hoping that this would get the group back to where they used to be. The closest the Beatles ever got to an official concert was on the rooftop of their Apple Corp studio on January 30, 1969. After several failed attempts of trying his best to get the group back together, Paul finally gave up. His first solo album
McCartney
marked his disbandment from the Beatles. Because he was the first Beatle to officially announce his departure from the group, he was initially blamed for the breakup. Having had success with his first solo album, Paul McCartney continued to have a productive and successful career without the Beatles.
Email:
stratosmacca@hotmail.com
