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Jarrett Dunn
Mr. Ratica
Google Apps
30 September 2015
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney was a famous guitarist from the RocknRoll era. His childhood was
interesting in that it related to a few of his future band members. He was a part of The Beatles
and Wings. He has been nominated for and won many awards throughout his career. He is one of
the most influential and greatest performers and songwriters of all time.
McCartney was born in Liverpool, England on June 18, 1942. His fathers (James)
occupation was a cotton salesman and a jazz pianist with a local band. His mothers (Mary)
occupation was a maternity nurse. Similar to that of Ringo Starr and George Harrison, Pauls
family was also of the working class. Unfortunately Pauls mother passed away when he was
only 14 years old. Due to this loss, he was also able to relate to Beatles band member John
Lennon, and connect with him because his mother had also passed when he was young. As a
child his interest in music and trying to play instruments grew because of his father. He preferred
teaching by ear and taught himself how to play the piano, the trumpet and the Spanish guitar. As
a teen he met John Lennon at a church festival where they both had been performing, in 1957.
Not long after, McCartney joined Lennons band The Quarrymen and they were the
two main songwriters (Biography.com).
Their band name was changed to The Beatles by 1960 (Biography.com). The Beatles

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signed to Parlophone Records in 1962 after a few years of playing in rock clubs of Liverpool and
strip joints of Hamburg (Noyer, 96). Capitol Records spent a total of $50,000 to introduce The
Beatles to America, having them appear, on the Ed Sullivan TV show. This was a lot of money
back in the day (Hendler, 71). The Beatles had become the first British group to sell rock music
back in America (Noyer, 96). By having No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 places on the U.S. Hot 100 singles
chart, they had set a new record (Hendler, 79). The 5 songs on the U.S. Hot 100 singles chart
included Cant Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your
Hand, and Please Please Me (McCartney Facts). Some popular hits of the Beatles throughout
the years included Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Hey Jude, Yellow Submarine,
Yesterday, Let It Be and Here Comes The Sun.
In 1965 Paul McCartney said that his favorite band was The Who because he was so
impressed by their songs, especially the song I Cant Explain (Hall). The Beatles quit
performing in late 1966 when audiences became too large and so loud that they could not even
hear themselves perform. Their greatest recording was, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band,
which came out in 1967. The group grew apart by the end of the sixties. They grew apart because
of drug excesses, jealousy, personal disagreements, and the pressures of success. In April 1970,
McCartney had quit and the others agreed. Legal fights between the members lasted years after
the groups split (Noyer, 96). In 1971, not too long after The Beatles had split, Paul McCartney
formed the band Wings. Wings debut album, WildLife was bashed and did not sell as much as
his other past works (Noyer, 96). However, Paul McCartney and The Wings would end up
having some popular hits like Band on the Run, Blackbird, Let Me Roll It, and Silly

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Love Songs.
Paul McCartney had major impact on the music industry, not only in America but in the
world. He started with The Quarrymen which later became The Beatles. After The Beatles split
he was a part of the group Wings. His music won many awards and set records. He helped make
some of the most well known songs of Rock and Roll today. The He is one of the most famous
songwriters and performers of all time.

Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. Paul McCartney Biography. Biography.com. Web. n.d. 9
October 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/paul-mccartney-9390850>.
Hall, Russell. Paul McCartney: Ten Little. Gibson.com. Web. 10 April 2015. 12

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October2015.<http://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/10-things-you
-might-not-know-about-paul-mccartney.aspx>.
Hendler, Herb. Year In The Rock Era. Greenwood Press in Westport, Connecticut and
London, 1983. Print.
McCartney Facts. thisdayinmusic.com. Web. n.d. 7 October 2015.
<http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/pages/mccartney_facts>.
Noyer, Paul. The Story of RocknRoll. New York, NY; Carlton Books, 1995. Print.