Sir James Paul McCartney MBE on Wikipedia (born 18 June 1942)
Sir James (Paul) and the Mystery Object
Sir Paul - and the Mystery Object
I must say that Paul seems like a pretty decent fellow in this intimate get together. Funny, just as many of us might act when talking about him, he too is still a bit starstruck when talking about Elvis. And how 'bout that? He does a fairly faithful rendition of the Elvis vocal styling.
Just to be clear, the video was the purpose of my blog. Everything below this point is just fun filler. Of course an obvious draw of the video is that we see Paul on an upright bass, which while it was used in 50s rock-and-roll was traditionally a classical or jazz instrument. To see McCartney playing this older style, non-rock-n-roll bass is intriguing to musicians because it is fretless. McCartney, who was a converted guitar player, had no experience on fretless bass at all when he emerged on the international scene as the bass player for the most famous band in the world. On the other hand, of all the individually famous basses that Paul McCartney might want to show off playing, an upright is actually his best choice. And I might add, given the circumstances, it's still remarkable that he seems so at ease playing this instrument. Anyone know why? Clues below amidst the pictures. Of course the irony is that Paul's own violin shaped Hofner bass is a lot more famous than this upright.
I discovered that a fellow by the name of Joel Crow wrote a blog on Paul and his Hofner bass(es). Perhaps this article will appeal to everyone, since there are some unique pictures. But musicians and bass players in particular should find this history within a history to be intriguing. Paul McCartney's Hofner Bass: A History is actually the story both of McCartney's Hofner basses (one of which is missing). Right-click on the pic above and select "Open Link in New Tab" to see that article. If the MySpace link police stop you, here's the actual URL = http://www.geocities.com/joelcrowservo/HofnerBass.html
For musicians mostly, here's another very interesting (supposedly non-technical) article on Paul's bass playing.
The Evolution of Rock Bass Playing McCartney Style
And here's another great read, Paul McCartney interviewed by Tony Bacon for Bass Player Magazine in 1995.
Paul McCartney – Meet The Beatle – Bass Player Magazine
The "Leave It to Beaver" era, and an early shot of Paul on acoustic guitar. Was he probably listening to Elvis by the time of this second shot?
Clearly a pre-Beatles shot, but not sure of his age.
I wonder if the now-vegetarian animal loving McCartney cringes to look back on himself in a leather jacket and pants. Check out the cool trademark violin shaped bass!
Paul was "the cute one," by the way. The Beatles were truly the first example of a celebrity ensemble. Each Beatle had his own fan club, with some of the girls liking George's fine masculine features and stoic persona and other's attracted to John's roguish look and iconoclastic persona. Even Ringo had his fans. Rock bands have emulated this this 60s marketing tactic ever since. The boy bands of the 80s, 90s, and today are dedfinitely built on the framework of the Beatles, often copying the characters too. Of course, other rock bands have invented very specific characters. Kiss comes to mind, and eventually, there's Gwar. But think back on it and you'll find no examples of this "they're all pop stars" phenomenon in bands of any kind before the 60s.
Right Click on the Eye and choose "Open Link in New Tab."
(This is a review of a McCartney Box-set/album/DVD that addresses McCartney's image as a Rock-and-Roll Legend, a serious musical artist, and a "not-quite-John-Lennon" figure.
Cameras have caught Paul McCartney with a new hottie, and TYT gets all politically incorrect about it.
Okay, we can't end on that tawdry bit of TYT nonsense. Contrary to the "silly love song" image that McCartney has with lots of people, himself included apparently, he is actually very intrigued still with adventurous music. While none of the Beatles were/are technophiles, it was Paul who stayed late with George Martin back in the day and supposedly played the largest role in getting the overall production right. Paul plays guitar, bass, piano, and drums (full trap set) and he can play any of these instruments and simultaneously sing the song melody (however that might actually contrast with the instrument part). In other words he is actually a very good player, not just a star. He can also veer off from the "pop" mainstream. For the technical stuff today, Paul's new George Martin is an artist known as Youth. The two collaborate as the Firemen.
Right Click on the album cover image above and choose "Open Link in New Tab."
(Once you're on the new page, there’s a button in the center for “Preview All”)
This one's just as strange.
Liverpool Sound Collage
You know the drill. Right click is your friend. But in this case, the New Tab should start playing music automatically.
Also (while we're here), a week or so ago, I got an email from a good music industry friend.
They said it couldn't be done. But it could!!!
My friend wrote that he had heard the tail end of "A Day in the Life" on National Public Radio, and then added, “I'm 'ooked !”
Right Click on the Bass Drum and choose "Open Link in New Tab."
(Once you're on the new page, there’s a button in the center for “Preview All”)
Have Fun.
QUESTIONS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION ~
STONES OR BEATLES?
LENNON OR MCCARTNEY?
YOUR FAVORITE BEATLE?
FAVORITE SOLO CAREER?
EARLY BEATLES OR LATE BEATLES?
FAVE BEATLES TUNE?
My thanks to Edna Cooper for finding the original video