Happy Birthday, Sir Paul!

Thanks to fellow-MPL Librarian Janet B. for her great guest-post today about Sir Paul McCartney!

I have heard it said that the music of adolescence is the music a person most identifies with throughout life. For me, as a teen-ager during the 60s, it was the music of the Beatles. The biggest regret of my life (and I still throw this up to my parents) is that I did not get to see the Beatles when they performed in Pittsburgh. Even though I would have gone with a group of friends, my parents were convinced it was much too dangerous for a thirteen-year-old to be in a crowd of wildly excited teenagers. I do have a souvenir from their visit, because a friend knew a photographer who covered the Beatles in Pittsburgh, and gave me one of his photographs from the press conference. If you look closely, you can see a KQV microphone in front of Paul at the very edge of the photo.

Feeling guilty, perhaps, after not allowing me to see the Beatles, my parents agreed to delay our return from a vacation at the Jersey shore so I could see “A Hard Day’s Night” a week before it was released in Pittsburgh.

I still have the original Capitol albums, now too scratched to play, and even though I listen to remastered digital versions. I’ve kept these albums as treasured keepsakes. I collected Beatles’ merchandise as well, including the doll pictured at the top of this post, who, as part of the complete set, is worth much more than the original $1.98 price. 

I knew all the lyrics to their songs and loved that their music changed and grew as I did, from the youthful exuberance of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” to the haunting “Yesterday,” to the mature acceptance in their final single, “Let it Be”. While I love all the Beatles’ songs, often my favorites were either written primarily by Paul or featured him singing lead. My little granddaughter seems to share my preference, because she would stop crying to listen quietly as I sang, “I’ve Just Seen a Face” to her when she was very tiny.

The Beatles had such an important influence on popular music that it seems they were together as a group much longer than just the ten years from 1960 to 1970. Members of the group went on to separate careers after their breakup, with the most enduring career being that of Paul McCartney, who still tours, headlined the half-time show at Super Bowl XXXIX, closed the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert this month, and is scheduled to close the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics in London next month. 

His music has continued to change as he grows older. His band, Wings, performed from 1970 to 1981 with many hit songs, including “Band on the Run,”  and “Live and Let Die.” He is still composing and recording, with his most recent release in February of this year. “Kisses on the Bottom” is a collection of standards performed with guest performers Diana Krall, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Wonder, but also includes two new McCartney compositions. A live performance of songs with his guests was streamed over the Internet on February 9, 2012, in nostalgic black and white, from Capitol Studios, where it was recorded.

Watch more of the February 9th show here.

Sir Paul has been touring with a new band since 2001, and in August 2010, I finally got to see a Beatle perform live, when I attended one of the two concerts he performed in Pittsburgh as the first act to play in the new Consol Energy Center. The concert was three hours of nearly non-stop music. The playlist included Beatles’ songs, well-known Wings’ hits, and more recent releases. It felt like he was sharing his entire musical life with the audience, who loved every minute. Scott Mervis of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described it as a “high-energy show” in his review.

Sir Paul has received numerous honors and awards during his now-70 years. Among the honors are the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize in 2009, Kennedy Center Honors in 2010, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. In 1997, he was knighted as a Member of the British Empire for his service to music, and became Sir James Paul McCartney.

A few years ago, I was asked to name the person I would most like to meet, and, of course, I replied without hesitation, “Sir Paul McCartney.” I’m sure I would be star-struck and tongue-tied if I ever had the opportunity to meet him, but I can be more eloquent in print. Happy Birthday, Sir Paul, with best wishes for many, many more, and thank you for the gift of your music to me and all your other fans!

-- Post by Janet B.