Paul McCartney's Playlist
Paul McCartney
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- 1. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" by Gene Vincent: "The first record I ever bought, which was from Curry's, because, as someone reminded me last week, you didn't really have music shops in those very early days - it was more the household appliance shops, which would sell, in a little hidden away corner, record players alongside some records. So I went to this little shop called Curry's in Liverpool to see if they had a copy of this record I had heard and that my mate had recommended to me. It was called 'Be Bop a Lula' by Gene Vincent. Sure enough they did have it. So I took this prized possesion in its bag, carried it very carefully to the bus, took the bus ride half an hour home, put it on my little Dansette record player and out came this . . . great record."
- 2. "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys: "In the '60s there was a band, the Beach Boys, who suddenly sprang to fame. They did mainly surfing music first of all, but then it started to develop and later I found out that Brian Wilson was listening to what we were doing with the Beatles and we were kind of trading off each other - he would hear something we'd done and say, 'Ooo, we've got to do something better than that,' which was a good form of competition that we had going on, unwittingly. The one that stopped me in my tracks was 'God Only Knows'. I find it very emotional and it's one of those songs that can actually reduce me to tears. I just think that the chords and melody are very beautiful and the combination of that with the words, which are really meaningful - it's really just a love song. This to me is the genius of Brian and I have actually sung it with him and when I did the soundcheck I'm afraid I lost it. It was just too emotional a moment to be standing there, singing this song that does my head in, with Brian himself at the microphone. It is just a fine song and it always does it for me."
- 3. "Everything In Its Right Place" by Radiohead: "When I heard Kid A, the opening track of that has a sound that just does it for me. It's a beautiful sound - very original and not like anything I had ever heard before. I was later to work with the producer and engineer, Nigel Godrich. One of the nice things about working with Nigel was that he cares very much about how things sound and of course once you keep doing that over the course of an album, you're likely to have a really good album - at least sonically it is really going to hang together. So get into the piano sound that opens this . . . it's fantastic."
- 4. "Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire: "My musical taste doesn't just start with rock 'n' roll. When I was growing up there would be a lot of songs that I would fall in love with from beyond my era - more my dad's era and you would hear them mainly on soundtracks. Somebody I loved was Fred Astaire, who was known very much as a dancer - very elegant, very debonair. I have always loved his song 'Cheek To Cheek'. I love it, as a songwriter, for technical reasons and it is also very romantic."
- 5. "Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols: "This was a great record and it really shot onto the scene and really lifted a lot of eyebrows. I think it blew away a lot of cobwebs when the scene was getting a bit lethargic and people were going through the same old moves. But this changed everything."
- 6. "What'd I Say, Pt. 1 & 2" by Ray Charles: "My introduction to Ray Charles was one night on the radio. There weren't many stations that played just rock 'n' roll, it was mainly a mix. Then they all stared playing it and the first one I heard that just knocked my block off was when I heard 'What I'd Say' by Ray Charles. We all fell in love with this record and it became a big favourite in our shows. It was one of those shows that, because it has so many ingredients, it can just go on for hours. We used to have a competition with other bands to see who could keep it going longest. I do remember one wonderful night, jumping down into the audience with a hand mic, getting under the table . . . it was late and I was 'happy', but it was great and I think we kept that song going for about an hour!"
- 7. "When You Were Young" by The Killers: "One of the things I love about bands who are performing these days - throughout the years it has actually been the same rule - is the bands who actually play their own instruments, get up there and play and sing - The Killers are one of those bands. I like people who can play live and they certainly can."
- 8. "Imagine" by John Lennon: "After the break-up of the Beatles and John and I went our own separate ways as songwriting partners, I know from stuff that he would send in interviews and from my own opinion that we kept a good eye on what each other was doing. When John came up with 'Imagine', that was one of those moments when I though, 'Oh yeah!', and I could just imagine him sitting down at the piano, coming up with those chords, coming up with that song. At the end of it, I know he would have known that he had written a classic. Hearing 'Imagine' is always such a thrill for me and always brings back such beautiful memories and is an inspiration for the future."
- 9. "Long Tall Sally (Re-Recorded)" by Little Richard: "I just couldn't believe Little Richard's voice when I first heard it. I was a kid at the time and was still at school. At the end of term the teachers used to let you cut loose a little bit and I remember standing on the desk and doing 'Long Tall Sally'. Later we were really lucky to work with Little Richard in Hamburg, so we spent some time with him personally and he was just a really fun guy. He still says, 'I taught Paul - I taught Paul everything he knows! I can't help it because I'm so beautiful'."
$12.00
Name Artist Time Price 1 Be-Bop-A-Lula Gene Vincent 2:36 $0.99 View In iTunes 2 God Only Knows The Beach Boys 2:53 $1.29 View In iTunes 3 Everything In Its Right Place Radiohead 4:11 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 Cheek to Cheek Fred Astaire 5:40 $1.29 View In iTunes 5 Pretty Vacant Sex Pistols 3:18 $1.29 View In iTunes 6 What'd I Say, Pt. 1 & 2 Ray Charles 5:07 $1.29 View In iTunes 7 When You Were Young The Killers 3:40 $1.29 View In iTunes 8 Imagine John Lennon 3:07 $1.29 View In iTunes 9 Long Tall Sally (Re-Recorded) Little Richard 2:02 $0.99 View In iTunes 10 Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley 2:07 $1.29 View In iTunes Total: 10 Songs
Customer Reviews
Paul McCartney is a genius.
I swear, everything he compiles is just fantastic.
Amazing.
I didn't think it was possible, but I love him ever more than before. And that's saying something.
still remembers the old days
i like that paul mccartney put imagine in his playlist because it brings back memories for everyone of the beatles and especially of john.
