Got McCartney On My Mind

Paul McCartney's birthday is on June 18. He just turned 76.

Every year I am aware of the day, mostly because the date is always the same. Isn't that amazing? His birthday is always on June 18. Talk about consistent.

I have bashed him many times. I will never forgive him for writing "Wonderful Christmas". Jesus Christ.

He's my least favorite Beatle.

Famously he was cornered by a journalist on the day after John Lennon was executed. He was asked a few questions and was pretty tight lipped. Then he said "It's a drag, isn't it?" With zero emotion.

He got slammed for that. I have seen clips of him many years later trying to explain himself and even then he shows no emotion.

My general impression of him is that he is a pretty cold guy and pretty full of himself. In 2002 he released a live album that included 19 Beatles songs; he credited them as being written by "Paul McCartney and John Lennon".

Fuck that. It's Lennon/McCartney. That's it. That's the way it has always been. Is his ego so fragile that he had to get top billing?

Still..................................... he is a Beatle. The significance of that was brought home to me once again recently when I watched Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. Featuring Paul.

It is 23 minutes and 43 seconds of  amazingness.

First of all I have never seen Paul let his hair down so much. He was personable, comfortable, not pretentious at all. I actually enjoyed him. Liked him.

So there's that.

The conversation and the singing as Corden drove was just fantastic. He was having a blast and so was McCartney.

On top of that Corden and McCartney made the rounds of Liverpool. They popped in to the house McCartney lived in from the age of 12 to 18, popped in to a barbershop on Penny Lane, and they stopped in to a pub.

When they were leaving his home a crowd had gathered outside. They were so excited to see Paul. One guy told him that he had played the Beatles' music at his dad's funeral. That is the kind of connection people make with music and musicians. Deep and meaningful.

The pub was the best.

Paul and his band were set up behind a curtain. The people in the pub did not know he was there (ostensibly).

Corden told a woman to choose a song on the jukebox. When she did, the curtains opened up as Paul and the band played "Hard Days Night".

The people in the pub looked genuinely astonished. I don't know how it was accomplished but these people appeared to be genuinely blown away. And then they were so excited. They were treated to a mini concert.

Singing along with the band. People started coming in off the street. There were so many smiles, so many people letting their hair down and singing Beatles songs with Paul McCartney.

Music is the holy grail, baby. We need music like we need food and water. Whatever band you connect with can lift you out of a dark place; can make you smile, cry, laugh, dance and sing.

Without music we would all be fucking lumps of useless flesh.

And when you are talking about The Beatles you are talking about the band. I love The Stones, I worship The Stones, I always have and always will.

But The Beatles did it first and it was a nuclear explosion. They hijacked our souls and imaginations; they turned the world and our lives upside down.

Their impact on life - not just music - is impossible to overstate.

So, yeah, McCartney is still a god to me. A flawed god, but  I gotta tell you - when he dies I will be devastated. Just as I was when John and George died.

The Car Pool Karaoke resuscitated my awe. I will try to be gentler on Paul from now on.

No guarantees though. After all - I am a crotchety, judgmental old motherfucker.