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    50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

    By Matthew Martin
    | June 5, 2020
    Music Blogs

    Apologies to Don McLean but the day the music died was fifty years ago, the day the Beatles broke up. For six years the Fab Four were the standard-bearers of rock music, bringing the notion of the singer/songwriter, exotic instruments, unconventional melodies, concept albums, and more, to the mainstream of music. The band invented and re-invented themselves multiple times in a relatively short period and managed to do what few uber-successful acts can: They evolved and took their fans with them. Think about how many rock bands over the years developed a signature sound, fine-tuned that sound, and won a loyal fanbase with that sound…only to change that sound and lose everything to the refrains of “you sold out” or “I liked them better when they were_____.” Or, think of all the bands that simply never evolved, that just stayed the same old crappy Rolling Stones, fifty-five years and counting.

    Not the Beatles.

    The Beatles were able to transition from the mop-top pop of the British Invasion, to folk, to…what would you call Revolver? Acidic? to traditional rock before suddenly and abruptly and, to their fans, shockingly, walking away when they seemingly had years of hits left in them.

    In fact, they did have years of hits left in them, just not together, and in fact, it was only a shock to their fans and outsiders that they split up. To anyone close to the band (and, to those of us with the benefit of hindsight) it was obvious that a breakup was bound to happen. Depending on who you ask or how you look at it, the band broke up either in late 1970 with Paul filing suit, or in 1975 when the famed “Beatles agreement” was signed, formally and finally dissolving the union of the four. You might look at it in more spiritual terms, and say the band was done when Let It Be released in the spring of 1970, since that was their last album. If you’re going to go that route, you’d be better off saying the band was done when Abbey Road’s symphonic, beautiful, side-two medley ended, since that was the last song on the last album the group worked on as a unit.

    I don’t want to go too deep into the band’s break up. Instead, I’m interested in the aftermath of their parting, specifically that which happened in the aftermath of Abbey Road’s release (and subsequent mega-success). The band still had the Get Back recordings, shelved earlier in 1969 after too much drama soured the sessions. With the success of Abbey Road, reworking and releasing the Get Back masters was an easy way to make some money without having to work together. They gave the music to Phil Spector, once upon a time the most gifted producer in popular music, and set him on the task of getting the songs into something worthy of release. His work would produce the album called Let It Be, the foursome’s final LP release of new material. At the same time, all four of the band members were working on something for themselves.

    George had dozens of songs that he’d written over the past couple of years. He was a volcano ready to blow after being limited to one or two songs on a Beatles album. His first album, the monumental All Things Must Pass released in November of 1970. Ringo wanted to dig into the country music scene that he’d grown up loving in Liverpool. He released that album, the very good Beaucoups of Blues, in September. John was deep into primal therapy and was writing an album’s worth of self-reflective and cathartic lyrics. His album, the underrated John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band record, came out in December of 1970.

    And then there’s Paul.

    Linda and Paul McCartney in 1976

    He was working on something too, a self-titled album written, produced, sung, and even entirely performed by himself. Ever the savant, Paul was ahead of the other three and was ready to release his album in the Spring of 1970…right on top of the Let it Be album. Naturally, the other three asked him to delay his solo release to accommodate the Spector-produced “band” album, but Paul didn’t budge. He didn’t like the job Spector had done, particularly with the songs he contributed to the album, and didn’t appreciate being told to keep his album on the shelf so the Beatles could release what amounted to a eulogy to the band.

    The wild card in all this is the fact that Ringo Starr had already, quietly, released a solo album. It wasn’t the country album he’d been working on but rather was a collection of old standards. No one told Ringo to move his album’s release. But when Paul wanted to release his album on it’s scheduled date, mid-April 1970, the band resisted. Why?

    They claimed that since Let It Be was ready for release, and the Let It Be movie was coming out in May, the album and film should release within the same time window. And since Paul’s album was set to come out in April, just a few weeks before, they thought it was only right that the band’s work takes priority. They proposed bumping Paul’s album to June.

    Did you catch that? A month before Let It Be is no good, but a month after is fine.

    Maybe it was the case that they didn’t want Paul’s first solo album to overshadow the band’s work. Maybe they didn’t want to see Paul’s album release next to a Beatles’ movie, giving him a boost of publicity over the other three. It’s not his fault their solo albums were slow-going compared to his. Paul didn’t budge. He made all the legal threats necessary and got his release date as intended.

    Paul’s first solo album, McCartney—no doubt so named because it was the only half of the famed “Lennon/McCartney” singer-songwriter duo that contributed to the work—released on April 17, 1970. Anticipation was, as you might imagine, at a fever pitch. This was the album too good to delay. This was the album that couldn’t wait. This was the album whose every song was written by Paul, every instrument played by Paul, every note sung by Paul. This was his magnum opus.

    And it’s…mediocre.

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    McCartney’s greatest sin is in how much potential it had only to fall short of achieving it.

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    22 Comments
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    Fade-to-BlackD
    Fade-to-Black
    2 years ago

    Some people just struggle to share the spotlight. I always felt that applied to Lennon and McCartney. Their first solo albums were okay, but they were more powerful as a band.

    0
    Reply
    OgmoreD
    Ogmore
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Fade-to-Black

    And that is a real shame because they made absolute magic together. I think it’s inevitable though. When a band becomes larger than life their egos seem to enlarge too.

    0
    Reply
    Snarky-GuruD
    Snarky-Guru
    2 years ago

    They were one of the only bands where all four members could write music and handle the vocals. However, McCartney’s talent shined just a bit above the others, in my opinion.

    0
    Reply
    OgmoreD
    Ogmore
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Snarky-Guru

    It was unusual. Kiss is the only other band I know of where all the members could write the music and perform the lead vocals.

    0
    Reply
    BostonAustinD
    BostonAustin
    2 years ago

    They’re one of the few groups where each member was talented and actually brought something to the table. Although Lennon might’ve been known for crafting incredible lyrics, McCartney’s work was nothing to sneeze at. Live and Let Die is just as feisty as Here Today is poetic. The man had chops.

    0
    Reply
    sammariD
    sammari
    2 years ago
    Reply to  BostonAustin

    Absolutely! It takes more work for band members to keep things going in comparison to the solo musicians. We all hoped that the band would have remained intact for a while longer.

    0
    Reply
    sherryD
    sherry
    2 years ago
    Reply to  BostonAustin

    It is not easy to keep a band together, especially when some are more talented than others. I read somewhere that at the height of Beatlemania, the band members were (at times) unable to hear themselves play above their fans’ screams.

    0
    Reply
    apolloD
    apollo
    2 years ago

    The Beatles defined what good music was all about, and took their fans with them on this exciting journey, only for the band to disintegrate. It is not easy to keep a music band intact, especially with every member having varied interests.

    0
    Reply
    tonyD
    tony
    2 years ago
    Reply to  apollo

    This break-up caught most fans by surprise, despite being attributed to many factors. Who imagined that McCartney’s domineering would be one of these? Would it have been better if they stuck together? Well, it is debatable!

    0
    Reply
    ThatcherD
    Thatcher
    2 years ago

    I’ve always felt that Lennon was the soul of the band, McCartney was the face, Harrison was the brain, and Ringo was the heart. Breaking up gave each a chance to become all of those things. I think McCartney did it the best though.

    0
    Reply
    FrankOz45D
    FrankOz45
    2 years ago

    I really hate when great bands break up. I can’t believe it has been 50 years! Heck, that was before I was born. I still love listening to them!

    1
    Reply
    PersephoneD
    Persephone
    2 years ago
    Reply to  FrankOz45

    I’m the same way! As much as I love their solo albums (even Ringo’s) I thought they produced better music as a group. The music had more depth, the vocals were stronger, and the lyrics were inspiring. Whether they liked it or not, they needed one another.  

    0
    Reply
    FrankOz45D
    FrankOz45
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Persephone

    I absolutely agree! Sometimes they just sound better together! I did like Ringo’s solo album too but not nearly as much as the group together! I think sometimes they just get sick of each other.

    0
    Reply
    apolloD
    apollo
    2 years ago
    Reply to  FrankOz45

    It takes a lot of effort to keep a band together, and behind the scenes, the members have to ensure that slight disagreements don’t spillover. Who knew that it had been 50 years already?

    0
    Reply
    FrankOz45D
    FrankOz45
    2 years ago
    Reply to  apollo

    That is exactly what I think too. Little things turn into big things when not addressed. It is hard to not ever disagree. I think they all just got sick of dealing with each other.

    0
    Reply
    ShelbiiD
    Shelbii
    2 years ago

    Love, love, love Don McLean’s song! Thought it was better than any Beatles song! I do agree though, Paul leaving really made no sense. They were never as good on their own as they were together!

    0
    Reply
    JordainaD
    Jordaina
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Shelbii

    Bye bye Miss American Pie… the day the music died! My mom and aunts sang this song all the time when I was growing up. There isn’t a song that brings back better memories for me.

    0
    Reply
    FrankOz45D
    FrankOz45
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Jordaina

    Aww… I still crank up the radio when this song comes on. I have so many great memories from it too. I would classify it one of the best ever!

    0
    Reply
    Callie-RoseD
    Callie-Rose
    2 years ago

    Let’s be real here, Paul McCartney was The Beatles. His talent and stage presence is what made that group great. I loved his solo albums and still pull them out from time to time. McCartney is a legend.

    0
    Reply
    Gavin the Binge-WatcherD
    Gavin the Binge-Watcher
    2 years ago

    I loved the Beatles as a group, but never felt the members were solo artists. To me, it felt like they needed one another to compete against and challenge. It made them better, made them reach further, and made them more willing to take risks. 

    0
    Reply
    KeeperofUnicornsD
    KeeperofUnicorns
    2 years ago

    There’s no doubt that he’s incredibly talented, but I look at him differently since it came out that he has a violent temper. It’s a heavy cloud over his beautiful work.

    0
    Reply
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