Sir Paul McCartney will eternally be one of the world’s best and most-adored musicians. He has been a prolific songwriter and entertainer since he was a teenager in “The Quarrymen” in the last part of the 1950s, and McCartney gives no indications of dialling back. We’ve picked the most loved Paul McCartney songs (excluding his Christmas songs or his work with The Beatles, or we’ll be here forever!) so that you can enjoy them as much as we do!
1. My Valentine
This was one of the original tunes featured on Paul McCartney’s jazz covers album in 2012. It was first composed back in 1983, yet it stayed unreleased until the modern arrangement gave it new life.
Eric Clapton plays the guitar on the melody, while Hollywood actors such as Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman feature in the music video, playing out the lyrics by means of sign language.
2. Maybe I’m Amazed
McCartney devoted this song to his wife Linda, who helped him get past the Beatles’ devastating separation. It goes without saying that this is one of his most famous solo songs, but he never really ended up releasing it as a single.
During his appearance on The Simpsons, McCartney says to Apu and Lisa that if they play ‘Perhaps I’m Amazed’ in reverse, they’ll discover a recipe for the best lentil soup. You can hear this when the song is played during the end credits.
3. Band on the Run (Featuring Wings)
This melody was somewhat inspired by George Harrison’s remark (“if we ever get out of here”) during a gathering of the Beatles’ Apple record label.
The creation of this song coincided with Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon having parted ways with their manager, Allen Klein, in March 1973, prompting further improved relations among McCartney and the other ex-Beatles.
McCartney later described the song as being 1,000,000 things all set up just right. “Band on the run – getting away, criminals, freedom. And so on, it’s there.”
4. This Never Happened Before
McCartney initially released this song as a promotional single from his thirteenth album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. McCartney revealed that the song was indeed a love song and he considers himself a lover as opposed to being a fighter.
He gifted the song to his masseuse after she heard a demo, and she then used the piece for the first dance at her wedding. This was the song’s first official soin! However, she had to return it to McCartney to avoid the music being bootlegged.
This song was also used in the 2006 film The Lake House, in the scene where Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock’s characters slow dance whilst at her birthday party.
5. Pipes of Peace
Now and again alluded to as a Christmas tune because of its topic and being released in December, this is an anti-war song that was McCartney’s number one hit in January 1984.
The music video portrayed the 1914 Christmas ceasefire among British and German soldiers and shows a British and a German warrior, both played by McCartney. They get together in No Man’s Land to trade their friends and family photographs while others joke around and play football.
6. Live and Let Die (Featuring Wings)
This song was commissioned for the James Bond movie Live and Let Die. It reunited McCartney with the Beatles producer George Martin, who also produced this song for McCartney.
McCartney said of handling the melody: “It was a task of work for me in a manner, since composing a tune around a title like that is not the most straightforward thing going.” Guns N’ Roses delivered a well-known cover adaptation in 1991.
7. Mull Of Kintyre (Featuring Wings)
This 1977 popular Christmas song was written as a tribute to the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland, including its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where Paul McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966.
At that point, it was the UK’s best-selling song ever. McCartney said that he adored Scotland, so he came up with a song about where they were living. It was a love song, concerning how much he appreciated being there and envisioning that he was heading away but needing to get back there.
8. Little Willow
This song was composed for the children of previous Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr’s first wife, Maureen Starkey Tigrett, who had recently succumbed to her battle with cancer. McCartney sporadically recorded the song’s album Flaming Pie over a period of two years, working alongside Steve Miller, Jeff Lynne, George Martin, Ringo Starr and his son, James McCartney.
9. Say Say Say (Featuring Michael Jackson)
Produced by George Martin, the Beatles collaborator, this song was surprisingly recorded before ‘The Girl Is Mine’ on Michael Jackson’s famous Thriller album, yet it was only released a year after the fact. During the recording of this song, Michael Jackson actually lived with Paul and his wife Linda at their home, and became good friends with both of them. While there, Paul is said to have shown Michael a booklet that showed every one of the songs he owned the publishing rights for. Telling Michael that that’s the way to make a large sum of money, he gets compensated each time somebody records one of those songs. Each time somebody plays those songs in live performances or on the radio, he gets paid!
