Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist and singer for the rock band the Beatles, widely considered the most popular and influential group in the history of pop music. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon was the most successful of the post-war era. After the group disbanded in 1970, he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine.
McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time. More than 2,200 artists have covered his Beatles song "Yesterday", making it one of the most covered songs in popular music history. Wings' 1977 release "Mull of Kintyre" is one of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK. A two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988, and as a solo artist in 1999), and an 18-time Grammy Award winner, McCartney has written, or co-written, 32 songs that have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009 he has 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. McCartney, Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all received appointment as Members of the Order of the British Empire in 1965 and, in 1997, McCartney was knighted for services to music. McCartney is also one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$1.2 billion.
McCartney has released an extensive catalogue of songs as a solo artist and has composed classical and electronic music. He has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to such subjects as animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education. He has married three times and is the father of five children.
Egypt Station is the upcoming 17th solo studio album by Paul McCartney, set to be released by Capitol Records on 7 September 2018. The album will be McCartney's first album of original material since 2013's New.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Sep 7, 2018
New (stylised as IIIâ°III) is the sixteenth post-Beatles (discounting his Wings-era discography, his orchestral works and his output as the Fireman) studio album by Paul McCartney, released on 14 October 2013 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. The album was his first since 2007's Memory Almost Full to consist entirely of new compositions.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Oct 14, 2013
Electric Arguments is the third album by The Fireman, an experimental music duo consisting of Paul McCartney and producer Youth. The album was first announced 29 September 2008, on Paul McCartney's website, and was released on 24 November 2008 on the duo's website. It is the first Fireman release to be publicly acknowledged by McCartney, and the album cover features the names of both contributors.
Genre: Experimental rock, ambient, electronica, neo-psychedelia
Release date: Nov 24, 2008
Memory Almost Full is the fourteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, discounting his Wings-and-Beatles-era discography, his orchestral works and his output as the Fireman. It was released in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2007 and in the United States a day later. The album was the first release on Starbucks' Hear Music label. It was produced by David Kahne and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Henson Recording Studios, AIR Studios, Hog Hill Mill Studios and RAK Studios between October 2003, and from 2006 to February 2007. In between the 2003 and 2006 sessions, McCartney was working on another studio album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005), with producer Nigel Godrich.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Jun 4, 2007
Ecce Cor Meum (Latin for Behold My Heart) is the fourth classical album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 25 September 2006 by EMI Classics. An oratorio in four movements, it is produced by John Fraser, written in Latin and English, and scored for orchestra and boys and adult choir. The oratorio was partly inspired by Sir Paul's wife Linda. lt is also the only classical album by McCartney that was not released on vinyl.
Genre: Classical
Release date: Sep 25, 2006
Driving Rain is the twelfth studio album by Paul McCartney under his own name, recorded and released in 2001 as a double LP and as a single CD.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 12, 2001
Run Devil Run is the eleventh solo studio album by Paul McCartney using his own name, released in 1999. It features mostly covers of both familiar and obscure 1950s rock and roll songs, along with three original McCartney compositions written in the same style, including the title track. As his first project following first wife Linda's death in 1998, McCartney felt the need to get back to his roots and perform some of the music he loved as a teenager. On 14 December 1999, McCartney returned to the Cavern Club stage to play a set publicising the new album.
Genre: Rock and roll, rockabilly
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Flaming Pie is the tenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney under his own name, first released in 1997. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful Beatles Anthology project. The album was recorded in several locations over two years, 1995 and 1997, featuring two songs dating from 1992. The album featured several of McCartney's family members and friends, most notably McCartney's son, James McCartney. In Flaming Pie's liner notes, McCartney said: "[The Beatles Anthology] reminded me of The Beatles' standards and the standards that we reached with the songs. So in a way it was a refresher course that set the framework for this album."
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Off the Ground is the ninth solo studio album by Paul McCartney under his own name (discounting then his Wings-era discography, among other releases), released in 1993. As his first studio album of the 1990s, it is also the follow-up to the well-received Flowers in the Dirt (1989).
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) is a live unplugged performance by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 1991. Following the vastness of his world tour recently captured on Tripping the Live Fantastic, McCartney relished the opportunity to strip back his songs and appear on the newly launched acoustic-only show MTV Unplugged. Consequently, McCartney was the first in a long line of artists to release an unplugged album.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio is a live album by Paul McCartney released in 1991 and his first major foray into classical music. Composed in collaboration with Carl Davis to commemorate The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 150th anniversary, the project received a large amount of media attention upon its unveiling in June 1991.
Genre: Classical
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Tripping the Live Fantastic is Paul McCartney's first official live album and his first release of concert material since Wings' 1976 Wings over America live package. It was released in 1990 as triple LP, double cassette and double CD. Tripping the Live Fantastic reached number 17 in the UK and number 26 in the US. It was also simultaneously released in an abridged form, entitled Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 5, 1990
Press to Play is the sixth post-Beatles studio album by English musician Paul McCartney (outside of Wings' body of work), released in August 1986. It was McCartney's first album of entirely new music since Pipes of Peace in 1983, and his first solo album to be issued internationally by EMI following a six-year alliance with Columbia Records in the United States and Canada. Keen to re-establish himself after his poorly received 1984 musical film, Give My Regards to Broad Street, McCartney enlisted producer Hugh Padgham to give the album a contemporary sound.
Genre: Rock, new wave, electronic, pop rock, synthpop, soft rock, hard rock
Release date: Aug 25, 1986
Give My Regards to Broad Street is Paul McCartney's soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, "No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominated.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Oct 22, 1984
Pipes of Peace is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney using his own name, released in 1983. As the follow-up to the popular Tug of War, the album came close to matching the commercial success of its predecessor in Britain but peaked only at number 15 on America's Billboard 200 albums chart. While Pipes of Peace was the source of international hit singles such as "Say Say Say" (recorded with Michael Jackson) and the title track, the critical response to the album was less favourable than that afforded to Tug of War.
Genre: Pop, electronic rock
Release date: Oct 28, 1983
Tug of War is the third solo studio album by Paul McCartney, discounting the seven studio albums with Wings, released in April 1982. It was McCartney's first album released after the dissolution of Wings in April, 1981 and McCartney's first album after the murder of former songwriting partner John Lennon. The album was produced by former Beatles producer George Martin and was a number 1 in numerous countries. It was hailed as a return-to-form for McCartney upon release.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Apr 26, 1982
McCartney II is the second completely solo album by Paul McCartney, and the first since the formation of Wings in 1971. It was released in 1980, a year before the band's dissolution and while their future lay in limbo. The album is a significant departure for McCartney, as much of it relies heavily on synthesizers and studio experimentation. It was reissued on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.
Genre: Experimental rock, electronic rock
Release date: May 16, 1980
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by the British-American band Wings, released in 1979 on Columbia Records in America, and on Parlophone in the UK. Co-produced by Chris Thomas, the album reflects band leader Paul McCartney's embracing of contemporary musical trends such as new wave and punk, and marked the arrival of new Wings members Laurence Juber and Steve Holley. Back to the Egg adopts a loose conceptual theme around the idea of a working band, and its creation coincided with a period of considerable activity for the group, which included making a return to touring and work on several television and film projects.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Red Rose Speedway is the second album by Paul McCartney and Wings and the fourth by McCartney since leaving the Beatles. The album was released in 1973 after the relatively weak commercial performance of McCartney's previous, Wild Life, which had been credited to the then-unknown Wings. Red Rose Speedway reached number 1 on the Billboard 200. "My Love" was a number one single and the most successful track from the album.
Genre: Rock, pop rock, soft rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
Ram is a studio album by Paul and Linda McCartney, released in May 1971 on Apple Records. The album was recorded amid Paul McCartney's legal action in the United Kingdom's High Court to dissolve the Beatles' partnership, following their break-up the year before. This is the only album credited to the couple. He and Linda recorded it in New York with guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken, and future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. Its release coincided with a period of bitter acrimony between McCartney and his former bandmate John Lennon, who perceived verbal slights in the lyrics to songs such as "Too Many People".
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016
McCartney is the debut studio album by English musician Paul McCartney. It was issued on Apple Records in April 1970 after McCartney had resisted attempts by his fellow Beatles to have the release delayed to allow for Apple's previously scheduled titles, notably the band's Let It Be album. McCartney recorded his eponymous solo album during a period of depression and confusion, following John Lennon's private announcement in September 1969 that he was leaving the Beatles, and the conflict over its release further estranged McCartney from his bandmates. A press release in the form of a self-interview, supplied with UK promotional copies of McCartney, led to the announcement of the group's break-up on 10 April 1970.
Genre: Rock
Release date: Nov 17, 2016