Saturday, December 15, 2007 Libre: Paul McCartney not yet too old to rock By Mel Libre Seriously Now
THE Brits, the United Kingdom’s equivalent of the Grammy Awards, will honor Paul McCartney with its 2008 lifetime achievement award. The former Beatle has been described as “one of the greatest songwriters of all time and a member of Britain’s biggest ever group.”
The accolade must be among the most important for Sir Paul (knighted in 1997) together with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and that of being an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1999.
Early on after the breakup of the Beatles in 1970, McCartney was the first to release a solo album but his music was tagged as too tame and too commercial for comfort as compared with those John Lennon working class hero anthems and George Harrison spiritual mantras.
The fact is that Paul churned out 35 Top 40 singles in his post-Beatles career, though these tunes were not as iconic as Lennon’s “Imagine” or Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.”
While critics castigated him for incorporating the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” into his own composition, listeners embraced the song that turned into a hit.
“My Love” may be repetitive, but it still remains as one of the best love songs I’ve ever heard. And if Queen has “Bohemian Rhapsody,” McCartney has his “Band on the Run.” “Live and Let Die” gave an edgy beat to a James Bond film while “Silly Love Songs” is the definitive pop song.
As to top duet performances of all time, who wouldn’t include “Ebony and Ivory” (McCartney with Stevie Wonder) and “The Girl is Mine” (McCartney with Michael Jackson).
But the general perception that McCartney wants to play it safe with his music is a fallacy. In 1972, with Wings, McCartney released the single called “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” which was banned by BBC.
As Sex Pistols and anti-establishment punk music were taking UK by storm, the ex-Beatle put out in 1977 folksy “Mull of Kintyre” that became the highest-selling single in UK until 1984 when Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” charitable song was released.
And for someone who has not gone through formal training in music, McCartney composed classical tunes including the “Liverpool Oratorio” with some of the world’s finest opera singers and the symphonic work “Standing Alone,” “A Garland for Linda” and “Ecce Cor Meum.” The latter was voted Classical Album of the year in the 2007 Brit Awards.
While most artists splurge their newfound wealth, McCartney has become one of the wealthiest men in UK, with an estimated fortune of £760 million.
MPL Communications own publishing rights to about 25,000 songs as well as musicals including “Grease.” With such huge money, his divorce with Heather Mills turned into a media circus.
At 65, McCartney has gone beyond the shadow of the successful Lennon-McCartney songwriting tandem, producing hit songs as a solo performer, as leader of Wings and even as a classical artist.
And the man is not slowing down, having released his latest album, “Memory Almost Full” (with three Grammy award nominations) and planning a concert tour next year.
McCartney is declaring that nobody’s too old to rock.
