Paul McCartney turned 80 on June 18th 2022. He has been in the music business since 1960, and still keeps performing to this day, even though he has since passed the age of 90. His talent and longevity have led him to be the most successful musician in popular music history by Guinness World Records, and as of June 2016, he still holds the record for most number one hits (20) on the Billboard Hot 100 by any solo artist in the history of that chart.
Here are 10 of our favorites from one of rock ‘n’ roll’s biggest legends—Paul McCartney’s best songs.
1) Live and Let Die
When it comes to writing catchy, sing-along melodies, few can match Sir Paul McCartney. Some of his most popular songs feature his voice and some feature The Beatles’ famous harmonies. They wrote many others for other artists but became hits for either The Beatles or another performer after The Fab Four broke up.
2) Hey Jude
It is a song written to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian during his parents’ divorce. Hey Jude is one of The Beatles’ most-famous songs. It came out as a single in 1968 and topped charts worldwide for nine weeks; it also appeared on two of The Beatles’ later albums, The Beatles (aka The White Album) and Abbey Road. Six months after its release, Hey Jude had sold more than 2 million copies—and today, it remains one of The Beatles’ top-selling singles.
3) Something
We don’t know what Something was, but apparently it made John Lennon cry. That’s about all you need to know about how important it was. The Beatles released Something in 1969 and became a track that defined The Beatles, as well as pop music itself. The melancholy tune went on to become one of their most-covered songs with versions in several languages across multiple decades, helping cement its place in musical history. According to Lennon biographer Hunter Davies, Lennon wrote many songs and two became major hits—’Help!’ and ‘Something.’ I liked them both but they weren’t ‘Beatles’ songs—they were more personal statements.
4) Yesterday
Yesterday is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. John Lennon wrote this song. They released “Yesterday “on their self-titled double album (also known as The White Album) in November 1968. West Germany, France, and Spain, and later in other countries such as Brazil and Australia issued it as a single .In August 1969, it peaked at number one in America after being reissued multiple times. The song has been covered by numerous artists from various musical genres over the years; recordings of it have also appeared in many films and television shows.
5) Penny Lane
If you’re not in tune with your Beatle history, Penny Lane is one of seven songs on The Beatles (also known as The White Album).The song is about a dreamlike street in Liverpool and some of its characters: an auctioneer named Mr. Avery, a barber showing photographs/plans of every head he’s had the pleasure to know, a fireman named Billy with bright red suspenders and even a marching band. It turns out Penny Lane doesn’t actually exist — but it’s inspired real-life streets that share its name all over England.
6) Drive My Car
While Drive My Car may not be one of McCartney’s more popular songs, it was actually one of his earliest hits. Released in 1965, The Beatles wrote Drive My Car during a time when The they were transitioning from playing clubs to large venues. A fan once asked McCartney if there was any truth to rumor that he wrote a song about drugs because people could hear him sneeze in his mic from backstage; he thought it would be funny to write a song about drugs and ended up coining tootles, which became a silly-sounding name for cocaine.
7) A Day in the Life
People know him for his Beatles hits and Wings anthems. When he was a teenager, he started his musical career. In 1957, he teamed up with a group of schoolmates to form The Quarrymen, who played skiffle music—an early precursor to rock ‘n’ roll. By 1960, The Quarrymen had shortened their name to The Beatles and started playing together. They went through plenty of lineup changes over the years—by 1966 they were recording as a trio (with drummer Ringo Starr) after previous members left to focus on other endeavors—but The Beatles is still one of the greatest rock bands in history.
8) The Long and Winding Road
In 1968, The Long and Winding Road became The Beatles’ 15th number one single in America and it would be their last. Lennon-McCartney got the credit , John Lennon wrote the song entirely. One of his best-loved ballads, It took months of hardwork on what would become their last album together, Abbey Road. When they had a meeting at Ringo Starr’s house in May 1969. They met to record demos for their next album. John played a slow version of his song to his bandmates as he strummed an acoustic guitar.
9) Got to Get You into My Life
John Lennon wrote this song .While Paul sang it primarily. They released Got to Get You into My Life as a single in 1966. It reached number 2 in Britain. Released as a double A-side with Penny Lane, it also reached number 8 in America. Rolling Stone’s list placed this song at #407 of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Ringo Starr even sings lead vocals for part of it. For many years people thought that Lennon wrote it about marijuana. He later stated that he wasn’t a fan of pot and hadn’t even tried it yet.
10) Let it Be
Let It Be is one of my favourite songs. It is a song that makes me feel good and calms me down. When I think about how to live my life, Let It Be comes to mind. I think it sums up how we should all try to live our lives. Let it be Turn your eyes away from your future for a while. Just turn off your pre-set course and just get lost in your free time .The Beatles released the song in 1970. John Lennon wrote it with additional input from Paul McCartney. Abbey Road featured the song, which also became their last album recorded before Lennon’s death three months after its release.