Paul McCartney

The Beatles’ most successful solo singer, Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, . While attending secondary school, McCartney befriended future band mate George Harrison on the school bus. McCartney came from a poor but musically-gifted family.

His father advised him to take some music lessons, although McCartney preferred to learn to play guitar by ear. When McCartney was 15, he met John Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen at a church hall. After playing for the band during their break, McCartney was invited by to join them as a guitarist. McCartney and Lennon collaborated on many songs together, although their families did not approve of the friendship due to class differences. Before long, McCartney's Liverpool Institute schoolmate, George Harrison had joined the group as lead guitarist, soon followed by Stuart Sutcliffe on bass. By May 1960, the group had shortened their new name, the "Silver Beetles", to “The Beatles.” After the departure of Sutcliffe and original drummer, Pete Best; and the addition of drummer, Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr) The Beatles settled into a fab foursome that would take the world by storm and claim a place in music history.

The Beatles’ rise to fame started in the early 60s, sweeping the rest of the decade up in Beatlemania with their innumerable hits. But by the 70s, the band was no longer performing in public and had begun pursuing solo projects. In December 1970, McCartney brought a lawsuit to dissolve The Beatles as a legal entity, and the group parted ways. Following his marriage to Linda Eastman on March 12, 1969, McCartney began to work on his first solo album at his home studio. McCartney was released in April 1970, spending three weeks at the top of the American charts. The following year, he released Another Day, and later, Ram, another home-made collection featuring contributions by wife, Linda.

By the end of 1971, the McCartney’s formed the band Wings and released their first album, Wild Life to poor reviews. Prior to embarking on their first British tour, their theme to the James Bond movie Live and Let Die (1973) became a Top Ten hit in the US and UK. That summer, Wings recorded a new album in called Band on the Run (1973), which spent four weeks atop the charts and eventually went triple platinum. Throughout the rest of the decade and through many different members, Wings continued to spawn various hits. In 1981, McCartney’s decision not to tour with the band due to the untimely assassination of friend and former Beatle, John Lennon effectively broke up the band.

In 1982, McCartney returned to solo pursuits in the studio with the release of his album Tug of War, which included Ebony and Ivory, a duet with Stevie Wonder that went on to become a number one single and became McCartney’s biggest American hit.

In 1983, McCartney sang on the first single from Michael Jackson's album Thriller, The Girl Is Mine. Jackson then sang on the first single from McCartney’s 1983 album Pipes of Peace, Say Say Say. The professional partnership blossomed into a friendship, but dissolved in 1985 when Jackson purchased the publishing rights to the Beatles songs.

McCartney continued to release albums throughout the 90s, although none would yield a new number one hit. The end of the decade marked a personal high and low for McCartney. In 1997, he received his knightship for his services to music, which he dedicated to fellow Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and the people of Liverpool . On April 17, 1998, McCartney’s wife and best-friend, Linda McCartney lost her life to breast cancer.

In 2002, McCartney married former model and current activist for amputees and animal rights, Heather Mills. The couple announced they were divorcing in 2006, and are currently involved in a messy settlement.