History Music / PaulMcCartney

* MissingMom: Mary [=McCartney=] died from cancer when Paul was 14. This tragedy has undoubtedly inspired quite a few of his songs, including "Let It Be", and helped him bond with Music/JohnLennon, who'd also lost his mother at a young age.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* MythologyGag: Since Music/TheBeatles had famously played their last public concert as a band at Candlestick Park in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco in 1966, he was the obvious choice for the final event at the stadium in 2014 before its scheduled demolition, and he delivered a marathon two-and-a-half-hour concert, playing 40 songs in total, 24 of them Beatles tunes. He wrapped up the final encore with [[Music/LittleRichard "Long Tall Sally"]] (the final song the band had played at the 1966 show), followed by the "Golden Slumbers" portion of the side two ''Music/AbbeyRoad'' medley, finishing with "The End".

* CoolOldGuy: He's in his 80s, and in an era where artists like Music/{{Kesha}}, Music/TaylorSwift, Music/KanyeWest, Music/LadyGaga, Music/BrunoMars, Music/KennyChesney and other young pop-oriented and country artists are top concert attractions, Paul remains solidly in that group of top concert attractions, regularly selling out top venues and drawing fans both young and old. He even had a voice cameo on ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' where [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext he jumped out of a cake at Diane's birthday]].

* OlderThanTheyLook: He's 80 as of 2022, but looks much younger.

[=McCartney=] began his career as a member of the band The Quarrymen in 1957, already a skilled songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Starting with the album ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967), he gradually became the Beatles' ''de facto'' leader. His songs with the Beatles "And I Love Her" (1964), "Yesterday" (1965), "Eleanor Rigby" (1966) and "Blackbird" (1968) rank among the most covered songs in history. Along the way, despite his innocuous, sentimental reputation, he helped also create one of the earliest examples of UsefulNotes/HeavyMetal with "Helter Skelter."

* OlderThanTheyLook: He's 80, but he looks like he's in his late-40's to mid-50's.

Shortly before the Beatles disbanded in 1970, [=McCartney=] debuted as a solo artist with the album ''Music/McCartney''. The following year, he released ''Music/{{Ram}}'' and formed the band Music/{{Wings}} with his first wife, Linda. After leading Wings throughout the 1970s, [=McCartney=] resumed his solo career in 1980.

!!Studio Discography ([=McCartney's=] discography with Music/TheBeatles and Music/{{Wings}} are on those bands' pages):

** There was also his and Linda's 1971 (but not released until 1977 due to [[Music/{{Wings}} other obligations]]) ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrillington Thrillington]]'' project (an orchestral album consisting of covers of Paul's entire ''Ram'' album), credited to the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington.

** "Paul [=McCartney=] and Music/{{Wings}}". To the extent that the greatest hits album ''All the Best'' is attributed solely to [=McCartney=] despite being about half-Wings.

** Paul and Linda's relationship with Denny Laine of Music/{{Wings}} didn't end well, either, although Paul and Denny seem to have reconciled.

* BeardOfSorrow: The only time during his life that [=McCartney=] was known to sport a beard was the period in 1969-70 that coincided with the breakup of the Beatles. [[http://thequietus.com/articles/06414-paul-mccartney-review Confirmed by the man himself.]]

[=McCartney=] began his career as a member of the band The Quarrymen in 1957, already a skilled songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Starting with the album ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967), he gradually became the Beatles' de facto leader. His songs with the Beatles "And I Love Her" (1964), "Yesterday" (1965), "Eleanor Rigby" (1966) and "Blackbird" (1968) rank among the most covered songs in history. Along the way, despite his innocuous, sentimental reputation, he helped also create one of the earliest examples of UsefulNotes/HeavyMetal with "Helter Skelter."

* CoolOldGuy: He's nearly 80, and in an era where artists like Music/{{Kesha}}, Music/TaylorSwift, Music/KanyeWest, Music/LadyGaga, Music/BrunoMars, Music/KennyChesney and other young pop-oriented and country artists are top concert attractions, Paul remains solidly in that group of top concert attractions, regularly selling out top venues and drawing fans both young and old. He even had a voice cameo on ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' where [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext he jumped out of a cake at Diane's birthday]].

* {{Prison}}: [=McCartney=]'s infamous bust in 1980, when, as he and Wings were arriving in Japan on a tour, he was caught at customs with 218 grams of marijuana in his luggage. He spent ten days in jail and could have faced a seven-year sentence, but the Japanese government elected to deport him. Reports of [[Music/JohnLennon John's]] reaction to the bust range from "delighted with his ex-partner's misfortune to the point where he literally danced with joy" to "[[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/lennons-rage-over-mccartney-drug-bust furious that his friend let himself get caught]] and increasingly anxious as Paul was detained"; at any rate, he called to provide moral support.

** Paul and Linda's relationship with Denny Laine of Music/{{Wings}} didn't end well, either, although Paul and Denny seen to have reconciled.

** "Looking For Changes" from ''Off The Ground'' is a sharp one against animal lab testing. "Big Boys Bickering" takes the anger UpToEleven.

* HiddenDepths: [=McCartney=] may be best known for his SillyLoveSongs, but he's also widely credited as one of the creators of UsefulNotes/HeavyMetal with "Helter Skelter."

* OlderThanTheyLook: He's in his mid-late 70's, but he looks like he's in his late-40's to mid-50's. One reason for this is that his hair used to be grayer than it is now.
** Averted since 2020 or so: he's stopped dyeing it.

* 1983 - ''Pipes Of Peace''

* 1982 - ''Tug Of War''

* 1980 - ''[=McCartney=] II''

-->'''Stephen:''' My guest tonight you know from '''''being Paul [=McCartney=]'''''.

* TheWikiRule: [[https://beatles.fandom.com The Beatles Wiki]] (which covers their solo work as well) and [[https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/ The Paul McCartney Project]].

** “Deep Deep Feeling” from ''McCartney III'' is 8:25.

** “What’s That You’re Doing?” [[note]]with Stevie Wonder[[/note]] from Tug of War is 6:19.

* CoolOldGuy: He's in his 70s, and in an era where artists like Music/{{Kesha}}, Music/TaylorSwift, Music/KanyeWest, Music/LadyGaga, Music/BrunoMars, Music/KennyChesney and other young pop-oriented and country artists are top concert attractions, Paul remains solidly in that group of top concert attractions, regularly selling out top venues and drawing fans both young and old. He even had a voice cameo on ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' where [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext he jumped out of a cake at Diane's birthday]].

* RecycledInSpace: "Another Day", as described by Wings drummer Denny Seiwell, is "Eleanor Rigby [[BigApplesauce IN NEW YORK CITY!]]"