Paul McCartney has revealed that he was "amazed" when Guns N' Roses covered his 1973 song, "Live and Let Die", on their 1991 album, ‘Use Your Illusion 1.’
He made the admission in his podcast, A Life In Lyrics, where he discussed his career and his songs. Sir Paul said he was impressed by the hard rock band's version of his song, which he wrote for the James Bond movie of the same name.
"I thought it was pretty good actually. I was more amazed that they would actually do it, this young American group," McCartney said.
He also shared a funny anecdote about how his kids faced disbelief at school when they claimed that their dad wrote the song.
"The interesting thing was my kids would go to school and they would go, 'My dad wrote that.' They'd go, 'No he didn't, it was Guns N' Roses.' So nobody would ever believe them. For a while it was just Guns N' Roses...," McCartney said.
He added that he was very happy that Guns N' Roses had done the cover, and that he always likes people doing his songs. McCartney also explained that writing a Bond song was always a "sneaky ambition" for him, as he liked to see himself as a "jobbing writer" who could write songs for any occasion.
"It was always a sneaky ambition to write a Bond song because, in some ways, I like to see myself, one portion of myself, as a jobbing writer. You require a song for the queen's wedding, I'm your man.
"The equivalent of that for a lot people is the Bond song. You've written a Bond song, it's a bit of an accolade," McCartney said.
"Live and Let Die" was the title song of the 1973 Bond movie starring Roger Moore. It was performed by McCartney and his band Wings, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Guns N' Roses' cover of the song was released as a single in 1992, and reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also featured in the 1994 movie Interview with the Vampire, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]