Paul McCartney is one of the most successful and influential musicians of all time, but he faced a daunting challenge when The Beatles disbanded in 1970. How would he continue his musical career after being part of the biggest band in history?
In a recent interview with Mojo magazine, McCartney revealed that he found inspiration from an unlikely source: Johnny Cash. The legendary country singer, who was also known as the "Man in Black", had formed a new band with rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins and some unknown country musicians. McCartney saw them on TV one night and was impressed by their energy and fun.
"I just thought I love this stuff too much to get out of it. So then the next thing was, well how are you gonna do it, you know are you gonna get a big super group together? Are you going to kind of go back to the roots and just try and work it all again and see if you could organically form a kind of proper band," McCartney said.
He decided to ask his wife, Linda, who was not a professional musician, to join him on stage. She agreed, and they recruited some other musicians to form Wings, a band that would span over a decade and produce several hit albums and songs.
"So I said to Linda, 'Hey, you know I need a friend up there on stage with me. Do you want to be in a group?' She thought about it for a moment, she said, 'Okay, sure.' And that is what we did. We got a couple of guys together, got out on the road and never looked back," McCartney said.
Wings' third album, Band on the Run, was released in 1973 and is widely regarded as their masterpiece. It features some of McCartney's most memorable songs, like the title track, "Jet", and "Helen Wheels". To celebrate its 50th anniversary, a special edition of the album will be released this Friday, along with remastered 4K videos of the songs.
McCartney, who is now 80 years old, is still making music and touring the world. He credits Johnny Cash for giving him the motivation to start a new chapter in his life.
"[Linda and I] were in bed one night, newly married, when Johnny Cash came on the telly with a new band he’d formed with Carl Perkins, a big hero of mine. There they were, playing with some country musicians I had never heard of, looking like they were having fun. I thought: here’s Johnny, he’s back, he’s doing it. So I turned to Linda and said: Do you want to form a band? And she went: ‘Sure.’ That’s how our relationship was. Do you want to go and live on a farm in Scotland? ‘Why not?’” McCartney said.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]