Paul McCartney is among the select few musicians who have sold over 100 million records worldwide both as a solo artist and as one of the four iconic Liverpool musicians that transformed the world in the 1960s.
Since The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, having sold over 600 million albums worldwide, he sold far more than that with them. He began a prosperous solo career with his band The Wings after the band disbanded in 1970. He produced several new singles that allowed him to play in packed stadiums for the next fifty years.
Music with Paul, Ringo, John, and George is hard to conceive. Though, like any musician, they were also influenced by the musicians who came before them, they are perhaps the most influential performers in history. Paul mentioned the two musicians that were among of his greatest influences throughout the years and discussed several of his heroes.
The 2 artists Paul McCartney said were some of his biggest influences
James Jamerson
Paul McCartney told Reverb in 2018 that a bass player would be one of his major influences because he is primarily a bassist. James Jamerson, the late, great American bassist, was the first to be mentioned. His collaborations with Motown musicians in the 1960s and 1970s helped him gain notoriety. Because he wrote so many amazing bass lines, McCartney is sometimes asked if he was the one who changed how musicians saw the bass guitar. But he doesn’t take all the credit; James Jamerson is consistently cited as one of the most significant.
“It became a bit more skillful, yeah. I wouldn’t personally credit myself, but thanks for that. But part of it, I think James Jamerson, him and me. I’d share the credit there. I was nicking a lot off him. Funnily enough, I’d always liked bass.”
He added, “My dad, as I say, was a musician and I remember he would give me little sort of lessons. Not actual sit-down lessons, but when there was something on the radio, he’d say hear that low? That’s the bass. I remember him actually pointing out what a bass was, and he’d do little lessons in harmony.”
The Beatle declared that Jamerson was his hero during that same chat. considered him a really melodious player, which piqued his interest in the first place. Jamerson’s career included several appearances in Soul hits. “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “My Girl,” “Dancing in the Street,” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” were a few of them. He continued to be active until 1983, when he died at the age of 47.
Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson is the other musician whom Paul McCartney listed as one of his main influences. one of The Beach Boys’ original members and the creative force behind recordings such as 1966’s “Pet Sounds” Although he can play a variety of instruments and sing, his first instrument of choice was the bass.
Similar to James Jamerson, Brian Wilson had an impact on Paul McCartney even back in the 1960s, when The Beatles were still performing. The Beach Boys essentially emerged as the American band that the Fab Four were competing with at the time. The two bands had a healthy rivalry because they were close friends as well.
This was a direct result of The Beatles’ 1965 album “Rubber Soul,” which inspired Brian Wilson to write the ground-breaking album “Pet Sounds.” The Beatles needed the record in order to elevate their music to a new level. Because they chose to record their most experimental album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967), immediately after releasing that album.
“Brian (is one of my biggest influences) because he went to very unusual places. Brian would use, if you were playing in C, he might stay on the G a lot just to hold it all back. started to realize the power you had within the band.”
He continued, “Not actually vengeful power, just that you could actually. Even though the whole band is going in A you could go in E, and they’d go, Let us off the hook! And you’re actually in control then, an amazing thing. So I sussed that and got particularly interested in playing the bass.”
Over the years, they have praised one another and are close friends. They frequently got the opportunity to share the stage together. McCartney often talks about how great it was to be able to perform “God Only Knows” with him. The American group’s song is one of The Beatles’ favorites, as he has publicly disclosed.