The Everly Brothers: The band Paul McCartney said could “outsing” The Beatles
Although The Beatles were all extremely gifted at their instruments, their chemistry, songwriting and ability to harmonise separated them from their peers. With enough time and resources, anybody can reach a certain level of musical aptitude, but the Fab Four possessed qualities that nobody could teach.
Individually, neither Paul McCartney nor John Lennon would have dared to claim they were the greatest singers in the world from a technical perspective. However, when they came together, Lennon and McCartney created a vocal superpower that catapulted their band to international recognition, selling tens of millions of records along their revolutionary journey.
They were greatly inspired by The Everly Brothers, who taught them the power of harmonisation. McCartney once said of the duo: “The biggest influence on John and me was The Everly Brothers. To this day, I just think they’re the greatest. And they were different. You’d heard barbershop quartets, you’d heard the Beverley Sisters – three girls – you’d all heard that. But just two guys, two good-looking guys? So we idolised them. We wanted to be them.”
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, The Beach Boys had also mastered the art of harmonisation with first-class honours. However, on home soil, no other group could compete with The Beatles in this faculty. Together, they set a new benchmark that will never be eclipsed.
While The Beatles excelled in many specific areas, their astounding vocal range was one of the Liverpudlians’ finest assets. Neither Lennon nor McCartney ever partook in singing lessons. Instead, they had a natural talent to thank. When their two voices coalesced, it was a beautiful alchemy that sent chills down the spine and, for many, will never be beaten. However, in a 2008 interview with journalist Ian Halperin, McCartney claimed, “A lot of the bands today are much more technical than we were.”
He then singled out the Canadian comedy-rock group Barenaked Ladies, stating: “But the Barenaked Ladies have to be my favourite. Their harmonies are right on. They could outsing us any day of the week. I don’t think John and myself ever had the sort of range they do.”
These comments eventually made their way back to the Barenaked Ladies, who were confused and shocked by the compliment. Speaking to NME, their singer Ed Robertson said: “I think he was either stoned or has not listened to the Beatles in a long time! (Laughs) What an incredible compliment.”
He continued: “I can’t believe it happened, because one time I was asked about Prince thinking [Barenaked Ladies’ fourth album] Stunt was the greatest album of the year on a radio station, and I completely lost my mind because I’m a massive fan of his. But I tracked down the source of the quote, and it was me in another interview talking complete nonsense saying, ‘Prince thinks Stunt is the greatest album of the year!’, and it was printed as if it was true. (Laughs) In the back of my mind, I’m still searching for the interview where I claimed that Paul McCartney said we sing better than the Beatles – but I’ve yet to find it. I cannot believe Sir Paul said that.”
From a technical standpoint, many groups from the history books can likely outsing The Beatles. Music is about heart and soul rather than successfully hitting notes on a register. It was the chemistry shared between Lennon and McCartney that made their vocals different from anybody else. They created a unique sound that could only have been created by their brotherly bond, and together, the duo could outsing anyone.
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