The four songwriters Paul McCartney admires the most
Ask any musician for their favourite songwriter, and Paul McCartney would likely be on the list. During his time with The Beatles, he gave the band their number-one hits, becoming a verified anthem-making that has given the world a long list of timeless classics. But what about Macca’s own favourite writers?
Having been in the biggest band in the world and coming up during a time period that is still looked back on as the most significant era in music history, McCartney has some powerful peers. Back when the band were active, they were mixing with the stars as they met heroes and friends alike, often turning the former into the latter. Still today, artists are desperate to get to meet the musician as he’s not only one of the most famous musicians around, but is reportedly one of the nicest too.
“Oh, there are a lot,” he said. With a circle of lofty connections and a life full of incredible musical memories, whittling down a list of the best of the best songwriters must be a tough one. But the names that McCartney picks out beautifully represent his own career, influences and artistry.
“I think Paul Simon has written some amazing songs,” he said, picking out the Simon and Garfunkel writer first. The feeling is mutual, as Simon ranked the Beatles as one of his own top-tier songwriters. The two feel like sides of the same coin, having both created incredible careers by balancing hit-making with experimentation and having both left powerful groups to grow on their own.
“Bob Dylan has written some great stuff,” he continued, proving that his love for Dylan has endured for decades now. Back in the early 1960s, the Fab Four were obsessed with the folk star. McCartney once called him their “idol”, as they eventually met in 1964. However, things got rocky between the two acts, and Dylan claimed the band was copying him on their album Rubber Soul. But they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as McCartney admitted, “That was John doing a Dylan… heavily influenced by Bob. If you listen, he’s singing it like Bob.”
“I think Neil Young has come up with some classics,” he said as his third choice. Proving his love for the folk world, he grants another slot to another 1960s leader of the blossoming scene. However, much like how McCartney has grown a long way from the rock and roller he started out as Young’s evolution has also taken him far and wide.
McCartney’s fourth choice, much like his nod to Dylan, also touches on an artist that the Beatles were compared to. “Beach Boys,” he said, adding, “‘God Only Knows,’ I think that’s a great classic.”
As the Beatles moved into their more experimental eras, Brian Wilson was too, as he pushed his own group into strange and interesting places. For a while, the two bands seemed to be in a kind of inspiration exchange, with Wilson admitting the impact Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had on him and McCartney taking notes from Pet Sounds when he made ‘Here, There, and Everywhere’.
“In a way, I could say I wish I’d written them, but I’ve written enough,” McCartney said in what is perhaps the understatement of the century. As one of the greatest songwriters to ever live, his celebration of the work of his peers is a beautiful thing.
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