The “height of praise” Paul McCartney ever received from John Lennon
Despite The Beatles being a quartet with the celebrated songwriting duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, it’s widely acknowledged that Lennon was the de facto leader. He held the position of the boss, the head honcho, the master puppeteer—whatever term you might use to describe his role. Lennon stood atop the pyramid, serving as the rock the others looked to for guidance, whether that be musically, personally, or, on rare occasions, physically.
Not only was Lennon the second oldest in the group, but he also possessed a commanding presence. Renowned for his humour, sharp wit, and confidence – sometimes bordering on arrogance – from the outset, he assumed the role of head of operations, yielding both positive and negative outcomes. Recognised as a demanding taskmaster, a trait he applied equally to himself, his bandmates felt Lennon’s dedication to constant improvement. McCartney, in particular, experienced this intensity due to his close collaboration with Lennon as the other primary songwriter.
Throughout his career, Lennon provided many accounts wherein he tore into his classic songs, calling them “embarrassing”, throwaways, and various other criticisms that seem unfathomable to fans given his oeuvre’s cultural significance. As part of this unrelentingly critical nature, he would also be unabashed in poking holes in McCartney’s efforts, despite him often playing a pivotal role in bringing them to life.
While this constant friction would partially fuel the demise of The Beatles, pushing Lennon and McCartney further apart as time wore on, according to the latter, there was a rare occasion when his old songwriting partner was so kind about his work that he even claimed that he preferred his efforts to his own.
When speaking to Playboy in 1984, McCartney reflected on how much his late friend’s praise meant to him and recalled one particular anecdote when Lennon delivered “the height of praise” he ever received from him.
He cast his mind back to one particular moment when the band was making the movie Help! in Austria. They were all shattered after a tiring day of skiing for the film. Although McCartney usually shared a room with Harrison, this time, he was bunking with Lennon. When they were getting out of their skiing gear, they had one of their cassettes on in the background. He couldn’t remember which one exactly, but it was either Revolver or Rubber Soul. It was during this benign moment that Lennon displayed some rare humility.
McCartney continued: “It may have been the one that had my song ‘Here, There and Everywhere’. There were three of my songs and three of John’s songs on the side we were listening to. And for the first time ever, he just tossed it off, without saying anything definite, ‘Oh, I probably like your songs better than mine.’ And that was it! That was the height of praise I ever got off him. Mumbles ‘I probably like your songs better than mine.’ Whoops! There was no one looking, so he could say it.”
Although things might have ended acrimoniously for them, McCartney added that all The Beatles looked up to Lennon, so whenever he praised them, they were very grateful. Perhaps most surprisingly, the ‘Yesterday’ songwriter added that his late friend was the one he looked up to most, which adds a completely different dimension to their storied dynamic.
Listen to ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ below.
