“I’ve ended up as one of them”: The three musicians Paul McCartney relates to
In terms of popular music, Paul McCartney and The Beatles are considered established members of modern influence. From their revolutionary introduction to how albums can be recorded to what thematic threads can be weaved through the course of an album and even how its artwork can be a statement in and of itself, they have cemented their place as trendsetters.
While they are responsible for building several signposts of modern music influence and elevating them to new heights of artistic meaning, they made no secret of achieving that by harvesting the influence of musicians who created the formula.
The pairing of Elvis Presley’s vibrant vocal style and rockabilly melody profiles was primarily injected into The Beatles’ early sound, while Bob Dylan’s rich tapestry of narrative-led music was somewhat of a songwriting north star for the Liverpool-based quartet.
In fact, during the promotion of his compilation ‘Pure McCartney’, he revealed how meeting with Dylan in his hotel room led to “a mystical experience”.
“I could feel myself climbing a spiral walkway as I was talking to Dylan,” McCartney said. “I felt like I was figuring it all out, the meaning of life.”
It’s the sort of transcendent experience that makes sense of the music The Beatles began to release as their career developed, penning some of the most iconic songs that indeed attempt to crystalise the meaning of life.
And, of course, for McCartney, whose superstardom gave him a life lived behind a glass screen for the rest of the world to spectate, would have undoubtedly provided scarce moments of mutual understanding. As his profile rose, his life experience became increasingly unique and unrelatable for anyone without a career as an era-defining musician.
McCartney and the Beatles’ position within the canon is attributed to many reasons, both culturally and musically. However, for the latter, in particular, their continued pursuit of innovation within songwriting and production saw them push the boundaries of popular music into, at times, a space of almost orchestral composition. ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ are storytelling masterpieces that exhibit Dylan-esque lyrical tropes and symphonic compositions.
Both tracks helped affirm The Beatles’ standalone place within the cultural zeitgeist, a band who, upon these releases, were incomparable to their counterparts and instead became a genre of their own. So understandably, the community of relatable peers John Lennon or Paul McCartney felt would have been incredibly sparse.
So it’s no surprise that McCartney drew great personal parallels between himself and legends of symphonic music, both past and present.
In an interview on his website, McCartney spoke of music autobiographies and the ones that particularly resonated with him: “I read a Phillip Glass book and some of his pieces I didn’t know about, so looked them up on Spotify. Some others I’ve recently read are about Bernstein and Mozart. One of the things I find interesting is relating to them as musicians because without meaning to, I’ve ended up as one of them! So if the biography is talking about Mozart struggling to write a piece, I can relate to that”.
Modern music’s foundations differ starkly from those of classical music, and the intricacies of classical composition—particularly Mozart’s—are often rightfully revered due to their profound impact on music history. To some, drawing comparisons may seem lofty. However, regardless of structure—whether a 4:4 pop anthem or an operatic masterpiece spanning multiple acts—the essence of the creative process remains fundamentally the same. With over 300 songwriting credits and a back catalogue of songs that have defined nearly a century, McCartney has undeniably earned the right to claim a shared experience with the legends of the symphonic world.
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