Ringo Starr: 10th ‘Peace & Love’ Birthday Celebration

bestclassicbands.com
Ringo Starr: 10th ‘Peace & Love’ Birthday Celebration
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Saturday July 7 2018


Photo of Ringo Starr by Scott Robert Ritchie; used with permission

On July 7, 2008, Ringo Starr joined fans, friends and family on the streets in front of Hard Rock Cafe Chicago to celebrate his birthday with a simple call to action: Inviting everyone everywhere to say, post #peaceandlove or even think “Peace & Love” at noon, their local time. Ten years later, Ringo’s dream of generating a wave of Peace & Love that spans the planet on July 7 starting at noon in New Zealand and ending at noon in Hawaii continues to unfold. Last year saw fans in over 23 countries join the movement – from New Zealand to Antarctica, Latin America to Asia, Hawaii and more.

Earlier his year, the recently knighted Starr announced that this year he will return to Hard Rock Cafe, celebrating his birthday and joining fans in Nice, France, where he will be while on tour with his All Starr Band (see dates below). In keeping with the international support the event has seen, Hard Rock Cafe will play a video message from Ringo in restaurants around the world just before Noon, inviting patrons and fans to join Ringo and generate “Peace & Love.”

In addition to Hard Rock, this year’s event is being sponsored by The David Lynch Foundation, which promotes world peace every day by teaching meditation to at risk people all over the planet.

In the announcement, Starr said: “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday, or a better gift I could ask for, then Peace & Love. I was blown away last year with how far this idea keeps spreading – we started in New Zealand, had people sending Peace & Love from Antarctica, Japan, Costa Rica, India, Russia, Brazil, Europe, London, Liverpool and Hawaii. It was so far out. So here we are 10 years later and it keeps growing. I want to thank Capitol who have hosted us the last 4 years, Hard Rock, the David Lynch Foundation and everyone for continuing to help spread Peace & Love.”

Good morning everybody peace andlove heading down to the hard rock in Nice to celebrate with you all peace and love on my birthday 😎✌️💖🎵🎶🍒🥦☮️ pic.twitter.com/xzDP5htkci

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) 7 de julio de 2018

Starr has released a video for “Give More Love” (the title song from his 2017 album). Directed by Brent Carpenter, the video includes photos from fans depicting peace, love and kindness, selected from those submitted in a contest.

As the announcement notes: “to all who would like to participate, you don’t have to go anywhere, or say anything, you can just think ‘Peace & Love’, anywhere you are, and know you are still contributing Peace & Love to the moment.”

History of Ringo’s Annual July 7th Peace & Love Birthday Celebrations

2008 – Chicago, IL Hard Rock Cafe
2009 –Online campaign including in store salutes at Noon at all Hard Rock Cafes worldwide
2010 – New York City, NY: Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square
2011 – Hamburg, Germany: Hard Rock Cafe
2012 – Nashville, TN: Hard Rock Cafe
2013 – Online celebration including a video message from Ringo
2014 – Los Angeles, CA: Capitol Records Tower
2015 – Los Angeles, CA: Capitol Records Tower
2016 – Los Angeles, CA: Capitol Records Tower
2017 – Los Angeles, CA: Capitol Records Tower


Ringo and His All Starr Band 2018 Dates (Tickets available here and here)

Sep 01 – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tulsa, OK
Sep 02 – Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, Rogers, AR
Sep 03 – Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO
Sep 05 – Iowa State Center, Ames, IA
Sep 07 – Fox Theater, St. Louis, MO
Sep 08 – TBA, Milwaukee, WI
Sep 09 – Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, IN
Sep 11 – Fraze Pavilion, Kettering, OH
Sep 13 – Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
Sep 14 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY
Sep 15 – The Toyota Oakdale Theater, Wallingford, CT
Sep 17 – Wang Theater, Boston, MA
Sep 19 – Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 21 – Hard Rock Rocksino, Northfield Park, OH
Sep 22 – The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
Sep 23 – Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St Paul, MN
Sep 25 – Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
Sep 27 – Humphreys, San Diego, CA
Sep 28 – City National Civic, San Jose, CA
Sep 29 – Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

Thank you Nice for a great new peace and love get together for my birthday a good time was had by all. 😎✌️🌟💖🎶🎵🚀☮️ pic.twitter.com/c7nDZ4YHf7

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) 7 de julio de 2018

Paul McCartney is top of the list for Glastonbury 2018

Sir Paul McCartney performing on the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival 2004.



helenair.com
Paul McCartney is top of the list for Glastonbury
By Celebretainment
Jul 6, 2018



Sir Paul McCartney is "top of the list" for Glastonbury Festival.

The iconic music event will return next year, and boss Emily Eavis - daughter of founder Michael - has admitted The Beatles legend is always a name she would welcome to the Pyramid Stage for a headlining slot.

Speaking to Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2, she said: "We always want him, of course, He's top of our list - but we'll have to see."

Her coy comments come after the 'Hey Jude' hitmaker - who releases his new solo album 'Egypt Station' on September 7 -admitted to the radio host he would be delighted to top the bill at the festival for the first time since 2004.

He said last month: "I haven't really spoken to anyone about it. It's a little while since we did it. And we did enjoy doing it. The conversation hasn't gone any further."

Jo then asked: "If you were asked though what would you say?"

And Macca - who will return to the UK for the first time in three years in December with gigs in London, Glasgow and Liverpool - replied: "Yeah probably, probably."

While McCartney's status for the festival is still unconfirmed, Emily has now revealed they have booked a huge name for next year's traditional tea-time legends spot.

Although she refused to name any acts before the official announcement later in the year, she did reveal: "We've done our first draft of the Pyramid stage. This is where we're at, we're kind of drafting in a few other stage headliners. We're making progress. I think the festival weekend triggered a lot of agents.

"It's really started moving quite quickly now, and I think we've finally found our Sunday tea time legend slot as well, which is really excited.

"I'll give you clue - I can't tell you, but it's a female. She's not British, but I can't give you any more clues because it will get you into trouble."

This article originally ran on celebretainment.com.

A Little More Info on the Recording of ‘Egypt Station’

beatlesblogger.com
A Little More Info on the Recording of ‘Egypt Station’
by beatlesblogger
Posted on July 5, 2018

“I love that he’s pushing the boundaries in his songwriting harmonically and   lyrically. … I would see him bringing in new chord progressions that I still haven’t heard.”

So says producer extraordinaire, Greg Kurstin, who worked with Paul McCartney for over two years on Egypt Station, the maestro’s new album due out in September.

Kurstin has opened up at length in Rolling Stone for an interesting interview with Andy Greene about the new record, and just what it’s like to work with one of the icons of the music industry. The question everyone wonders about did come up: what’s it like telling a Beatle how to improve a song?

It is strange, but I know that’s what he really wants from me. I just have to take a breath and say it. Sometimes it might not go over very well, but he was always really cool. I remember a couple of times where I might have suggested something that might have been challenging. I can’t remember specifically, but I remember him just sort of carrying on and I’m wondering, “Did he hear me?” Then maybe half an hour would go by and I’d say, “Hey, Paul, what about that idea I mentioned a little while ago?” He said, “Oh, I heard you. I was just pretending to ignore you.” If he challenged me and wasn’t into the idea, I would realize, you know, that this is coming from a Beatle. He’s tried everything at this point. He’s done experimental albums. He’s done pop albums. Anything I could possibly ever want to do in the studio, he’s been there and tried it.

We also get to learn more about the contents and making of Egypt Station, a record that despite two songs being released as “singles” there’s been precious little detail about so far. Just one example:

I see that the album begins with “Station I” and ends with “Station II.” What can you tell me about those tracks?That started with a choir piece that Paul had worked out on the keyboard. Then we brought in David Campbell to help arrange the choir. We went into a cathedral to record that, which was really cool. It started with us in the studio. Paul had worked out some chords that he wanted the voices to do. Then we started creating different ambient noises, some of which came from tape loops. He had a little portable reel-to-reel player, the one they used on Revolver for “Tomorrow Never Knows.” That was done on this little Brenell tape machine. We created some of the sounds on that, like slowing down guitars.

Great stuff that really makes you want to hear this album…..

There’s also picture by MJ Kim (courtesy of McCartney’s MPL Communications Ltd) showing the pair in the studio. The interesting thing is the copyright date – 2016:

HOW PAUL McCARTNEY’S PRODUCER LEARNED TO TELL HIM TO CHANGE SONGS

ultimateclassicrock.com
HOW PAUL McCARTNEY’S PRODUCER LEARNED TO TELL HIM TO CHANGE SONGS
MARTIN KIELTY
Jul 5 2018


Michael Loccisano / Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Greg Kurstin, who produced Paul McCartney’s upcoming album Egypt Station, revealed how he tackled the challenge of telling the Beatles icon to change his songs.

Kurstin – a lifelong Beatles fan – spent two years working on the record with McCartney and his band in Los Angeles, Sussex in England and London’s Abbey Road Studios.

Responding to the observation that “It must have been odd telling a Beatle how to improve a song,” the producer told Rolling Stone, “It was. It is strange, but I know that’s what he really wants from me. I just have to take a breath and say it. Sometimes it might not go over very well, but he was always really cool."

Kurstin recalled "a couple of times where I might have suggested something that might have been challenging." "I can’t remember specifically, but I remember him just sort of carrying on, and I’m wondering, ‘Did he hear me?’" he said. "Then maybe half an hour would go by and I’d say, ‘Hey, Paul, what about that idea I mentioned a little while ago?’ He said, ‘Oh, I heard you. I was just pretending to ignore you.’ We’d just laugh about it. Then sometimes two days later he’d try the idea, and I’d be like, ‘Wow, okay.’ I thought I failed miserably with the idea, but he came back to it and really tried. I think he’s always listening, always absorbing.”

The producer noted that McCartney recorded more than just bass and vocals in the studio. “His touring band is on the album, but I’d say a lot of it is him playing a lot of the instruments," he said. "He’s a great drummer. He played a lot of the drums on the record. … There was a lot of time where it was just me, Paul and the engineers in the studio, and I would occasionally play here or there. The bass, obviously, is pretty much all Paul. He also played piano a lot of the times and sometimes guitar. There’s a few songs that have his band and there’s a lot where Paul is playing most of the instruments.”

One of Kurstin’s favorite memories is the experience of working in Abbey Road. “I mean, it was amazing,” he said. “He’d tell stories and you could visualize him and John [Lennon] and the band there as kids. … He told countless stories about the echo chamber. He said he’d hide out there with John, kind of giggling and laughing when there would be another session in another studio. If you soloed any of those tracks, you’d probably hear them laughing.

“There were also lots of stories about the console. There’d be a setting for classical and a setting for pop. They’d have the switch set to pop when the Beatles recorded and John and Paul would be like, “Why do they get classical? What do they do that we don’t?” They thought they were getting short-changed or something.”

McCartney added three U.K. dates to his Freshen Up tour, in addition to the four Canadian dates previously announced. You can see the dates below. Egypt Station will be released on Sept. 7.

Paul McCartney 'Freshen Up’ 2018 Tour

9/17 – Quebec City, QC – the Videotron Centre
9/20 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
9/28 – Winnipeg, MB – Bell MTS Place
9/30 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
12/12 – Liverpool, U.K. – Echo Arena
12/14 – Glasgow, U.K. – SSE Hydro
12/16 – London, U.K. – The O2




www.PaulMcCartney.com

JUL

05

2018

Paul Announces UK Dates

THE 'FRESHEN UP' TOUR 2018
FIRST UK LIVE DATES IN THREE YEARS ANNOUNCED TODAY

December 12th – Liverpool, UK - Echo Arena
December 14th – Glasgow, UK - SSE Hydro
December 16th – London, UK - O2 Arena

NEW ALBUM EGYPT STATION OUT SEPTEMBER 7th ON CAPITOL RECORDS

“There’s nothing like performing in front of your home crowd, especially when it’s been a while.  I can’t wait to finish the year on such a high by partying in Liverpool, Glasgow and London.  We’ve freshened up the show since our last time round and we are excited to get to play some of our new songs along side some of the favourites.” - Paul

THE PAULMcCARTNEY.COM VERIFIED PRESALE WILL TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY 11th JULY at 10AM BST.
REGISTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO BUY PRESALE TICKETS USING THE LINK BELOW. REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE ON SUNDAY 8TH JULY AT 10PM BST.

Register for UK presale tickets by clicking HERE ...

Registration for the Paul McCartney Presale powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan will close Sunday 8th July @ 10 PM BST. If verified and selected, you will receive your code via text message, two (2) to four (4) hours before your Verified Fan presale begins. Presale tickets will begin to be available on Wednesday 11th July at 10 AM BST. Due to the limited quantity of tickets, they will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

In the UK, an American Express® presale will run from 10am on Wednesday 11th July until 10pm on Friday 13th July for all American Express Cardmembers. T&Cs apply

TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC MONDAY 16th JULY, 10AM

Paul McCartney announced earlier this week that he’d be making his eagerly anticipated return to the road with his new 'Freshen Up' tour, starting in Canada this September. Today, Paul announces his first shows in the UK since 2015 – and his first Scottish concert in almost a decade.

The new tour dates confirmed this week mark Paul’s first series of live dates since the 'One On One' tour that played to some two million fans over the course of 2016 and 2017. The 'Freshen Up' tour will also be Paul’s first outing following the release of his brand new studio album, Egypt Station, out September 7th on Capitol Records.
 
Paul’s last concerts in London and Birmingham took place in 2015 and were part of his massive 'Out There' world tour, which ran from 2013 – 2015. His last visit to Scotland was in 2010 on the 'Up and Coming' tour at Hampden Park.
 
'Freshen Up' will begin in Canada in September for four shows before heading to the US for Paul’s headline performance at the 17th annual Austin City Limits festival in October.
 
The Paul McCartney live experience is everything any music lover could ever want from a rock show: Nearly three hours nightly of the greatest moments from the last 50 years of music, dozens of songs from Paul’s solo, Wings and of course Beatles catalogues that have formed the soundtracks of our lives. Paul and his band have played an unparalleled range of venues and locations throughout the Americas, the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and all points between: outside the Coliseum in Rome, Moscow’s Red Square, Buckingham Palace, The White House, a free show in Mexico for over 400,000 people, the last ever show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park where The Beatles played their final concert  in 1966, a 2016 week in the California desert that included two headline sets at the historic 'Desert Trip' festival and a jam-packed club gig for a few hundred lucky fans at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, and even one performance broadcast live into Space! Featuring Paul’s band of the last 15+ years – Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums) –and constantly upgraded state of the art audio and video technology that ensures an unforgettable experience from every seat in the house, a Paul McCartney concert is never anything short of life-changing.

Paul McCartney calls on MEPs to back music copyright law change

www.nme.com
Paul McCartney calls on MEPs to back music copyright law change
Rhian Daly
Jul 4, 2018


Paul McCartney

The Beatle has sent an open letter to European Parliament

Paul McCartney has called on MEPs to back proposed changes to music copyright law.

Members of European Parliament will vote on Thursday (July 5) whether to change the laws, which will require websites and apps, such as YouTube, who allow users to upload content to gain copyright licences for everything. The proposed changes have been criticised, with some aligning them with censorship.

McCartney, however, is on board with the changes, as seen in an open letter written to European Parliament. “Music and culture matter,” he wrote in it. “They are our heart and soul. But they don’t just happen: they demand the hard work of so many people. Importantly, music also creates jobs and economic growth and digital innovation across Europe.”

EU set to vote on 2 years of work on EU copyright directive. Over 1,000 recording artists - inc @PlacidoDomingo, @JamesBlunt, @cabrelfrancis, @Vienna_Phil, @udolindenberg & now the legend Sir @PaulMcCartney have called on their MEPs.

Vote YES (Tomorrow, 12pm CET) #ValueGap 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/vE8adCNs4I

— IFPI (@IFPI_org) 4 de julio de 2018

He continued to explain that “the value gap jeopardises the music ecosystem.” “We need an internet that is fair and sustainable for all,” he said. “But today some User Upload Content platforms refuse to compensate artists and all music creators fairly for their work, while they exploit it for their own profit. The value gap is that gulf between the value these platforms derive from music and the value they pay creators.”

The Beatles star’s letter was shared on the Twitter page of the IFPI, who represent more than 1,300 record companies across the world. Read it in full above.




Meanwhile, McCartney recently confirmed the release of his next album, ‘Egypt Station’. The record will be released on September 7 and was produced by Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder. Two tracks have already been shared from the album – ‘Come On To Me’ and ‘I Don’t Know.’

The 76-year-old musician also discussed working with Kanye West on ‘FourFiveSeconds’, saying the rapper spent most of the time looking at pictures of Kim Kardashian.

www.PaulMcCartney.com

JUL

03

2018

Paul Announces First Dates of New Tour

THE 'FRESHEN UP' TOUR 2018
FIRST 2018 DATES ANNOUNCED OF NEW TOUR

September 17: Quebec City, QC - the Videotron Centre
September 20: Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
September 28 – Winnipeg, MB - Bell MTS Place
September 30 – Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place

NEW ALBUM EGYPT STATION OUT SEPTEMBER 7th ON 
CAPITOL RECORDS

“We’ve always had such a fantastic time playing shows in Canada. We can’t wait to return in September for what should be another special run of shows.  We are looking forward to freshening up our show and playing some of our songs from the new album alongside those songs we know you like to hear.  Get ready to rock Canada!” - Paul

THE PAULMcCARTNEY.COM VERIFIED PRESALE WILL TAKE PLACE ON TUESDAY 10th JULY at 10AM LOCAL TIME.
REGISTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO BUY PRESALE TICKETS USING THE LINK BELOW. REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE ON SUNDAY 8TH  JULY AT 10PM ET.

Register for Canada presale tickets by clicking HERE ...

Registration for the Paul McCartney Presale powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan will close Sunday 8th July @ 10 PM ET. If verified and selected, you will receive your code via text message, two (2) hours before your Verified Fan presale begins. Presale tickets will begin to be available on Tuesday, July 10 at 10 AM local time. Due to the limited quantity of tickets, they will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Paul will make his eagerly anticipated return to the road with his new #FreshenUpTour. Four confirmed dates were announced this morning, marking Paul’s first series of live dates since the 'One On One' tour that played to some two million fans over the course of 2016 and 2017.

The 'Freshen Up' tour will also be Paul’s first outing following the release of his brand new studio album, Egypt Station, out September 7th on Capitol Records. 

'Freshen Up' will begin September 17th at the Videotron Centre in Québec, Paul’s first show in the Canadian capital since his 2013 stop at the Plains of Abraham on the 'Out There' tour. From there, Paul will visit Montreal for the first time since the 'On The Run' tour in 2011 to play the Bell Centre on September 20th, before returning to Winnipeg September 28th to play Bell MTS Place, his first performance in the capital of Manitoba since 2013. 'Freshen Up's' Canadian itinerary will conclude with a visit to a final Canadian capital city, Edmonton, Alberta, for a September 30th show at Rogers Place—Paul’s first appearance in the city since 2012.

American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public. The American Express® presale begins Tuesday, July 10 starting at 10am local time through Thursday, July 12 at 10pm local time. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, July 13 at 10am local time.

As previously announced, Paul will follow 'Freshen Up’s' Canadian run with headline sets at the17th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival. The historic bill includes Paul’s debut ACL Fest performance and only North American festival appearance of 2018, topping a lineup featuring Metallica, Childish Gambino, Arctic Monkeys, Travis Scott, The National, Hozier, St. Vincent, Janelle Monáe and more than 100 other artists playing Zilker Park, October 5 - 7 and October 12 - 14.  Tickets are available now at www.aclfestival.com.

The Paul McCartney live experience is everything any music lover could ever want from a rock show: Nearly three hours nightly of the greatest moments from the last 50 years of music, dozens of songs from Paul’s solo, Wings and of course Beatles catalogues that have formed the soundtracks of our lives. Paul and his band have played an unparalleled range of venues and locations throughout the Americas, the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and all points between: outside the Coliseum in Rome, Moscow’s Red Square, Buckingham Palace, The White House, a free show in Mexico for over 400,000 people, the last ever show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park where The Beatles played their final concert  in 1966, a 2016 week in the California desert that included two headline sets at the historic Desert Trip festival and a jam-packed club gig for a few hundred lucky fans at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, and even one performance broadcast live into Space! Featuring Paul’s band of the last 15+ years – Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums) –and constantly upgraded state of the art audio and video technology that ensures an unforgettable experience from every seat in the house, a Paul McCartney concert is never anything short of life-changing.

Paul announces first dates of his new #FreshenUpTour with four confirmed shows in Canada. Full details HERE: https://t.co/htcDitxzAU pic.twitter.com/48O2WzDdlG

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) 3 de julio de 2018

Everyone Loves Paul McCartney: The Secrets of One Beatle’s Eternal Appeal

www.alternet.org
Everyone Loves Paul McCartney: The Secrets of One Beatle’s Eternal Appeal
The enduring sentimentality of Sir Paul was on full display in “Carpool Karaoke.” But it’s about more than that
By Annie Zaleski
Monday July 2 2018


Sir Paul McCartney performs at Times Square on October 10, 2013 in New York City

It was inevitable that Paul McCartney's appearance on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" would make a splash. The musician's not just famous: He's a Beatle, at a level of famous that's almost hard to comprehend, it's in such rarefied air. But the extended episode quickly became a viral hit: The video is at 91 million views (and counting) on Facebook, with another 21 million YouTube views piled on for good measure.

The clip is a music nerd's dream, as it's McCartney playing tour guide in Liverpool, ground zero for the Beatles. Still, the entire episode was sniffle-inducing — from Paul in his childhood home reminiscing about writing songs with John Lennon and playing a jaunty version of "When I'm 64" on the piano, to his rowdy gig in a cozy Liverpool pub.

It was a profound delight — but also extraordinarily (and even unexpectedly) moving. Writer Bryan Behar penned a Medium post, "Why I Can’t Stop Crying Thinking About that Paul McCartney Video," and he wasn't exaggerating: My eyes welled with tears multiple times watching the clip, completely involuntarily, and I saw multiple Facebook friends (and friends-of-friends) express similar sentiments. Even the affable Corden got choked up while driving around with Macca singing along to "Let It Be."



As the host wiped his eyes, he said, "I can remember my granddad, who's a musician, and my dad sitting me down and saying, 'We're going to play you the best song we've ever heard.' And I remember them playing me that. If my granddad was here right now, he'd get an absolute kick out of this.'"

McCartney immediately responded, "He is." It was a stunning and poignant moment, wisely buttressed with silence to let the emotional gravitas linger.

The simple act of driving around in a car hollering along to the Beatles certainly exudes catharsis, especially in the wake of an increasingly horrific news cycle. But the widespread, visceral responses to familiar songs and stories intrigued me: Why does Paul McCartney provoke such deep sentimentality?

Depending on when you discovered the Beatles (or Paul), this answer will certainly differ. Original Beatles fans from the '60s have one view of what he represents; younger folks who came around to the band (or Wings and solo McCartney) in the last few decades have another take. Where these perspectives overlap is simple: The act of loving the music of the Beatles — and, by extension, McCartney's songwriting — transcends the passage of time.

Bands come and go, but the Beatles are one of the few acts to consistently resonate with younger listeners. Their albums are global musical folklore, totems passed from generation to generation that accumulate more layers of mystique with each passing year. In a fractured world — pop culture and otherwise — the Beatles offer rare common ground. Today's kids generally can't rebel against their parents and listen to the Beatles; chances are, mom and dad are the ones that introduced their children to the band.



I often like to say there's a Beatles album for every occasion or age. But in retrospect, it's fascinating to track how the band's career ran in parallel with such profound global changes  — civil and women's rights, war protests, economic shifts. Through it all, the Beatles evolved too, while still tapping into our collective, primal optimism. Today, the band's music provides a reminder of who we were, what we became, and what we've both lost and gained. As Behar put it in his piece, "This video wasn’t just about this video: It was about parents that are no longer with us. It was about our own kids, now grown and moved on from our nurturing nests."

For many music fans, the last few years have taught us that our heroes are fallible and that loss is inevitable. Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty — these seemingly untouchable figures died suddenly and prematurely, well before their artistic lives felt complete. This phenomenon only magnifies the fragility of the Beatles, a band whose legacy was shaped by jarring, painful tragedies (John Lennon's 1980 murder, George Harrison's passing from cancer in 2001). In between, McCartney also suffered another incalculable blow, the death of his beloved collaborator and wife Linda from breast cancer in 1998.

These losses made McCartney eminently human, especially since he did some of his grieving publicly. There's the 1982 solo song "Here Today," which takes the form of McCartney talking to Lennon; it remains a staple of his live show. A 1984 Playboy interview was even more revealing as he ping-ponged between despair, regret and bewilderment over Lennon's death and offered up one "consoling factor," that things ended on an up note.

"I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out," he said. "But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blowup."

The Beatles' friendships resonated so profoundly because musical icons often feel like family — or are at least larger-than-life representations of our own familial relationships. Bob Dylan's our gruff, distant relative who prefers staying off the grid in the woods whenever possible. Neil Young's the hippie uncle smoking weed outside during holiday visits. Madonna is your cool aunt who taught you how to swear, take no shit from men and find thrift store bargains.




But Paul McCartney is a benevolent grandpa — the one who always keeps ice cream in the freezer for dessert, who's always ready with a riveting personal story or historical anecdote and has lived an impossibly cool, full life. This is the McCartney seen in "Carpool Karaoke": He was sharp as a tack and in good humor, yet also exuded vulnerability. There were white streaks in his sandy hair, and his voice was slightly more weathered than it used to be, like a photograph faded from the sun.

But McCartney's "Carpool Karaoke" appearance wasn't just a nostalgic jaunt: The clip also served as a way to promote two new songs, "I Don’t Know" and "Come On To Me," from a forthcoming solo album, "Egypt Station." Despite plenty of reissues and "new" songs, The Fab Four never had a chance to reunite; their original run remains preserved in amber, an endlessly fascinating example of youthful bravado greased by musical genius.

McCartney, however, has always been restless, driven to create and innovate and challenge himself to keep bringing art and music into existence. As "Carpool Karaoke" demonstrated, his relentless ambition and quest for beauty is admirable — and his continued presence in the world feels like a gift.