Paul McCartney is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. With over 150 songs that have made it onto the Billboard charts and 32 number-one hits, it is hard to imagine music without McCartney's influence both as a member of The Beatles, complete with straight-laced and controversial songs, and as a solo artist. His staggering net worth as the wealthiest of The Beatles proves that.
McCartney is a true icon with generations of artists that look up to him. However, his tenure with music was almost exclusively with The Beatles. This is because after the group called it quits, with George Harrison eventually having the best-selling solo album, knowing how to move forward without John Lennon, Harrison, and Ringo Starr became a difficult thing for McCartney. As such, after finding himself at a crossroads, the Hey Jude singer had to decide if he wanted a future in music or if his career with The Beatles was enough.
Paul McCartney Almost Quit Music After The Beatles Split
It can be argued that The Beatles are one, if not the most, influential rock bands of all time. If none of the members of The Beatles had any desire to go on and make any music as a solo artist or part of another band, having a title like this would make for a pinnacle of a career.
But when there is still a desire to put out fresh music, being part of something that comes around once in a lifetime is intimidating to compete against at best. And this was the problem that McCartney faced when he was deciding to move forward with a solo career or quit music altogether.
"The main question I had was whether to keep going after The Beatles because it was a hard act—some might say, an impossible act—to follow," McCartney explained. "The ingredients in the Beatles were so unique. You had John [Lennon] right there, who could have made any group brilliant. Then you had George [Harrison]'s talent, and Ringo [Starr]'s, and then me."
The Say Say Say singer had to decide if the risk was worth the potential for having a second wildly successful career. And because of this, McCartney wrestled with putting himself out there as a solo artist for a long time.
"I didn't know what to do with myself, and trying something new was really risky," McCartney said.
But with encouragement from those around him, including his then-wife, Linda McCartney, who too would become part of McCartney's music future, McCartney took a chance on finding success with music again. A move that meant "starting from square one."
Paul McCartney's Success After The Beatles Comes From "Starting At Square One"
McCartney could have done what many famous singers choose to do after their successful band disbands, which would be to build a "supergroup." By doing this, there is no need to prove how good a musician someone is, given that fans already know. And this takes out a lot of the fight that comes with trying to start over in a completely new band.
"I could have just formed a supergroup, and rung up Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page and John Bonham," McCartney stated.
However, that thought quickly passed and McCartney realized what he wanted to do. "... I wanted to get back to square one, so I ended up forming Wings."
Getting back to square one meant not selling out concerts right away and touring with the band in less-than-luxurious conditions. A far cry from what McCartney had grown accustomed to with The Beatles.
"In the early days of Wings, we decided to go right back to square one, taking a van up the motorway and playing little spontaneous gigs at universities for students, rather than jumping straight in with big live shows," McCartney explained to Vanity Fair.
"I'd doubled back to almost being nothing—just some guy in the band—and now I was earning my fame again."
That fame would take time to grow, even with a group of performers who were not new to the spotlight. But as a result of dedication and believing in the group McCartney surrounded himself with, lightning would eventually strike twice.
Risk Paid Off For Paul McCartney And Wings
By making the choice to not jump into trying to sell out big stadiums, McCartney was able to see that a new generation of fans liked what he was doing with Wings, versus being along for the ride as a former Beatles fan alone.
"I used to think that all my Wings stuff was second-rate, but I began to meet younger kids, not kids from my Beatle generation, who would say, ‘We really love this song’," McCartney said.
This gave the Yesterday singer the confidence he needed to trudge on and book a proper, albeit smaller than he was used to. A tour that went from university to university and garnered legions of fans in a short amount of time.
"The main thing I didn’t want was to come on stage, faced with the whole torment of five rows of press people with little pads, all looking at me and saying, 'Oh well, he’s not as good as he was'," McCartney explained.
"So we decided to go out on that university tour, which made me less nervous... by the end of that tour I felt ready for something else, so we went into Europe."
After going to Europe, McCartney realized that the band could successfully sell out larger tours. As such, plans were made to make more music, release albums, and tour. This is exactly what Wings did, proving that McCartney was a success a second time around.
"By the time the mid-70s came around when we were doing a big American tour, that was the vindication of it," McCartney explained to Vanity Fair. "We were so tight and had come up together, as it were. The risk paid off."
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