Paul McCartney turns 84: musician proved that love for music never ages

Born in Liverpool, England, 84 years ago, musician Paul McCartney is perhaps one of the best-known names in music. A member of the historic Beatles, his career transcended more than five generations and reached the hearts of even the nobility, having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. The octogenarian has just released "The Boys of Dungeon Lane", his latest studio album, proving that his passion for music does not go away.

His contact with instruments happened during his childhood: his father was a self-taught musician and used to gather the family around a piano to relax. "I have beautiful memories of my childhood lying on the floor, listening to my father play 'Lullaby of the Leaves' [and other] old songs like [George Gershwin's] 'Stairway to Paradise'," Paul said in an interview published in The Beatles Anthology.

He was also part of the church choir and, from there, a relationship with music that the boy from Liverpool could never imagine began. Paul managed to convince his father to buy a guitar and learned hits from artists like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.

The meeting with the Beatles and the beginning of a phenomenon
It was at the Liverpool Institute that Paul met his friend George Harrison and, later, John Lennon, with whom he wrote many of his most successful lyrics in the history of music. "You saw him, but you didn't know him," Paul once said of John. "He grew his sideburns, wore a long jacket, skinny pants and beige-soled shoes."

The friendship between the two grew and Paul joined Lennon's already formed band, The Quarrymen, bringing George with him. Artists began to write lyrics and compose, without knowing that their songs would conquer the world.

The Beatles in 1950 - Universal Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Later, in 1960, then drummer Pete Best left the group and new drummer Ringo Starr completed the formation of the band that would achieve stardom. The Beatles won the New Artist award at the 7th edition of the Grammy Awards and conquered the world. On screen, they had great repercussion with the recently released films "Help!" and "A Hard Day's Night", based on some musical works of the same name.

In the midst of success, Paul finds Love
In 1969, the musician made his romance official with American photographer Linda Eastman. He adopted Heather, Linda's daughter from her first marriage, and together they had three more children: Stella (now a renowned fashion designer), Mary (activist and photographer) and James (who followed in his father's footsteps in music).

Paul and his wife Linda McCartney - Getty Images
In the following years, after the end of the Beatles, the couple extended their partnership to the stage: they formed the band Wings, which also featured Denny Laine, former guitarist for the Moody Blues. The group is responsible for great hits still performed by Paul in his shows, such as "Live and Let Die", an electrifying theme song composed for the James Bond film of the same name.

The marriage lasted until 1998, when Linda lost her battle to breast cancer, which devastated Paul. In an interview with the BBC, he opened up about how his life was affected by his wife's early grief: "I think I cried on and off for about a year... it seemed like the only thing to do," he lamented. "You wait to see them come in, this person you love, because you're so used to them."

In 2002, Paul remarried model Heather Mills, a union that resulted in the birth of his daughter Beatrice, but ended in a turbulent divorce in 2006, with a legal settlement of almost US$50 million (around R$260 million) in 2008. In October 2011, when he married businesswoman Nancy Shevell, with whom he remains to this day.

The legacy doesn't age
As the only living members, Paul and Ringo Starr got together a few times to perform and keep the band's legacy alive. One of the most iconic performances was a show at the O2 Arena in London in late 2024.

More than 50 years after the band's dissolution, the premiere of the documentary "Beatles '64", in November 2024, proved the Beatles' still great influence on the music industry. At the production premiere, Paul was accompanied by George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, and John Lennon's son, Sean Ono Lennon, as well as the film's director, David Tedeschi, and Martin Scorsese, who served as producer.

Recently, the artist released his 20th solo studio album, "The Boys of Dungeon Lane", followed by the confirmation of tour dates around the world. Official dates in Brazil have not yet been announced, but the musician should stop by here to promote the new project. Paul has already performed around 40 shows in the country and, in 2025, visited São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba with the "Got Back" tour.

"The Boys of Dungeon Lane", Paul's twentieth solo studio album was released in May - Disclosure

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Source: CNN