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Jun 18

1942 – Paul McCartney is born in Liverpool, Englan…

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1942 – Paul McCartney is born in Liverpool, England. The Beatles have 20 No. 1 songs, more than any other recording act, and McCartney by himself or in duets has another nine. His biggest post-Beatles hits are “Ebony and Ivory,” a duet with Stevie Wonder that stays at No. 1 for seven weeks, and “Say Say Say,” a duet with Michael Jackson that tops the pop chart for six weeks.
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English rock singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record producer, film producer and animal-rights activist. He gained worldwide fame as a member of The Beatles, with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best had previously played with the group, before Starr was asked to join. McCartney and Lennon formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships and “wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history”. After leaving The Beatles, McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda Eastman McCartney, and singer-songwriter Denny Laine. He has worked on film scores, classical music, and ambient/electronic music; released a large catalogue of songs as a solo artist; and taken part in projects to help international charities.

McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million singles. His song “Yesterday” is listed as the most covered song in history and has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American television and radio. Wings’ 1977 single “Mull of Kintyre” became the first single to sell more than two million copies in the UK, and remains the UK’s top selling non-charity single. (Three charity singles have since surpassed it in sales; the first to do so—in 1984—was Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, whose participants included McCartney.)

His company MPL Communications owns the copyrights to more than 3,000 songs, including all of the songs written by Buddy Holly, along with the publishing rights to such musicals as Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Grease. McCartney is also an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism, and music education; he is active in campaigns against landmines, seal hunting, and Third World debt.
Early years: 1942–1957

Jim & Mary McCartney

Paul McCartney was born in Walton Hospital in Liverpool, England, where his mother, Mary, had worked as a nurse in the maternity ward. He has one brother, Michael, born January 7, 1944. McCartney was baptised Roman Catholic but was raised non-denominationally: his mother was Roman Catholic, and his father, James “Jim” McCartney, was a Protestant turned agnostic.

In 1947, he began attending Stockton Wood Road Primary school. He then attended the Joseph Williams Junior School, and passed the 11-plus exam in 1953 with three others out of the 90 examinees and thus gained admission to the Liverpool Institute. In 1954, while riding on the bus to the Institute, he met George Harrison, who lived nearby. Passing the exam meant that McCartney and Harrison did not have to go to a secondary modern school, which most pupils attended until they were eligible to work. It also meant that Grammar school pupils had to find new friends.

20 Forthlin Road now attracts large numbers of tourists

In 1955 the McCartney family moved to 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton. Mary McCartney rode a bicycle to houses where she was needed as a midwife, and an early McCartney memory is of her leaving when it was snowing heavily. On 31 October 1956, Mary McCartney (who was a heavy smoker) died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer. The early loss of his mother later connected McCartney with John Lennon, whose mother, Julia, died when Lennon was 17.

McCartney’s father was a trumpet player and pianist who had led Jim Mac’s Jazz Band in the 1920s. He encouraged his two sons to be musical. Jim had an upright piano in the front room that he had bought from Harry Epstein’s store, and McCartney’s grandfather, Joe McCartney, played an E-flat tuba. Jim McCartney used to point out the different instruments in songs on the radio, and often took McCartney to local brass band concerts. After the death of his wife, Mary, Jim McCartney gave McCartney a nickel-plated trumpet, but when skiffle music became popular, McCartney swapped the trumpet for a £15 Framus Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar.

McCartney, being left-handed, found the Zenith difficult to play. He then saw a poster advertising a Slim Whitman concert, and realised that Whitman played left-handed, with his guitar strung the opposite way to a right-handed player. McCartney wrote his first song (“I Lost My Little Girl”) on the Zenith, and also played his father’s Framus Spanish guitar when writing early songs with Lennon. He later started playing piano and wrote “When I’m Sixty-Four”. Per his father’s advice, he took music lessons, but since he preferred to learn ‘by ear’ he never paid attention in them.

1957–1960: The Quarrymen and the Silver Beetles

Main articles: The Quarrymen and Lennon/McCartney

Fifteen-year-old McCartney met Lennon and The Quarrymen at the Woolton (St. Peter’s church hall) fête on July 6, 1957. At the start of their friendship Lennon’s Aunt Mimi disapproved of McCartney because he was, she said, “working class”, and called him “John’s little friend”. McCartney’s father told his son that Lennon would get him “into trouble”, although he later allowed The Quarrymen to rehearse in the front room at 20 Forthlin Road.

McCartney formed a close working relationship with Lennon and they collaborated on many songs. He convinced Lennon to allow Harrison to join The Quarrymen (Lennon thought Harrison was too young) after Lennon heard Harrison play at a rehearsal in March 1958. Harrison joined the group as lead guitarist, followed by Lennon’s art school friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, on bass, although McCartney was later dismissive about Sutcliffe’s musical ability. By May 1960, they had tried several new names, including The Silver Beetles; playing a tour of Scotland under that name with Johnny Gentle. They finally changed the name of the group to The Beatles for their performances in Hamburg.

1960–1970: The Beatles

Main article: The Beatles

Starting in May 1960, The Beatles were managed by Allan Williams, who booked them into Bruno Koschmider’s Indra club in Hamburg. McCartney’s father was reluctant to let the teenage McCartney go to Hamburg until McCartney pointed out that he would earn ₤2/10s per day. As this was more than he earned himself, Jim finally agreed.
The Indra Club,Hamburg where the Beatles first played
The Indra Club,Hamburg where the Beatles first played

The Beatles first played at the Indra club, sleeping in small, “dirty” rooms in the Bambi Kino, and then moved (after the closure of the Indra) to the larger Kaiserkeller. In October 1960, they left Koschmider’s club and worked at the “Top Ten Club”, which was run by Peter Eckhorn. When McCartney and Pete Best went back to the Bambi Kino to get their belongings they found it in almost total darkness. As a snub to Koschmider, they found a condom, attached it to a nail on the concrete wall of their room, and set fire to it. There was no real damage, but Koschmider reported them for attempted arson. McCartney and Best spent three hours in a local jail and were deported, as was Harrison, for working under the legal age limit. Lennon’s work permit was revoked a few days later and he went home by train, but Sutcliffe had a cold and stayed in Hamburg, and then flew home.

The group reunited in December 1960, and on 21 March 1961, played their first of many concerts at Liverpool’s Cavern club. McCartney realised that other Liverpool bands were playing the same cover songs, which prompted him and Lennon to write more original material. The Beatles returned to Hamburg in April 1961, and recorded “My Bonnie” with Tony Sheridan. Sutcliffe left the band after the end of their contract, so McCartney reluctantly took over bass. After borrowing Sutcliffe’s Hõfner 500/5 model for a short time, he bought a left-handed 1962 500/1 model Höfner bass. On 1 October 1961, McCartney went with Lennon (who paid for the trip) to Paris for two weeks.

The Beatles were first seen by Brian Epstein at the Cavern club on 9 November 1961, and he later signed them to a management contract. The Beatles’ road manager, Neil Aspinall, drove them to London on 31 December 1961, where they auditioned the next day, but were rejected by Decca Records. In April 1962, they went back to Hamburg to play at the Star-Club, and learned of Stuart Sutcliffe’s death a few hours before they arrived. The Beatles were ready to sign a record contract on 9 May 1962, with Parlophone Records—after having been rejected by many record companies—but Epstein sacked Pete Best (at the behest of McCartney, Lennon and Harrison) before they signed the contract. “Love Me Do” was released on 5 October 1962, featuring McCartney singing solo on the chorus line. Over the course of the next two years, McCartney and his band mates would rise from relative obscurity to international stardom, an unprecedented feat at that time for a rock-music combo.

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Yesterday (1965)
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Hey Jude (1968)
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All Lennon-McCartney songs on the first pressing of Please Please Me album (recorded in one day on 11 February 1963) as well as the “Please Please Me” single, “From Me to You”, and its B-side, “Thank You Girl”, are credited to “McCartney-Lennon”, but this was later changed to “Lennon-McCartney”. They usually needed an hour or two to finish a song, which were written in hotel rooms after a concert, at Wimpole Street, at Cavendish Avenue, or at Kenwood (Lennon’s house). McCartney also wrote songs for other artists, such as Billy J. Kramer, Cilla Black, Badfinger, and Mary Hopkin -and most notably he wrote two hit songs for the group Peter & Gordon-launching their career. One song, “World Without Love”, became a #1 hit in the U.K. & U.S. (Peter was the brother of Jane Asher, McCartney’s girlfriend at the time)
Epiphone Texan modeled after the one often used by McCartney.
Epiphone Texan modeled after the one often used by McCartney.

Lennon, Harrison, and Starr lived in large houses in the ‘stockbroker belt’ of southern England,] but McCartney continued to live in central London: in Jane Asher’s parents’ house, and then at 7 Cavendish Avenue, St John’s Wood, near the Abbey Road Studios.] It was at Cavendish Avenue that McCartney bought his first Old English Sheepdog, Martha, which inspired the song “Martha My Dear”.

McCartney often went to nightclubs alone, which offered ‘dining and dancing until 4:00 a.m.’ and featured cabaret acts. McCartney would get preferential treatment everywhere he went, which he readily accepted. He even once accepted an offer from a policeman to be allowed to park McCartney’s car. He later visited gambling clubs after 4:00am, such as ‘The Curzon House’, and often saw Brian Epstein there. The Ad Lib club (above the Prince Charles Theatre at 7 Leicester Place) was later opened for the emerging ‘Rock and Roll’ crowd of musicians, and tolerated their unusual lifestyle. After the Ad Lib fell out of favour, McCartney moved on to the Scotch of St James, at 13 Masons Yard. He also frequented The Bag O’Nails club at 8 Kingly Street in Soho, London, where he met Linda Eastman.

On 12 June 1965, The Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE); they received their insignia from Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 26 October 1965. They stopped touring after their last concert at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, on 29 August 1966. The other three Beatles had often talked about stopping touring, but after the Candlestick Park concert, and after having played so many concerts where they could not be heard, McCartney finally agreed that they should stop playing live concerts.
Beatles Houston sculpture
Beatles Houston sculpture

McCartney was the first to be involved in a project outside of the group, when he composed the score for the film The Family Way in 1966. The soundtrack was later released as an album (also called The Family Way), and won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Instrumental Theme, ahead of acclaimed jazz musician Mike Turner. McCartney wrote songs for and produced other artists, including Mary Hopkin, Badfinger, and the Bonzo Dog Band, and in 1966, he was asked by Kenneth Tynan to write the songs for the National Theatre’s production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare (starring Laurence Olivier) but declined. In 1968 he co-produced the song “I’m the Urban Spaceman” by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and was credited as “Apollo C. Vermouth” because of contractual restrictions.

McCartney later attempted to persuade Lennon and Harrison to return to the stage, and when they had a meeting to sign a new contract with Capitol Records, McCartney suggested “going back to our roots,” to which Lennon replied, “I think you’re mad!” Although Lennon had quit the group in September 1969, and Harrison and Starr had temporarily left the group at various times, McCartney was the one who publicly announced The Beatles’ breakup on 10 April 1970—one week before releasing his first solo album, McCartney. The album included a press release inside with a self-written interview stating McCartney’s hopes about the future. The Beatles’ partnership was legally dissolved after McCartney filed a lawsuit on 31 December 1970.]

1970s: Paul McCartney (solo) and Wings

Wings (band)

Paul and Linda McCartney at the 1974 Academy Awards.
Paul and Linda McCartney at the 1974 Academy Awards.

McCartney released his debut solo album, McCartney, in April 1970. He insisted that his wife should be involved in his musical career so that they would not be apart when he was on tour. McCartney’s second solo album, Ram (1971) was credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney. In August of that year McCartney formed Wings with guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell (although membership in Wings would change several times during its existence) and released their debut album, Wild Life. In 1972, Wings started an unplanned tour of British universities and small European venues. In February of that year, they released a single called “Give Ireland Back to the Irish”, which was banned by the BBC. Wings then embarked on the 26-date Wings Over Europe Tour.

The first of Wings’ two 1973 albums Red Rose Speedway spawned the band’s first #1 in the United States, “My Love”. On 16 April, McCartney starred in a TV variety show called James Paul McCartney. Wings then released the theme song for the James Bond film Live and Let Die. It reunited McCartney with George Martin, who both produced the song and arranged the orchestral break. Their second 1973 album Band on the Run, which won two Grammy Awards is Wings’ most lauded work. From it were released the singles “Jet”, and, in 1974, “Band on the Run” (the song) as well as the non-album single “Junior’s Farm”. A jam session — with Lennon and McCartney — was recorded in California, in 1974, and released on the bootleg A Toot and a Snore in ’74. The same year, he recorded an instrumental, “Walking in the Park with Eloise”, which had been written by his father. The song featured Wings, Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins. Venus and Mars was released in 1975, which featured “Listen to What the Man Said” and “Rock Show.” Till 1976, Wings embarked on the Wings Over the World tour.

In 1977, McCartney released Thrillington under the name “Percy ‘Thrills’ Thrillington”. Wings also released “Mull of Kintyre”. It stayed at #1 in the UK for nine weeks, and was the highest-selling single in the UK until 1984, when Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas beat its record. Wings toured again in 1979, and McCartney organised the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. McCartney’s “Rockestra” theme won a Grammy award. At Christmas 1979, McCartney released his (solo) “Wonderful Christmastime”.

Although McCartney’s relationship with Lennon was troubled, they reconciled during the 1970s. McCartney would often call Lennon, but was never sure of what sort of reception he would get, such as when McCartney once called Lennon and was told, “You’re all pizza and fairytales!” McCartney understood that he could not just phone Lennon and only talk about business, so they often talked about cats, baking bread, or babies.

1980s-1990s: Solo career

Paul McCartney (solo)

McCartney played every instrument on the 1980 release McCartney II (as he had on McCartney before it), this time with an emphasis on synthesisers instead of guitars. The single “Coming Up” reached #2 in Britain and #1 in the US. “Waterfalls” was another UK Top 10 hit. McCartney’s next album, 1982′s Tug of War, reunited him with Ringo Starr and Beatles producer George Martin, and the album hit No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic at the same time as it’s lead single, a duet with Stevie Wonder, “Ebony and Ivory”, did likewise. Two further hit duets followed, both with Michael Jackson: “The Girl Is Mine”, from Jackson’s Thriller album, and “Say Say Say”, a single from McCartney’s 1983 album, Pipes of Peace.

McCartney wrote and starred in the 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street. The film and soundtrack featured the US and UK Top 10 hit “No More Lonely Nights”, and the album reached #1 in the UK, but the film did not do well commercially or critically. Roger Ebert awarded the film a single star and wrote, “You can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the sound track”. Later that year, McCartney released “We All Stand Together”, the title song from the animated film Rupert and the Frog Song, which was the supporting feature to “Broad Street” in cinemas and which, when released on video cassette would become the year’s top-seller. The following year, McCartney released Spies Like Us the title song to the Dan Ackroyd/Chevy Chase comedy which hit #7 on the Billboard chart (making it his last US Top 20 hit to date).

In the second half of the decade McCartney would find new collaborators. Eric Stewart had appeared on McCartney’s Pipes of Peace album, and he co-wrote most of McCartney’s 1986 album Press to Play. The album and its lead single, “Press”, became minor hits. McCartney returned the favour by co-writing two songs for Stewart’s band, 10cc: “Don’t Break the Promises” (…Meanwhile, 1992), and “Yvonne’s the One” (Mirror Mirror, 1995). In 1987, EMI released All the Best! which was the first compilation of McCartney’s own songs.

In 1988, he released, initially in the Soviet Union only, Снова в СССР a collection of McCartney cover-versions of his favourite vintage Rock and roll classics which later had a general release in 1991. Around this time, McCartney also began a songwriting partnership with Elvis Costello (Declan MacManus) from which songs would appear on singles and albums by both artists, notably “Veronica”on Costello’s album Spike and “My Brave Face” from McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt, (which reached #1 in the UK on releas in 1989). Further McCartney/MacManus compositions for surfaced on Costello’s 1991 album Mighty Like a Rose and McCartney’s 1993 album Off the Ground. In late 1989, McCartney started his first concert tour since Lennon’s murder, also his first tour of the US in thirteen years.

In a 1980 interview, Lennon said that the last time he had seen McCartney was when they had watched the episode of Saturday Night Live (May 1976) in which Lorne Michaels had made his $3,000 cash offer to get Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr to reunite on the show. McCartney and Lennon had seriously considered going to the studio, but were too tired. This event was fictionalised in the 2000 television film Two of Us.

Reaction to John Lennon’s murder

On the morning of December 9, 1980, McCartney awoke to the news that Lennon had been murdered outside his home in the Dakota building in New York. Lennon’s death created a media frenzy around the surviving members of The Beatles. On the evening of 9 December, as McCartney was leaving an Oxford Street recording studio, he was surrounded by reporters and asked for his reaction to Lennon’s death. He replied, “I was very shocked, you know—this is terrible news,” and said that he had spent the day in the studio listening to some material because he “just didn’t want to sit at home.” When asked why, he replied, “I didn’t feel like it,” he was then asked when he first heard the news McCartney replied “This morning sometime” and one of the reporters asked “very early?” and said “yeah” and then asked the reporters if they all knew, they added “yeah” McCartney then added, “drag, isn’t it?” When published, his “drag” remark was criticised, and McCartney later regretted it. He furthermore stated that he had intended no disrespect but had just been at a loss for words, after the shock and sadness he felt over his friend’s murder. He was also to recall:
“ I talked to Yoko the day after he was killed and the first thing she said was, “John was really fond of you.” The last telephone conversation I had with him we were still the best of mates. He was always a very warm guy, John. His bluff was all on the surface. He used to take his glasses down, those granny glasses, and say, “It’s only me.” They were like a wall, you know? A shield. Those are the moments I treasure. ”

In 1983 Paul said:
“ I would not have been as typically human and standoffish as I was if I knew John was going to die. I would have made more of an effort to try and get behind his “mask” and have a better relationship with him.’ ”

In a Playboy interview in 1984, McCartney said that he went home that night and watched the news on television—while sitting with all his children—and cried all evening. His last telephone call to Lennon, which was just before Lennon and Yoko released Double Fantasy, was friendly. During the call, Lennon said (laughing) to McCartney, “This housewife wants a career!” which referred to Lennon’s “house-husband” years, while looking after Sean Lennon.

McCartney carried on recording after the death of Lennon but did not play any live concerts for some time. He explained that this was because he was nervous that he would be “the next” to be murdered. This led to a disagreement with Denny Laine, who wanted to continue touring and subsequently left Wings, which McCartney disbanded in 1981. Also in 1981, six months after Lennon’s death, McCartney sang backup on George Harrison’s tribute to Lennon, “All Those Years Ago,” which also featured Ringo Starr on drums. McCartney would go on to record “Here Today”, a tribute song to Lennon.

1990s: Classical music
McCartney at the Grammy Awards, February 1990.
McCartney at the Grammy Awards, February 1990.

The 1990s saw McCartney venture into classical music. In 1991 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned a musical piece by McCartney to celebrate its sesquicentennial. McCartney collaborated with Carl Davis to release Liverpool Oratorio. The Oratorio was premiered in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, and had its North American premiere in Carnegie Hall in New York on 18 November 1991, with Davis conducting. McCartney’s singers and musicians included the opera singers Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sally Burgess, Jerry Hadley and Willard White, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir of Liverpool Cathedral. EMI Classics recorded the premiere of the oratorio and released it on a 2-CD album which topped the classical charts. His next classical project to be released (in 1995) was A Leaf, a solo-piano piece played by Royal College of Music gold-medal winner Anya Alexeyev. The Prince of Wales later honoured McCartney as a Fellow of The Royal College of Music. Other forays into classical music included Standing Stone (1997), Working Classical (1999), and “Ecce Cor Meum” (2006).

In the early 1990s (after another world tour), McCartney reunited with Harrison and Starr to work on Apple’s The Beatles Anthology documentary series. It included three double albums of alternative takes, live recordings, and previously unreleased Beatles songs, as well as a ten-hour video boxed set. Anthology 1 was released in 1995, and featured “Free as a Bird”, which was the first Beatles reunion track, while Anthology 2, released in 1996, included “Real Love” (1996), the second and final in the reunion series. Both reunion tracks were co produced by Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne, who had worked with Harrison in The Traveling Wilburys. Both reunion tracks were completed by adding new music and vocal tracks to Lennon’s demos from the late 1970s.

In 1997, McCartney released Flaming Pie which was produced by Lynne and Martin. It debuted at #2 in the UK and the US, and was nominated in the Grammy Awards category Album of the Year. The same year, McCartney made his second venture into classical music with Standing Stone, which was commissioned by EMI Records to mark their 100th anniversary in autumn. On 11 March 1997, he was knighted as “Sir Paul McCartney” for his “services to music”. He dedicated his knighthood to fellow Beatles Lennon, Harrison, and Starr, and to the people of Liverpool. In 1999, McCartney released another album of rock ‘n’ roll songs, titled Run Devil Run. That same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. (Bitter that he had not been inducted sooner, McCartney brought his daughter to the stage with him and smiled as he pointed to her shirt, which read: “About Fucking Time.”) In 1999, he released Working Classical.

2000s
McCartney on Live8.
McCartney on Live8.

In 2000, McCartney released A Garland for Linda; a choral tribute album with compositions from eight other contemporary composers. The music was performed by “The Joyful Company of Singers” to raise funds for The Garland Appeal, a fund to aid cancer patients. In May 2001, he released Wingspan: An Intimate Portrait, a retrospective documentary that features behind-the-scenes films and photographs that he and Linda McCartney (who had died in 1998) took of their family and bands. Interspersed throughout the 88 minute film is an interview by Mary McCartney with her father. Mary was the baby photographed inside McCartney’s jacket on the back cover of McCartney, and was one of the producers of the documentary.

Earlier in the year, McCartney worked on what would become his new album, Driving Rain, released on November 12. Driving Rain featured uplifting songs inspired by and written for his soon-to-be wife Heather. Clearly determined to follow the example of Run Devil Run’s brisk recording pace, most of the album was recorded in two weeks, starting in February 2001. McCartney also composed and recorded the title track for the film Vanilla Sky, released later that year. The track was nominated for—but did not win—an Oscar for Best Original Song.

McCartney took a lead role in organising The Concert for New York City in response to the events of September 11. The concert took place on 20 October 2001.

In late 2001, McCartney was informed that George Harrison was losing his battle with cancer. Upon Harrison’s death on 29 November, McCartney told Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, Good Morning America, The Early Show, MTV, VH-1 and Today that Harrison was like his “baby brother”. Harrison spent his last days in a Hollywood Hills mansion that was once leased by McCartney. On 29 November 2002—on the first anniversary of George Harrison’s death—McCartney played Harrison’s “Something” on a ukulele at the Concert for George.

In 2002, McCartney began a two-year world tour. He contributed to an album titled Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy Of Sun Records, which included a version of Elvis Presley’s song “That’s All Right (Mama)”. He performed during the pre-game ceremonies at the NFL’s Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and starred in the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. In 2003, McCartney played a concert in Red Square, Russia. Vladimir Putin gave him a tour of the Square.

In what would be his first British music festival appearance, McCartney headlined the Glastonbury Festival in June 2004. McCartney and festival organiser Michael Eavis won the NME Award on behalf of the festival, which won ‘Best Live Event’ in the 2005 awards. McCartney performed at the main Live 8 concert on 2 July 2005, playing “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with U2 to open the Hyde Park event, although Ringo Starr criticised McCartney for not asking him to play.

On November 13th, 2005, McCartney played a live concert at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, CA. Towards the end of the concert, a satellite link-up was made to the International Space Station so McCartney and those at the concert could see NASA Astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian Cosmonaut Valery Tokarev as they were awakening for the 44th day of their six month mission in space. McCartney proceeded to play the traditional wakeup song played on each space mission, a tradition that began during the moon missions. McCartney also performed “Good Day Sunshine”, and “English Tea”. Afterwards he and the concert goers talked with McArthur and Tokarev via a projection screen. This was the first time a live concert had been linked to a U.S. spacecraft.
McCartney gives a speech at the US premier of Ecce Cor Meum at Carnegie Hall..
McCartney gives a speech at the US premier of Ecce Cor Meum at Carnegie Hall..

In March 2006, McCartney finished composing a ‘modern classical’ musical work named Ecce Cor Meum [Behold My Heart]. It was recorded with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and the boys of King’s College Choir, Cambridge, Magdalen College School, Oxford, and was premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 3 November 2006..[141] It was voted Classical Album of the Year in 2007 in the Classical Brit Awards.[142]

On 18 June 2006, McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, as in “When I’m Sixty-Four.” Paul Vallely noted it in The Independent as “a cultural milestone for a generation. Such is the nature of celebrity, McCartney is one of those people who have represented the hopes and aspirations of those born in the baby-boom era, which had its awakening in the Sixties.”[143]

McCartney joined Jay-Z and Linkin Park onstage at the 2006 Grammy Awards in a performance of “Numb/Encore” & “Yesterday” to commemorate the recent passing of Coretta Scott King. McCartney later noted that it was the first time he had performed at the Grammys and quipped, “I finally passed the audition,” which was a reference to the Lennon comment at the end of the Let It Be film: “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition.”[144] McCartney was nominated for another Grammy Award in 2007 for “Jenny Wren”—a song from his 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, which itself had been nominated as Album of the Year in 2006.[145]

On 21 March 2007, McCartney left EMI to become the first artist signed to Starbucks’s new record label, Los Angeles-based Hear Music, to be distributed by Concord Music Group. He made an appearance via a video-feed from London at the company’s annual meeting.[146] “For me, the great thing is the commitment and the passion and the love of music, which as an artist is good to see. It’s a new world now and people are thinking of new ways to reach the people, and that’s always been my aim”.[147]

On 2 April 2007, a fan drove through the security fence on McCartney’s Peasmarsh county estate shouting that he had to “get at” the ex-Beatle. The incident echoed the murder of Lennon and the attempted murder of George Harrison. The assailant was arrested after a chase through Sussex country lanes.[148][149][150]

McCartney played “secret gigs” in London, New York, and Los Angeles to promote his album. Several live recordings from these shows have been released as B-sides to singles from Memory Almost Full. In New York, the crowd included only a few hundred contest winners and celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Elijah Wood, Kate Moss, Aidan Quinn, and Steve Buscemi.[151]
McCartney’s BBC Electric Proms performance in Camden, London.
McCartney’s BBC Electric Proms performance in Camden, London.

McCartney played at the BBC Electric Proms on October 25, 2007, at The Roundhouse in Camden, which is run by a music festival run by the British Broadcasting Corporation. On 13 November 2007, The McCartney Years, a 3-DVD set was released. It contains a commentary, behind the scenes footage, over 40 music videos, Wings’ live performances, interviews with Melvyn Bragg and Michael Parkinson, LIVE AID, the Super Bowl XXXIX Halftime Show and the 2005 documentary Creating Chaos at Abbey Road.[152]

In February 2008, McCartney was awarded a BRIT award for outstanding contribution, the same as a Lifetime Achievement Award.[153] The minor planet 4148, discovered in 1983 was named ‘McCartney’ in his honour.[154] Yale University conferred an honorary Doctor of Music degree on Paul McCartney on 26 May 2008.[155] On 1 June 2008 McCartney celebrated Liverpool’s year as European capital of culture by playing a concert there. It featured special guest Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. Grohl played guitar and sang backing vocals on “Band on the Run” and played drums on Back in the U.S.S.R. and I Saw Her Standing There.

In April 2008 it has been revealed that McCartney was invited by Ukrainian tycoon Victor Pinchuk to play a free concert in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on 14 June, 2008. He played in the city’s main square Maidan Nezalezhnosti at a show dubbed the Independence Concert.[156] Over 350,000 concert goers braved adverse weather conditions as Paul McCartney played the biggest concert in the Ukraine’s history. Furthermore, McCartney will open a personal exhibition of his artistic works at the PinchukArtCentre[157].

Creative outlets

During the ’60s, McCartney was often seen at major cultural events, such as the launch party for The International Times, and at The Roundhouse (28 January and 4 February 1967).[158] He also delved into the visual arts, becoming a close friend of leading art dealers and gallery owners, explored experimental film, and regularly attended movie, theatrical and classical music performances. His first contact with the London avant-garde scene was through John Dunbar, who introduced him to the art dealer Robert Fraser, who in turn introduced McCartney to an array of writers and artists. McCartney later became involved in the renovation and publicising of the Indica Gallery in Mason’s Yard, London—John Lennon first met Yoko Ono at the Indica.[159][160] The Indica Gallery brought McCartney into contact with Barry Miles, whose underground newspaper, The International Times, McCartney helped to start.[161] Miles would become de facto manager of the Apple’s short-lived Zapple Records label, and wrote McCartney’s official biography, Many Years From Now (1998).

While living at the Asher house, McCartney took piano lessons at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which The Beatles’ producer Martin had previously attended. McCartney studied composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Luciano Berio.[162] McCartney later wrote and released several pieces of modern classical music and ambient electronica, besides writing poetry and painting. McCartney is lead patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, an arts school in the building formerly occupied by the Liverpool Institute for Boys.[163] The 1837 building, which McCartney attended during his schooldays, had become derelict by the mid-1980s.[163] On 7 June 1996, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the redeveloped building.[163]

Electronica

After the recording of “Yesterday” in 1965, McCartney contacted the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in Maida Vale, London, to see if they could record an electronic version of the song, but never followed it up. When visiting John Dunbar’s flat in London, McCartney would take along tapes he had compiled at Jane Asher’s house. The tapes were mixes of various songs, musical pieces and comments made by McCartney that he had Dick James make into a demo record for him.[166] He later made tape loops by recording voices, guitars and bongos on a Brenell tape machine, and splicing the various loops together. He reversed the tapes, sped them up, and slowed them down to create the effects he wanted (which were later used on Beatles’ recordings, such as “Tomorrow Never Knows”). McCartney referred to them as electronic symphonies and was heavily influenced by John Cage at the time.[167]

In the spring of 1966, while McCartney was part of a small group which included figureheads John Dunbar and (Barry) Miles, involved with giving birth to the Indica Gallery and the newspaper International Times, he rented a ground floor and basement flat from Ringo Starr at 34 Montagu Square, to be used as a small demo studio for spoken-word recordings by poets, writers (including William Burroughs) and avant-garde musicians.[168] The Beatles’ Apple Records then launched a sub-label, Zapple with (Barry) Miles as its manager, ostensibly to release recordings of a similar aesthetic, (although few releases would ultimately result as Apple and The Beatles slid into subsequent business and personal difficulties.)[168]

In 1995, McCartney recorded a radio series called “Oobu Joobu” for the American network Westwood One, which McCartney described as being “wide-screen radio”

During the 1990s, McCartney collaborated with Youth of Killing Joke under the name of the Fireman, and have released two ambient albums; Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (in 1993) and Rushes, in 1998. In 2000, he released an album, Liverpool Sound Collage, with Super Furry Animals and Youth, utilising collage and musique concrete techniques which fascinated him in the mid-1960s. Most recently, in 2005, he worked on a project with bootleg producer and remixer Freelance Hellraiser, consisting of remixed versions of songs from throughout his solo career and released under the name Twin Freaks.

Film

McCartney was interested in animated films as a child, and later had the financial resources to ask Geoff Dunbar to direct a short animated film called the Rupert and the Frog Song in 1981. McCartney wrote the music and the script, was the producer, and added some of the characters voices.Dunbar worked again with McCartney on an animated film about the work of French artist Honore Daumier, in 1992, which won both of them a Bafta award. They also worked on Tropic Island Hum, in 1997.In 1995, McCartney directed a short documentary about The Grateful Dead.[

Painting

In 1966, McCartney met art gallery-owner Robert Fraser, whose flat was visited by many well-known artists.[181] McCartney met Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Peter Blake, and Richard Hamilton there, and learned about art appreciation.[181] McCartney later started buying paintings by Magritte, and used Magritte’s painting of an apple for the Apple Records logo.[182] He now owns Magritte’s easel and spectacles.[183]

McCartney’s love of painting surfaced after watching artist Willem de Kooning paint, in Kooning’s Long Island barn.[184] McCartney took up painting in 1983.[185] In 1999, he exhibited his paintings (featuring McCartney’s portraits of John Lennon, Andy Warhol, and David Bowie) for the first time in Siegen, Germany, and included photographs by Linda. He chose the gallery because Wolfgang Suttner (local events organiser) was genuinely interested in his art, and the positive reaction led to McCartney showing his work in UK galleries.[186] The first UK exhibition of McCartney’s work was opened in Bristol, England with more than 500 paintings on display. McCartney had previously believed that “only people that had been to art school were allowed to paint” – as Lennon had.[186]

In October 2000, Yoko Ono and McCartney presented art exhibitions in New York and London. McCartney said,
“ I’ve been offered an exhibition of my paintings at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool where John and I used to spend many a pleasant afternoon. So I’m really excited about it. I didn’t tell anybody I painted for 15 years but now I’m out of the closet.[187][188] ”

Writing and poetry
McCartney’s English teacher, Alan Durband, in 1946.
McCartney’s English teacher, Alan Durband, in 1946.

When McCartney was young, his mother read him poems and encouraged him to read books. McCartney’s father was interested in crosswords and invited the two young McCartneys (Paul and his brother Michael) to solve them with him, so as to increase their “word power”.[189] McCartney was later inspired – in his school years – by Alan Durband, who was McCartney’s English literature teacher at the Liverpool Institute.[190] Durband was a co-founder and fund-raiser at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, where Willy Russell also worked, and introduced McCartney to Geoffrey Chaucer’s works.[191] McCartney later took his A-level exams, but passed only one subject – Art.[192][193]

In 2001 McCartney published ‘Blackbird Singing’, a volume of poems, some of which were lyrics to his songs, and gave readings in Liverpool and New York.[194] Some of them were serious: “Here Today” (about Lennon) and some humorous (“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”).[195] In the foreword of the book, McCartney explained that when he was a teenager, he had “an overwhelming desire” to have a poem of his published in the school magazine. He wrote something “deep and meaningful”, but it was rejected, and he feels that he has been trying to get some kind of revenge ever since. His first “real poem” was about the death of his childhood friend, Ivan Vaughan.[196]

In October 2005, McCartney released a children’s book called High In The Clouds: An Urban Furry Tail. In a press release publicizing the book, McCartney said, “I have loved reading for as long as I can remember,” singling out Treasure Island as a childhood favourite.[197] McCartney collaborated with author Philip Ardagh and animator Geoff Dunbar to write the book.[198]

Relationships and marriages

McCartney had a three-year relationship with Dot Rhone in Liverpool, and they were due to get married until Rhone lost the baby she was expecting. In London McCartney had a five-year relationship with actress Jane Asher. They were engaged to be married until they broke up in 1968. McCartney married American photographer Linda Eastman in 1969 (McCartney was the last Beatle to get married). They had four children (Linda’s daughter Heather who was adopted by Paul, followed by three more children) and remained married until Linda’s death from breast cancer in 1998. In 2002, McCartney married former model Heather Mills and they had a child in 2003. They separated in May 2006 and they were divorced in May 2008.[199]

Widespread animosity towards McCartney’s wives was reported in 2004. “They [the British public] didn’t like me giving up on Jane Asher,” McCartney said. “I married a New York divorcee with a child, and at the time they didn’t like that.”[200]

Relationship with Dot Rhone
McCartney and Dot Rhone on 17 March 1962, in Liverpool.
McCartney and Dot Rhone on 17 March 1962, in Liverpool.

One of McCartney’s first girlfriends was called Layla, whom McCartney remembered as having an unusual name in Liverpool at the time. Layla was slightly older than McCartney and used to ask him to baby-sit with her, which was a code word for sex. Julie Arthur, another girlfriend, was Ted Ray’s niece.[201]

McCartney’s first serious girlfriend in Liverpool was Dot Rhone, whom he met at the Casbah club in 1959.[202] McCartney picked out the clothes he wanted Rhone to wear and told her which make-up to use. He also paid for Rhone to have her blonde hair done in the style of Brigitte Bardot, whom Lennon and McCartney idolised.[203][204] When McCartney went to Hamburg with The Beatles he wrote regular letters to Rhone, and she accompanied Cynthia Lennon to Hamburg when The Beatles played there again in 1962.[205] According to Rhone, McCartney bought her a gold ring, took her sightseeing around Hamburg and was very attentive and caring.[206] Rhone later rented a room in the same house as Cynthia Lennon was living as McCartney helped with the rent.[207] McCartney admitted that he had other girlfriends in Hamburg during his time with Rhone, and that they were usually “strippers”, who knew a lot more about sex than Liverpool girls.[208]

Shortly after McCartney returned from Hamburg in May 1962, Rhone told him that she was pregnant. They told Jim McCartney—whom they expected to be shocked at the news—but found him delighted at the prospect of becoming a grandfather. McCartney took out a marriage licence and set the wedding date for November; shortly before the baby was due.[209] Rhone had a miscarriage in July 1962, and after a few weeks, McCartney’s feelings towards Rhone “cooled off” and he finished their relationship.[210]

Rhone later emigrated to Toronto, Canada, and McCartney met her again when The Beatles played there, and then again with Wings. Rhone said that “Love of the Loved” and “P.S. I Love You” were written about her. Years later, Cynthia Lennon gave back Rhone the gold ring that McCartney had bought in Hamburg, as Cynthia had once tried it on when Rhone was washing dishes, and had forgotten to take it off. Rhone is now a grandmother and lives in Mississauga, Ontario.[211]

Relationship with Jane Asher

Jane Asher

The Beatles were performing at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, when McCartney first met British actress Jane Asher on 18 April 1963, and a photographer asked them to pose with Asher.[212] The Beatles were interviewed by Asher for the BBC, and Asher was then photographed screaming at them like a fan. McCartney later persuaded her to become his girlfriend.[213]

McCartney soon met Jane’s family: Margaret, Jane’s mother, who combined her life as the mother of three children with a full-time career as a music teacher, and Jane’s father, Richard, who was a physician. Jane’s brother, Peter, was a member of Peter and Gordon, and Jane’s younger sister, Clare, was also an actress.[214] McCartney later gave “A World Without Love” to Peter and Gordon-as well as the song “Nobody I Know”. Both songs became hits for the group.[215] McCartney took up residence at the Ashers’ house at 57 Wimpole Street, London, and lived there for nearly three years.[216] During his time there McCartney met writers such as Bertrand Russell, Harold Pinter and Len Deighton.[217] He wrote several songs at the Ashers’, including “Yesterday”, and worked on songs with Lennon in the basement music room. Jane inspired many songs, such as “And I Love Her”, “You Won’t See Me”, and “I’m Looking Through You”.[218] On 13 April 1965, McCartney bought a £40,000 three-storey Regency house, at 7 Cavendish Avenue, London, and spent a further £20,000 renovating it. McCartney created a music room on the top floor of his house, where he worked with Lennon. He thanked the Ashers by paying for the decoration of the front of their house.[219]

On 15 May 1967, McCartney met American photographer Linda Eastman at a Georgie Fame concert at The Bag O’Nails club in London.[220] Eastman was in the UK on an assignment to take photographs of “Swinging sixties” musicians in London. McCartney and Linda later went to The Speakeasy club on Margaret Street.[221] They met again four days later at the launch party for the Sgt. Pepper album at Brian Epstein’s house in Belgravia, but when her assignment was completed, Linda flew back to New York City.[222]

On 25 December 1967, McCartney and Asher announced their engagement, and she accompanied McCartney to India in February and March of 1968. Asher broke off the engagement in early 1968, after coming back from Bristol to find McCartney in bed with another woman.[223] They attempted to mend the relationship, but finally broke it off in July 1968. Jane Asher has consistently refused to publicly discuss that part of her life.[224]

Marriage to Linda Eastman

Main articles: Linda McCartney, Heather McCartney, Mary McCartney, Stella McCartney, and James McCartney

In May 1968, McCartney met Eastman again in New York, when Lennon and McCartney were there to announce the formation of Apple Corps.[225] In September, McCartney phoned Eastman and asked her to fly over to London. Six months later, McCartney and Eastman were married at a small civil ceremony (when Linda was four months pregnant with McCartney’s child) at Marylebone Registry Office on 12 March 1969. He later said that Eastman was the woman who “gave me the strength and courage to work again” (after the break-up of The Beatles).[226] McCartney adopted Linda’s daughter from her first marriage, Heather Louise (now a potter), and the couple had three more children together: photographer Mary Anna, fashion designer Stella Nina,[227] and musician James Louis. McCartney has claimed that he and Linda spent less than a week apart during their entire marriage, interrupted only by Paul’s incarceration in Tokyo on drug charges in January 1980.

Linda McCartney died of breast cancer in Tucson, Arizona, on 17 April 1998.[228] McCartney denied rumours that her death was an assisted suicide.[228][229]

McCartney now has five grandchildren: Mary’s two sons Arthur Alistair Donald (born 3 April 1999) and Elliot Donald (born 1 August 2002) and Stella’s children, Miller Alasdhair James Willis (born 25 February 2005),[230] daughter Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis (born 8 December 2006).[231], and Beckett Robert Lee (born 8 January 2008).

Marriage to Heather Mills

Main article: Heather Mills

After having sparked the interest of the tabloids about his appearances with Heather Mills at events, McCartney appeared publicly beside Mills at a party in January 2000, to celebrate her 32nd birthday.[232][233] On 11 June 2002, McCartney married Mills, a former model and anti-landmines campaigner, in an elaborate ceremony at Castle Leslie in Glaslough, County Monaghan, Ireland, where more than 300 guests were invited and the reception included a vegetarian banquet.[234] In October 2003, Mills gave birth to a daughter, Beatrice Milly McCartney.[235] The baby was reportedly named after Heather’s late mother Beatrice and Paul’s Aunt Milly.[236]

On 29 July 2006, British newspapers announced that McCartney had petitioned for divorce, which sparked a press furor.[237][238][239] A settlement was announced on 21 January 2007, but Mills’ lawyers denied this.[240] On March 17, 2008, the financial terms of the divorce were finalised[241] with a settlement awarding Heather Mills £24.3 million ($48.6 million).[242] The settlement will also see the former Beatle pay their four-year-old daughter Beatrice’s nanny and school fees and will pay Beatrice £35,000 ($70,000) a year until she is 18, or ends secondary education.[242][243][244][245] After the divorce ruling, Justice Bennett said that throughout the case Mills was “inconsistent, inaccurate and less than candid” while McCartney was “honest.”[246][247] On May 12, 2008, Justice Hugh Bennett issued only a preliminary divorce decree to be finalized in 6 months: “On the petition for divorce presented by Miss Heather Mills, I pronounce the decree nisi of divorce on the grounds of two years’ separation.”[248][249]

Lifestyle

McCartney’s lifestyle was greatly altered by his success and the income he earned. In the 1960s, the new availability of the first oral contraceptive and illegal drugs changed many people’s opinions—including McCartney’s—about life, marriage, and sexual relationships.[250]

Recreational drug use

McCartney’s introduction to drugs started in Hamburg, Germany.[251] The Beatles had to play for hours, and they were often given “Prellies” (Preludin) by German customers or by Astrid Kirchherr (whose mother bought them). McCartney would usually take one, but Lennon would often take four or five.[252]

After having been introduced to cannabis, by Bob Dylan in New York, in 1964, McCartney remembered getting “very high” and giggling.[253] McCartney’s use of cannabis became regular, and he was quoted in the Barry Miles book as saying that any future Beatles’ lyrics containing the words “high”, or “grass” were written specifically as a reference to cannabis—as was “Got to Get You into My Life”.[254] John Dunbar’s flat at 29 Lennox Gardens, in London, became a regular hang-out for McCartney, where he talked to musicians, writers and artists, and smoked cannabis.[166] In 1965, Miles introduced McCartney to hash brownies by using a recipe for hash fudge he found in the Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.[255] During the filming of Help!, he and the other Beatles occasionally smoked a spliff in the car on the way to the studio during filming, which often made them forget their lines.[256] Help! director Dick Lester said that he overheard “two beautiful women” trying to cajole McCartney into taking heroin, but he refused.[256]
McCartney called for the legalization of Cannabis in 1967.
McCartney called for the legalization of Cannabis in 1967.

McCartney’s attitude about cannabis was made public in the 1960s, when he added his name to an advertisement in The Times, on 24 July 1967, which asked for the legalisation of cannabis, the release of all prisoners imprisoned because of possession, and research into marijuana’s medical uses. The advertisement was sponsored by a group called Soma and was signed by 65 people, including The Beatles, Brian Epstein, Graham Greene, R.D. Laing, 15 doctors, and two MPs.[257]

McCartney was introduced to cocaine by Robert Fraser, and it was available during the recording of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.[258][259] McCartney admitted sniffing heroin with Fraser, but did not feel any effect, and never took it again.[260]

In 1967, on a sailing trip to Greece—with the idea of buying an island for the whole group—McCartney said everybody sat around and took LSD, although McCartney first took it with Tara Browne, in 1966.[261][262][263] He took his second “acid trip” with Lennon on 21 March 1967 after a studio session.[264] McCartney was the first British pop star openly to admit to using LSD, in an interview in the now-defunct “Queen” magazine.[265] His admission was followed by a TV interview in the UK on Independent Television News on 19 June 1967, when McCartney was asked about his admission of LSD use, he said:
“ I was asked a question by a newspaper, and the decision was whether to tell a lie or tell him the truth. I decided to tell him the truth … but I really didn’t want to say anything, you know, because if I had my way I wouldn’t have told anyone. I’m not trying to spread the word about this. But the man from the newspaper is the man from the mass medium. I’ll keep it a personal thing if he does too, you know … if he keeps it quiet. But he wanted to spread it so it’s his responsibility, you know, for spreading it, not mine. ”

In another quote (cited and endorsed by The Byrds’ David Crosby at the Monterey Pop Festival), McCartney said,
“ [LSD] opened my eyes. We only use one-tenth of our brain. Just think of what we could accomplish if we could only tap that hidden part! It would mean a whole new world if the politicians would take LSD. There wouldn’t be any more war or poverty or famine. ”

In spite of his statements then, and his admission (in 2004) that he had used cocaine, McCartney was not arrested by Norman Pilcher’s Drug Squad, as had been Lennon, Harrison, Donovan, and several members of the Rolling Stones.[266] In 1972, however, police found cannabis plants growing on his Scottish farm.[267]

On 16 January 1980, Wings went to Tokyo for 11 concerts in Japan. As McCartney was going through customs, officials found 7.7 ounces (218.3 g) of cannabis in his luggage. He was arrested and taken to a Tokyo prison while the Japanese government decided what to do. McCartney had been previously denied a visa to Japan (in 1975) because he had been convicted twice in Europe for possession of cannabis.[266] Public figures called for McCartney to be tried by a jury for drug-smuggling. Had he been tried and convicted, he would have faced up to seven years in prison. The members of Wings cancelled the tour and left Japan. After ten days in jail, McCartney was released and deported. He was told that he would not be welcome in Japan again, although a decade later he played a concert in Tokyo. In 1984, Paul and Linda McCartney were both arrested for possession of cannabis.[268][269]

Meditation

On 24 August 1967, McCartney met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton, and later went to Bangor, in North Wales, to attend a weekend ‘initiation’ conference.[270] McCartney said that although he does not meditate daily, he still uses the mantra that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi gave him in Bangor.[271] The time McCartney later spent in India at the Maharishi’s ashram was highly productive, as practically all of the songs that would later be recorded for The White Album and Abbey Road were composed there by McCartney, Lennon, or both together.[272] Although McCartney was told that he was never to repeat the mantra to anyone else, he did tell Linda McCartney,[273] and said he meditated a lot while he was in jail in Japan.[271]

Activism
McCartney’s campaign against landmines
McCartney’s campaign against landmines

The McCartneys became outspoken vegetarians and animal-rights activists. They said that their vegetarianism was realised when they happened to see lambs in a field as they ate a meal of lamb.[274] McCartney has also credited the 1942 Disney film Bambi – in which the young deer’s mother is shot by a hunter – as the original inspiration for him to take an interest in animal rights.[275] In his first interview after Linda’s death, he promised to continue working for animal rights.[276][277]

In 1999, McCartney spent £3,000,000 to make sure Linda McCartney’s food range remains free of GM ingredients.[278] In 2002, McCartney gave his support to a campaign against a proposed ban on the sale of certain vitamins, herbs and mineral products in the European Union.[279] Following his marriage to Heather Mills, McCartney joined with her to campaign against landmines;[280][281] both McCartney and Mills are patrons of Adopt-A-Minefield.[282] In 2003, he played a personal concert for the wife of a wealthy banker and donated his one million dollars to the charity.[283] He also wore an anti-landmines t-shirt on the Back in the World tour.[282]

In 2006, the McCartneys travelled to Prince Edward Island to bring international attention to the seal hunt (their final public appearance together). Their arrival sparked attention in Newfoundland and Labrador where the hunt is of economic significance.[284] The couple also debated with Newfoundland’s Premier Danny Williams on the CNN show Larry King Live. They further stated that the fishermen should quit hunting seals and begin a seal watching business.[285] McCartney has also criticised China’s fur trade,[286][287] and supports the Make Poverty History campaign.[288]

McCartney has been involved with a number of charity recordings and performances. In 2004, he donated a song to an album to aid the “US Campaign for Burma”, in support of Burmese Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi,[289] and he had previously been involved in the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Live Aid, and the recording of “Ferry Cross the Mersey” (released 8 May 1989) following the Hillsborough disaster.[290][291]

Football

The Beatles made few comments about the football clubs they supported, in case they alienated fans of the group,[292] although McCartney is a supporter of Everton Football Club[293] (his father and relatives used to take him to matches) but his allegiance later encompassed Liverpool F.C. (both clubs being from the same city; Liverpool).[294] Linda McCartney said: “We spent last night listening to Liverpool football team on the radio, wanting them to win so badly. Paul supports Liverpool. He was Everton for a while because of his family – but it’s all Liverpool now”.[295][296]

Both Lennon and McCartney watched the 1966 FA Cup Final between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday, and McCartney attended the 1968 FA Cup Final (18 May 1968) which was played between West Bromwich Albion and Everton.[297] After the final whistle, McCartney shared cigarettes and whisky with other fans.[296] Liverpool player, Albert Stubbins, was the only footballer shown on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover.[292] On 28 July 1968, The Beatles were photographed in a photographer’s studio at 192-212 Gray’s Inn Road, with McCartney wearing a Liverpool F.C. Rosette on two photos.[298]

McCartney tried to listen to the Liverpool v Manchester United 1977 FA Cup Final on a radio, while sailing in the Caribbean.[292] The video for McCartney’s Pipes of Peace (1983) recreated the football game played between German and British troops during WWI.[299][300] McCartney was seen at the 1986 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Everton,[296] and in 1989, McCartney contributed to the “Ferry Cross the Mersey” charity single that was recorded to aid victims of the Hillsborough Disaster, which happened during a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.[301]

Business

Main articles: Apple Corps, Northern Songs, and MPL Communications

McCartney is today one of Britain’s wealthiest men, with an estimated fortune of £824 million,[302] although Justice Bennett, in his judgment on McCartney’s divorce case found no evidence that McCartney was worth more than £400 million.[303] In addition to his interest in Apple Corps, McCartney’s MPL Communications owns a significant music publishing catalogue, with access to over 25,000 copyrights.[304][305] McCartney earned £40 million in 2003, making him Britain’s highest media earner.[306] This rose to £48.5 million by 2005.[307] In the same year he joined the top American talent agency Grabow Associates, who arrange private performances for their richest clients.[308] Northern Songs was established in 1963, by Dick James, to publish the songs of Lennon/McCartney.[309] The Beatles’ partnership was replaced in 1968 by a jointly-held company, Apple Corps, which continues to control Apple’s commercial interests. Northern Songs was purchased by Associated TeleVision (ATV) in 1969, and was sold in 1985 to Michael Jackson. For many years McCartney was unhappy about Jackson’s purchase and handling of Northern Songs.[310]

MPL Communications is an umbrella company for McCartney’s business interests, which owns a wide range of copyrights,[311] as well as the publishing rights to musicals,[312] and controls 25 subsidiary companies.[313] In 2006, the Trademarks Registry reported that MPL had started a process to secure the protections associated with registering the name “Paul McCartney” as a trademark.[314] The 2005 films, Brokeback Mountain[315] and Good Night and Good Luck, feature MPL copyrights.[316]

Critique and achievements

McCartney is listed in The Guinness Book Of Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history,[317][318] with sales of 100 million singles and 60 gold discs.[319][320] McCartney has achieved twenty-nine number-one singles in the U.S., twenty of them with The Beatles, the rest with Wings and as a solo artist.[317] McCartney has been involved in more number-one singles in the United Kingdom than any other artist under a variety of credits, although Elvis Presley has achieved more as a solo artist. McCartney has achieved 24 number-ones in the U.K.: solo (1), Wings (1), with Stevie Wonder (1), Ferry Aid (1), Band Aid (1), Band Aid 20 (1) and The Beatles (17).[321] McCartney is the only artist to reach the U.K. number one as a soloist (“Pipes of Peace”), duo (“Ebony and Ivory” with Stevie Wonder), trio (“Mull of Kintyre”, Wings), quartet (“She Loves You”, The Beatles), quintet (“Get Back”, The Beatles with Billy Preston) and sextet (“Let It Be” with Ferry Aid). McCartney’s song “Yesterday” is the most covered song in history with more than 3,500 recorded versions[322] and has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American TV and radio, for which McCartney was given an award.[323] After its 1977 release the Wings single “Mull of Kintyre” became the highest-selling record in British chart history, and remained so until 1984.

On 2 July 2005, he was involved with the fastest-released single in history. His performance of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with U2 at Live 8 was released only 45 minutes after it was performed, before the end of the concert.[324] The single reached number six on the Billboard charts, just hours after the single’s release, and hit number one on numerous online download charts across the world.[325] McCartney played for the largest stadium audience in history when 184,000 people paid to see him perform at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 21 April, 1990,[326] and he played his 3,000th concert in front of 60,000 fans in St Petersburg, Russia, on 20 June 2004.[327] Over his career, McCartney has played 2,523 gigs with The Beatles, 140 with Wings, and 325 as a solo artist.[328]

In the concert programme for his 1989 world tour, McCartney wrote that Lennon received all the credit for being the avant-garde Beatle,[161] and McCartney was known as ‘baby-faced’, which he disagreed with.[329] People also assumed that Lennon was the ‘hard-edged one’, and McCartney was the ‘soft-edged’ Beatle, although McCartney admitted to ‘bossing Lennon around.’[330] Linda McCartney said that McCartney had a ‘hard-edge’—and not just on the surface—which she knew about after all the years she had spent living with him.[331] McCartney seemed to confirm this edge when he commented that he sometimes meditates, which he said is better than “sleeping, eating, or shouting at someone”.[273] In June 1983, McCartney released “We All Stand Together” from the animated film Rupert And The Frog Song, which was commercially successful, but was widely ridiculed as being “one of the worst songs in recent years”.[332]

Paul is dead rumours

Main article: Paul is dead

“Paul is Dead” is an urban legend alleging that McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike. The rumour is the subject of several books, including American journalist Andru J. Reeve’s 1994 book Turn Me On, Dead Man (ISBN 1-4184-8294-3) and English author Benjamin Fitzpatrick’s 1997 book, ‘Rumours from John, George, Ringo and Me’.”Paul is dead” analyst Joel Glazier hypothesized in a 1978 treatise that Lennon’s love of wordplay and studio editing may have been responsible for clues in later Beatles albums.[333]

2008 – Singer songwriter John Stewart, who wrote the Monkees hit

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2008 – Singer songwriter John Stewart, who wrote the Monkees hit Daydream Believer died aged 68 after he suffered a massive stroke or brain aneurysm in San Diego. Stewart was a member of folk group The Kingston Trio and went on to record more than 45 solo albums with his biggest solo success being a US top five single, Gold, in 1979.

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Oct 20

2005 – Kanye West tops the U.S. singles chart for a seventh straight week with “Gol

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2005 – Kanye West tops the U.S. singles chart for a seventh straight week with “Gold Digger.” The highest new entry is “Boondocks” by country band Little Big Town, in at No. 93.

Tags: Band, chart, Charts, country, Gold, single, singles, Top, Tops

Sep 29

2005 – The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Better Days” is the highest new entry, debuting at No. 57.

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2005 – Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” tops the U.S. singles chart for a fourth week. The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Better Days” is the highest new entry, debuting at No. 57.

Tags: chart, Charts, day, debut, Gold, single, singles, Top, Tops

Sep 01

2005 – Veteran performer Olivia Newton-releases a …

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2005 – Veteran performer Olivia Newton-releases a studio album specifically for sale as part of a Hallmark program in support of breast cancer awareness month. “Stronger Than Before” is to be available Sept. 1-Oct. 31 exclusively through Hallmark Gold Crown stores. The CD retails for $9.95 with two dollars from each sale benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Tags: album, benefit, breast, cancer, foundation, Gold, perform, sales, Store, Studio, undefined, veteran

Oct 08

2004 – After nearly 60 years of recordings, Ray Ch…

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2004 – After nearly 60 years of recordings, Ray Charles posthumously earns the first platinum award of his career with “Genius Loves Company” during September certifications by the RIAA. The R&B veteran’s final studio album debuted at No. 2 on The Chart Toppers 200 in September, 2004, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Charles scored five gold records over the years.

Tags: album, award, Awards, chart, Charts, debut, earn, first, Genius, Gold, love, Platinum, Record, recording, Records, RIAA, Studio, topper, toppers, veteran, Year

Aug 12

2003 – eBay auctioneer Anthony DeFontes says he will sell Elvis Presley’s tooth separately

Posted in 2000s, Agents & Lawyers, Anniversaries, tributes, & celebrations, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, Elvis, General, Gold, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers, Something Missing, TV, Movies, Radio, Internet, & itunes | No Comments »

2003 – eBay auctioneer Anthony DeFontes says he will sell Elvis Presley’s tooth separately after the tooth combined with a lock of the King’s hair and a gold record fails to attract a high enough bid.

Tags: Bid, Elvis, Gold, hair, King, Presley, Record, recording, Records, sell

Jul 04

2003 – Ja Rule becomes the first high-profile inte…

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2003 – Ja Rule becomes the first high-profile international artist to tour South Africa.

Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper and actor signed to The Inc. and Universal Records formerly of Def Jam Recordings. A Hollis, New York native best-known for hits such as “Put It On Me,” “Between Me And You,” “I’m Real” and “Wonderful,” Ja Rule has released seven albums to date and sold over 20 million albums worldwide.

Biography

Early years

Born and raised in a Hollis, Queens, New York housing project, he attended Junior High School in Floral Park where he met his future wife Aisha Murray, graduating with her in 1991. They attended Martin Van Buren High School together, but he did not graduate.

When Atkins was five years old, his sister died from respiratory problems. His parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Growing up in a strict religious home, Atkin’s family did not celebrate birthdays and Christmas, and as a child, was not allowed to listen to rap music. When he first heard it, he decided to be a rapper. He would sneak the music into his house and played it on his CD player when his mother wasn’t around. Ja Rule allegedly stated that although he had previously attended a school in Queens, he transferred to a private school in Manhattan because of bullying about his small height. During his interview with Louis Farrakahn, he stated that he was the only black student at the school and said that because of his race, the other kids didn’t bother him.

At age 15, Atkins appeared with 0-1 and Chris Black as part of Cash Money Click which would lead to him being signed by TVT Records. Atkins was heard by a young DJ who called himself DJ Irv, and later Irv Gotti. Gotti was a friend of Jay-Z and a DJ for Def Jam Recordings . During the mid 90′s, Gotti was intent on meeting Ja Rule and helping him land a solo deal, eventually scoring one at Def Jam. Shortly after Def Jam decided to launch his career through the success of Jay-Z. Ja would appear on Jay-Z’s hit single Can I Get A… alongside Amil . Soon after we would quickly become one of the more popular rappers in the game as well as one of Def Jam’s premier acts.

Music career

Venni Vetti Vecci (1999)

On June 1, 1999, Ja Rule released his debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci. The album marked not only Ja’s debut, but the debut album from his label, Murder Inc. Records. Venni Vetti Vecci instantly launched Ja Rule’s career as he became a staple on hip hop and pop networks like MTV, VH1, and BET. The album featured “Holla Holla” along with “Its Murda” with Jay-Z and DMX. The final single was “Daddy’s Little Baby,” a duet with Ronald Isley. These three singles and the production coming from Irv Gotti along with performances from Memphis Bleek, Erick Sermon, Case, Black Child, Nemesis, and Caddillac Tah, then known as Tah Murdah, along with a notable performance from his mentor, Jay-Z led to the album going platinum.

Rule 3:36 (2000)

Ja Rule would return during the summer of 2000, with his new single “Between Me and You,” which featured Def Soul act Christina Milian. The single was quickly followed by Ja’s second effort, Rule 3:36, which was released on October 10, 2000. 3:36 also featured singles “Put It On Me,” and “I Cry.” The album featured guest appearances from Lil Mo, Vita, Christina Milian, label mates Jayo Felony, and Black Child. The album received mixed responses from critics due to its more commercial sound, abandoning a bit the darker street sound of his debut. Despite this, the album fared extremely well and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts, eventually going 3x Platinum. The release of this album marked a huge turn in Ja Rule’s style of music from a more hardcore edge to a pop crossover oriented sound.

Pain Is Love (2001)

Soon after the release of Rule 3:36, Irv Gotti would sign R&B singer Ashanti to the label, which led to Lil Mo ending her collaborations with the label. During the late summer of 2001, Ja Rule released the lead single from his third studio album, Pain Is Love, which was “Livin’ It Up.” The second single was the “I’m Real (remix),” and the third was “Always On Time,” and the last was “Down Ass Bitch.” This album is noted for two things the first is introducing a young Ashanti to the music business and the second is bringing Charli Baltimore back to the music business. Pain Is Love featured guest appearances from Case, The Murder Inc. Family, Missy Elliott, Jodie Mack, Tweet, Jennifer Lopez and a recording from the late Tupac Shakur. Along with its critical success it was also a commercial success it, like its predecessor went 3x Platinum.

The Last Temptation (2002)

Ja Rule would shave his head during the promotion of his fourth studio album, The Last Temptation. His fourth album was released on November 19, 2002. Although the album was fairly successful, certified platinum, it failed to carry the momentum brought by his previous album, criticized for being too commercial. It seemed that Ja’s popularity was starting to fade, due to many fan’s perceived notion that he was now catering exclusively to pop audiences.

Blood In My Eye (2003)

Blood In My Eye is the fifth album from Ja Rule. The content of this album led to a dramatic fall in his popularity. This album is also noted as the last Ja Rule album released by The Inc. Records under the moniker Murder Inc. This was partially due to Ja’s disses and death threats to adversaries, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes (a former associate), Eminem, Dr. Dre, DMX, and G-Unit. The album was originally planned to be a mixtape, but former label Def Jam Recordings forced him to release an album in 2003 to honor the contract, where he released an album every year. Blood In My Eye peaked at #6, but became his first album not to go gold or platinum, making it his lowest selling to date. On this album, Ja sparked rivalries with many artists on the Interscope Records roster. In October 2003, Ja Rule met with Minster Louis Farrakhan, who wanted to intervene and prevent escalating violence in the feud between 50 Cent and Ja Rule.

R.U.L.E. (2004)

Ja Rule returned to form on his sixth studio album, R.U.L.E. released on November 9, 2004. This album was considered a comeback of sorts for Ja as he attempted a return to mainstream success. The lead single was “Wonderful” which was followed by the street anthem, “New York,” the third and last single was “Caught Up”. The album featured guest appearances from Ashanti, Lloyd, Trick Daddy, R. Kelly, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Claudette Ortiz, Black Child, Caddillac Tah and many more. Despite not having the staying power of his earlier albums R.U.L.E. still managed to go gold, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since 2002 with The Last Temptation.

Exodus (2005)

On December 6, 2005, Ja Rule released his seventh album, which is nothing more than a greatest hits album. It featured only one new song “Exodus (Intro)” which was produced by Irv Gotti. The album was released to honor the contract with Def Jam so that The Inc. could get a fresh start with a new distributor. After the release of this compilation, Ja Rule took a hiatus from recording music.

Departure from Def Jam (2005-2006)

In 2005, The Inc. Records would come under investigation because of the drug trades by Kenneth “Supreme” Mc Griff, who is associated with Irv Gotti. This would all lead to Def Jam Recordings refusing to renew The Inc.’s contract. From 2005 to 2006, Irv would search for other labels, until finally reaching a deal with Universal Records.

The Mirror (2008)
This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

In March, 2008, Ja Rule planned to release his Universal Records debut and eighth studio album, The Mirror. The first single, “Uh Oh” was released on July 31, 2007 and premiered on music video shows the following day. This second single, “Body” was released in September. The album contains a collaboration with former G-Unit artist, The Game , whom he had once had a lyrical altercation with, called “Sunset.” The album was originally supposed to be titled Love Is Pain as a sequel to his album Pain Is Love. The album eventually was pushed back a second time with no definitive release date.

Personal life

Criminal charges

In 1999, he along with the rest of Murder Inc. were brought up on charges for assaulting 50 Cent, which led to a restraining order against them for 50. Also in 2003, he punched a man in Toronto for shouting at him in a crowd because of the 50 Cent feud. He would end up suing Ja Rule, but they settled out of court. In 2004, police investigated whether a feud involving The Inc. led to fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule. In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne.

Romantic life

Ja Rule met his future wife, Aisha while attending middle school and they married when they were eighteen.

Homophobia

In the September 2007 issue of Complex magazine, Ja Rule was mistakenly reported to have expressed that homosexuals are to be blamed for the problems and destruction in the United States, and was disgusted at MTV’s promotion of LGBT television shows. He also spoke out about how hip hop is being blamed for more issues than homosexuality, and perpetuated the belief that gays are evil and corrupting music and television.
“ “And if it is, then we need to go step to Paramount, and fucking MGM, and all of these other motherfuckers that’s making all of these movies and we need to go step to MTV and Viacom, and lets talk about all these fucking shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can’t watch this shit,” he continued. “Dating shows that’s showing two guys or two girls in mid-afternoon. Let’s talk about shit like that! If that’s not fucking up America, I don’t know what is.” ”

His comments prompted a strong rebuke from GLAAD, who issued a public statement stating, “No fair-minded person can look at Ja Rule’s interview with Complex Magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father’s mouth. Now that media have seen Ja Rule’s intolerance unmasked by his own words, they have a responsibility not to provide in the future a platform for his ugly, vulgar displays of prejudice.”

It was later revealed that GLAAD had been mistaken and that he was actually mis-quoted in an interview with online MySpace interview channel The Hook Up on October 24, 2007. He went on in a January 2008 issue of XXL Magazine to state his words were taken out of context. He is quote as stating:
“ “What I was saying in that article is everyone has that same responsibility. They’re absolutely right: Rappers have a responsibility to the kids. But don’t just pin it on the hip-hop. If I gotta curb my lyrics or censor what I say, no problem. But if you gonna show sexual images during the daytime for children, that should be censored as well … And I’m not just talking about homosexuality. I’m talking about any sexuality. If it’s too sexy for kids, its too sexy for kids …” ”

Hip Hop entrepreneur

Aside from being president of The Inc. Records, Ja Rule is the owner and founder of Rule Global Media. This consists of Mpire Records, ErvingGeoffrey, and Stars On Poker.net.

The Inc. Records

Ja Rule co-founded The Inc. Records along with Irv Gotti in 1997. When it was formed, because of it being a vanity label, Def Jam owned a 50% stake in the label.

In 2002, Irv Gotti granted Ja Rule 50% of his share of the label due to his recent success on the charts. The next year, Ja Rule was named label president while Irv is the primary owner and the label CEO.

Mpire Records

In 2006, Ja Rule formed his own label to be distributed by The Inc., Mpire Records. To the label, he has signed Young Merc, Ashley Joi, D. Gift, Boxie, Tre, Newz, and Thunderkatz. He owns 100 percent of this label, which is a subsidiary of The Inc. Also signed to the label are his group Cash Money Click.

ErvingGeoffrey

In 2004, Ja Rule teamed up with Irv Gotti to create their own clothing line, ErvingGeoffrey, which is an urban wear clothing line. It is prominently featured in various Inc-associated videos and on their artists various albums.

Philanthropy

Atkins teamed up with associates of Tupac Shakur’s organization and founded L.I.F.E Foundation, which opens its doors to underprivileged kids. The foundation has various programs which include art, music, poetry and sports.

Discography

Main article: Ja Rule discography

* 1999: Venni Vetti Vecci
* 2000: The Murderers
* 2000: Rule 3:36
* 2001: Pain Is Love
* 2002: The Inc.
* 2002: The Remixes
* 2002: The Last Temptation
* 2003: Blood in My Eye
* 2004: R.U.L.E.
* 2005: Exodus
* 2008: The Mirror

Awards history
Award     Category     Genre     Song/Album     Year     Result
Source Hip-Hop Music Award     Single of the Year     Rap/Hip-Hop     “Put It On Me”     2001     Won
Source Award     R&B/Rap Collboration of the Year     R&B/Rap     “Thug Lovin’”     2003     Won
Source Award     Fat Tape Song of the Year     Rap/Hip-Hop     “Clap Back”     2004     Won
MTV Video Music Award     Best Rap Video     Rap     “Put It On Me”     2001     Nominated
MTV Video Music Award     Best Hip-Hop Video     Hip-Hop     “Im Real (Murder Remix)”     2002     Won
MTV Video Music Award     Best Hip-Hop Video     Hip-Hop     “Always On Time”     2002     Nominated
American Music Award     Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist     Rap/Hip-Hop     –     2002     Nominated
American Music Award     Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B Male Artist     Hip-Hop/R&B     –     2003     Nominated
Grammy Award     Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group     Rap/Hip-Hop     “Put It On Me”     2002     Nominated
Grammy Award     Best Rap Album     Rap     “Pain Is Love”     2002     Nominated
Grammy Award     Best Rap/Sung Collaboration     Rap/Sung     “Livin’ It Up”     2002     Nominated
Grammy Award     Best Rap/Sung Collaboration     Rap/Sung     “Always On Time”     2003     Nominated
World Music Award     World’s Best-Selling Rap Artist     Rap/Hip-Hop     –     2002     Won
BET Award     Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Artist     Hip-Hop     –     2002     Won
GQ Men of the Year Award     Musician of the Year     Rap/Hip-Hop     –     2002     Won
Teen Choice Award     Male Artist of the Year     Rap/Hip-Hop     –     2002     Won
NAACP Image Award     Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist     Rap/Hip-Hop     –     2002     Won
Soul Train Award     Best Rap/Soul or Rap Album of the Year     Rap     “Pain Is Love”     2002     Nominated

Acting career

During his break from rapping, Ja Rule co-starred in the movie The Fast and the Furious with Vin Diesel. He appeared on the 2004 movie Back in The Day along with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier. He was also starred in the movie The Cookout with Queen Latifah. He is working on his bio-pic and on Saw IV.

Filmography
Year     Title     Role     Notes
2000     Da Hip Hop Witch     Himself
2000     Turn it Up     David ‘Gage’ Williams
2001     Crime Partners 2000
2001     The Fast and the Furious     Edwin
2002     Half Past Dead     Nicolas ‘Nick’ Frazier
2003     Scary Movie 3     Agent Thompson
2003     Pauly Shore Is Dead     Himself
2004     The Cookout     Bling Bling
2004     Shall We Dance?     Hip Hop Bar Performer
2005     Back in the Day     Reggie Cooper
2005     Assault on Precinct 13     Smiley
2007     Kenny     TBA     post-production
2007     Furnace     TBA     post-production
2007     Don’t Fade Away     TBA     post-production

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Apr 30

2003 – AC/DC wannabes The Datsuns win Album of the Year…

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2003 – AC/DC wannabes The Datsuns win Album of the Year, Export Gold Best Group, Outstanding International Achievement and Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards.

Tags: album, Artist, artists, award, Awards, Best, Gold, international, Music, Year

Nov 03

2002 – Lonnie Donegan, known as the “king of skiff…

Posted in 2000s, Albums/Singles that Rock, Alternative or something else, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, Deaths, General, Gold, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | No Comments »

2002 – Lonnie Donegan, known as the “king of skiffle’ dies in his sleep in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. He is 71.

Lonnie Donegan MBE (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a skiffle musician, possibly the most famous of them all, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is also known as the King of Skiffle and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s.

Early life and trad jazz

He was born Anthony James Donegan in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a professional violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra. His father was unemployed in the 1930s, and in 1933 the family moved to East London. In the early 1940s he mostly listened to Swing jazz and vocal acts, and became interested in the guitar. Country & western and blues records, particularly by Frank Crumit and Josh White, attracted his interest and he bought his first guitar at the age of fourteen, around 1945. From listening to BBC radio broadcasts in the following years he began learning songs such as “Frankie and Johnny”, “Puttin’ On the Style”, and “The House of the Rising Sun”. By the end of the 1940s he was playing guitar around London and visiting small jazz clubs.

The first band he played in was the trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his band. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and tried to bluff his way through the audition. More on personality than playing, he was brought into Barber’s band. His stint with the band was interrupted when he was called up for National Service in 1949, but his military service in Vienna gave him contact with American troops, and access to records as well as the opportunity to listen to the American Forces Network radio station.

In 1952 he formed his first group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a big fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians’ names confused, calling them “Tony Johnson” and “Lonnie Donegan”, and Donegan was happy to keep the name.

In 1953 cornetist Ken Colyer, enjoying hero status for having spent time in a New Orleans jail (due to a visa problem), returned to England and, when invited to play with Chris Barber’s band, became the moving figure in it, more or less taking it over and running it as if it were his own creation. It actually was very much a cooperative. With the new name, Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen, the group, with Donegan, made its initial public appearance on 11 April 1953 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The following day, Chris Albertson recorded the group (as well as a Monty Sunshine Trio, with Donegan and Barber) for Storyville Records. These were Lonnie Donegan’s first commercially released recordings.

Skiffle

Donegan was the first person to become famous playing skiffle in the United Kingdom, and went on to have an influential hit in Britain and America with “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour”, released in 1959 and 1961 respectively.

While playing in Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen with Chris Barber, Donegan sang and played both guitar and banjo as part of their Dixieland jazz, and also began playing with two other band members during the intervals to provide what was called on their posters a “skiffle” break, a name suggested by Ken Colyer’s brother Bill after recalling the Dan Burley Skiffle Group of the 1930s. In 1954 Colyer left, and the band became Chris Barber’s Jazz Band.

With a washboard, a tea-chest bass and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan had a lot of fun entertaining the audiences with folk songs and blues by artists such as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie, casually giving the impression that anyone could do it. This proved so popular that in July 1954 he recorded a fast-tempoed version of Leadbelly’s “Rock Island Line”, featuring a washboard but not a tea-chest bass, with “John Henry” on the B-side. It was an enormous hit in 1956 (which also later inspired the creation of a full LP album, “An Englishman Sings American Folk Songs”, released in America on the Mercury label in the early 60s) but ironically, because it was a band recording, Lonnie made no money from it beyond his original session fee. It was the first debut record to go gold in Britain, and reached the top ten in the United States, and Donegan has suggested that it might have influenced the beginnings of white rock and roll, and certainly was an influence of a hybrid version of American country-rock later called Rockabilly.

The skiffle style encouraged amateurs to get started, and one of the many skiffle groups that followed was The Quarrymen formed in March 1957 by John Lennon. Donegan’s “Putting On The Style” / “Gamblin’ Man” single was number one on the British charts in July 1957, when Lennon first met Paul McCartney.

After splitting from Barber, Donegan went on to make a series of popular records as “Lonnie Donegan’s Skiffle Group”, with successes including “Cumberland Gap” and, particularly “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour”, his only hit song in America, released on Dot Records. He turned to a music hall style with “My Old Man’s a Dustman” which was not well received by skiffle fans, or in an attempted but ultimately unsuccessful American release by Atlantic Records in 1960, but reached number one in the UK singles charts. Donegan’s group had a flexible line-up, but was generally formed by Denny Wright or Les Bennetts (of Les Hobeaux and Chas McDevvit’s skiffle groups) playing lead guitar and singing harmony vocals, Pete Huggett on upright bass, Nick Nichols – later Pete Appleby – on drums or percussion and Lonnie playing acoustic guitar or banjo and singing the lead. Despite appearances that the style was simple and somewhat ‘unpolished’, all were accomplished and highly talented musicians.

Later career

Donegan was unfashionable and generally ignored through the late 1960s and 1970s (although he wrote “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” for Tom Jones in 1969), and he began to play on the American cabaret circuit. There was a reunion concert with the original Chris Barber band in Croydon in June 1975 – notable for a bomb scare, meaning that the recording had to be finished in the studio, though patrons were treated to an impromptu concert in the car park.

He suffered his first heart attack in 1976 while in the United States. Donegan underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He returned to the public’s attention in 1978, when he made a record of his early songs with such figures as Ringo Starr, Elton John and Brian May called Putting on the Style. In 1992 Donegan underwent further bypass surgery following another heart attack.

Then in 1994, the Chris Barber band celebrated 40 years, with a long tour with both bands, rather than just a concert. Pat Halcox was still on trumpet (a position he retains as of 2006). The reunion concert and the tour, were recorded on CD, and also on video (and later released on DVD, though the quality isn’t up to digital standard). As is Chris Barber’s normal style, he generously featured Lonnie in the concerts and the whole original band were much more relaxed than in 1954, making these real collectors’ items as the stereo was real and not electronically created.

He experienced another late renaissance when in 2000 he appeared on Van Morrison’s album The Skiffle Sessions – Live In Belfast 1998, a critically acclaimed album featuring Donegan sharing vocals with Van Morrison and also featuring Chris Barber, with a guest appearance by Dr John. He also played at the Glastonbury Festival, and was awarded the MBE in 2000.

His last CD was “This Y’ere the Story”, which tells his story – complete with the inaccuracies as to his introduction to the banjo and the Barber band as related above…

Donegan’s influence on the generation of musicians that followed him is unquestioned. He inspired both John Lennon and Pete Townshend to learn to play the guitar, and was responsible for hundreds of other skiffle groups being formed. One of them, The Quarrymen, later evolved into The Beatles.

Personal life

Lonnie married three times. He had two daughters by his first wife, Maureen Tyler (divorced 1962), a son and a daughter by his second wife, Jill Westlake (divorced 1971), and three sons by his third wife, Sharon, whom he married in 1977.

Death

Lonnie died in 2002 aged 71, after suffering a heart attack in Peterborough mid-way through a UK tour and shortly before he was due to perform at a memorial concert for George Harrison. He had suffered from cardiac problems since the 1970s and had several heart attacks in his last years.

Legacy

Musician Mark Knopfler released a tribute song to Lonnie Donegan called “Donegan’s Gone” on his 2004 album Shangri-La and said that he was one of his greatest musical influences. Donegan’s music formed the basis for a musical starring his two sons. Lonnie D – The Musical took its name from the Chas & Dave tribute song which starts the show. Subsequently, Peter Donegan formed a new band that performs his father’s material. Lonnies eldest son Anthony also formed his own band under the name Lonnie Donegan Jnr

Quotations

* “In England, we were separated from our folk music tradition centuries ago and were imbued with the idea that music was for the upper classes. You had to be very clever to play music. When I came along with the old three chords, people began to think that if I could do it, so could they. It was the reintroduction of the folk music bridge which did that.” — Interview, 2002.
* “He was the first person we had heard of from Britain to get to the coveted No. 1 in the charts, and we studied his records avidly. We all bought guitars to be in a skiffle group. He was the man.” — Paul McCartney
* “He really was at the very cornerstone of English blues and rock.” — Brian May.

Discography

* Rock Island Line/ John Henry (1955)
* Diggin’ My Potatoes/ Bury My Body (1956)
* On A Christmas Day/ Take My Hand Precious Lord (1956)
* Lonnie Donegan Showcase (December 1956)
* Jack O’Diamonds/ Ham ‘N’ Eggs (1957)
* Lonnie (November 1957)
* The Grand Coulee Dam/ Nobody Loves Like An Irishman (1958)
* Midnight Special/ When The Sun Goes Down (1958)
* Sally Don’t You Grieve/ Betty Betty Betty (1958)
* Lonesome Traveller/ Times Are Getting Hard Boys (1958)
* Lonnie’s Skiffle Party Pt.1/ Pt.2 (1958)
* Tom Dooley/ Rock O’ My Soul (1958)
* Tops with Lonnie (September 1958)
* Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour/ Aunt Rhody (1959)
* Fort Worth Jail/ Whoa Buck (1959)
* Fort Bewildered/ Kevin Barry / It Is No Secret / My Lagan Love Buck (1959)
* Battle Of New Orleans/ Darling Corey (1959)
* Sal’s Got A Sugar Lip/ Chesapeake Bay (1959)
* San Miguel/ Talking Guitar Blues (1959)
* Lonnie Rides Again (May 1959)
* My Old Man’s A Dustman/ The Golden Vanity (1960)
* I Wanna Go Home (Wreck Of the John B.)/ Jimmy Brown The Newsboy (1960)
* Lorelei/ In All My Wildest Dreams (1960)
* Lively/ Black Cat (Cross My Path Today) (1960)
* Virgin Mary/ Beyond The Sunset (1960)
* (Bury Me) Beneath The Willow/ Leave My Woman Alone (1961)
* Have A Drink On Me/ Seven Daffodils (1961)
* Michael Row the Boat/ Lumbered (1961)
* The Comancheros/ Ramblin’ Round (1961)
* Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor (On The Bedpost Over Night) (1961)
* More! Tops with Lonnie (April 1961)
* The Party’s Over/ Over the Rainbow (1962)
* I’ll Never Fall In Love Again/ Keep On The Sunny Side (1962)
* Pick A Bale Of Cotton/ Steal Away (1962)
* The Market Song/ Tit-Bits (1962)
* Sing Hallelujah (December 1962)
* Losing My Hair/ Trumpet Sounds (1963)
* It Was A Very Good Year/ Rise Up (1963)
* Lemon Tree/ I’ve Gotta Girl So Far (1963)
* 500 Miles Away From Home/ This Train (1963)
* Beans In My Ears/ It’s A Long Road To Travel (1964)
* Fisherman’s Luck/ There’s A Big Wheel (1964)
* Get Out Of My Life/ Won’t You Tell Me (1965)
* Louisiana Man/ Bound For Zion (1965)
* The Lonnie Donegan Folk Album (August 1965)
* World Cup Willie/ Where In This World Are We Going (1966)
* I Wanna Go Home/ Black Cat (Cross My Path Today) (1966)
* Aunt Maggie’s Remedy/ (Ah) My Sweet Marie (1967)
* Toys/ Relax Your Mind (1968)
* My Lovely Juanita/ Who Knows Where the Time Goes (1969)
* Lonniepops–Lonnie Donegan Today (1970)
* Speak To The Sky / Get Out Of My Life (1972)
* Jump Down Turn Around (Pick a Bale of Cotton) / Lost John Blues (1973 – Australia only)
* Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann (1974)
* Country Roads (1976)
* Puttin’ On The Style (February 1978)
* Sundown (May 1979)
* Muleskinner Blues (January 1999)
* The song Lost John was used to open the John Peel tribute album
* This Y’ere The Story (2000?)
* The Last Tour (2006)

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Jun 21

2001 – Bluesman John Lee Hooker, believed to be 83…

Posted in 2000s, Albums/Singles that Rock, Anniversaries, tributes, & celebrations, Billboard charts, Blues, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, Deaths, General, Gold, Guitarists, Industry, Misc., Other Awards/Honors, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers, TV, Movies, Radio, Internet, & itunes, lyrics | No Comments »

2001 – Bluesman John Lee Hooker, believed to be 83, dies of natural causes at his home in Los Altos, Calif. The singer/guitarist began his career in 1949, when his Modern Records single “Boogie Chillen” became a No. 1 R&B hit.

Lyrics:

Boom boom boom boom
I’m gonna shoot you right down,
right offa your feet
Take you home with me,
put you in my house
Boom boom boom boom
A-haw haw haw haw
Hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm
Hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm

I love to see you strut,
up and down the floor
When you talking to me,
that baby talk
I like it like that
Whoa, yeah!
Talk that talk, walk that walk

When she walk that walk,
and talk that talk,
and whisper in my ear,
tell me that you love me
I love that talk
When you talk like that,
you knocks me out,
right off of my feet
Hoo hoo hoo
Talk that talk, and walk that walk

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an influential American post-war blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. From a musical family, he was a cousin of Earl Hooker. John was also influenced by his stepfather, a local blues guitarist, who learned in Shreveport, Louisiana to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the Delta blues of the time. John developed a half-spoken style that was his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was rhythmically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his masterful and idiosyncratic blues guitar and singing. His best known songs include “Boogie Chillen” (1948) and “Boom Boom” (1962).

Biography

Early life

Hooker was born on August 22, 1917 in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi, the youngest of the eleven children of William Hooker (1871–1923), a sharecropper and a Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (1875–?). Hooker and his siblings were home-schooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs, with his earliest musical exposure being the spirituals sung in church. In 1921, his parents separated. The next year, his mother married William Moore, a blues singer who provided John’s first introduction to the guitar (and whom John would later credit for his distinctive playing style). The year after that (1923), John’s natural father died; and at age 15, John ran away from home, never to see his mother and stepfather again.

Throughout the 1930s, Hooker lived in Memphis where he worked on Beale Street and occasionally performed at house parties. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, drifting until he found himself in Detroit in 1948 working at Ford Motor Company. He felt right at home near the blues venues and saloons on Hastings Street, the heart of black entertainment on Detroit’s east side. In a city noted for its piano players, guitar players were scarce. Performing in Detroit clubs, his popularity grew quickly, and seeking a louder instrument than his crude acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.

Career

Hooker’s recording career began in 1948 when his agent placed a demo disc, made by Hooker, with the Bihari brothers, owners of the Modern Records label. The company initially released an up-tempo number, “Boogie Chillen”, which became Hooker’s first hit single. Though they were not songwriters, the Biharis often purchased or claimed co-authorship of songs that appeared on their labels, thus securing songwriting royalties for themselves, in addition to their streams of income.

Sometimes these songs were older tunes renamed (B.B.King’s “Rock Me Baby”), anonymous jams (“B.B.’s Boogie”) or songs by employees (bandleader Vince Weaver). The Biharis used a number of pseudonyms for songwriting credits: Jules was credited as Jules Taub; Joe as Joe Josea; and Sam as Sam Ling. One song by John Lee Hooker, “Down Child” is solely credited to “Taub”, with Hooker receiving no credit for the song whatsoever. Another, “Turn Over a New Leaf” is credited to Hooker and “Ling”.

Despite being illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist. In addition to adapting the occasionally traditional blues lyric (such as “if I was chief of police, I would run her right out of town”), he freely invented many of his songs from scratch. Recording studios in the 1950s rarely paid black musicians more than a pittance, so Hooker would spend the night wandering from studio to studio, coming up with new songs or variations on his songs for each studio. Due to his recording contract, he would record these songs under obvious pseudonyms such as “John Lee Booker”, “Johnny Hooker”, or “John Cooker.”

His early solo songs were recorded under Bernie Besman. John Lee Hooker rarely played on a standard beat, changing tempo to fit the needs of the song. This often made it difficult to use backing musicians who were not accustomed to Hooker’s musical vagaries: As a result, Besman would record Hooker, in addition to playing guitar and singing, stomping along with the music on a wooden pallet. For much of this time period he recorded and toured with Eddie Kirkland, who is still performing as of 2008. Later sessions for the VeeJay label in Chicago used studio musicians on most of his recordings, including Eddie Taylor, who could handle his musical idiosyncrasies very well. His biggest UK hit, “Boom Boom”, (originally released on VeeJay) had a horn section to boot!

He appeared and sang in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers. Due to Hooker’s improvisatory style, his performance was filmed and sound-recorded live at the scene at Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market, in contrast to the usual “playback” technique used in most film musicals. Hooker was also a direct influence in the look of John Belushi’s character Jake Blues, borrowing his trademark sunglasses and soul patch.

In 1989, he joined with a number of musicians, including Keith Richards, Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt to record The Healer, for which he and Carlos Santana won a Grammy Award. Hooker recorded several songs with Van Morrison, including “Never Get Out of These Blues Alive”, “The Healing Game” and “I Cover the Waterfront”. He also appeared on stage with Van Morrison several times, some of which was released on the live album A Night in San Francisco. The same year he appeared as the title character on Pete Townshend’s The Iron Man: A Musical.

Hooker recorded over 100 albums. He lived the last years of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area, where, in 1997, he opened a nightclub called “John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room”, after one of his hits.

He fell ill just before a tour of Europe in 2001 and died soon afterwards at the age of 83. The last song Hooker recorded before his death, is “Ali D’Oro”, a collaboration with the Italian soul singer Zucchero, in which Hooker sang the chorus “I lay down with an angel”. He was survived by eight children, nineteen grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and a nephew.

Among his many awards, Hooker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two of his songs, “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom Boom” were named to the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. “Boogie Chillen” was included as one of the Songs of the Century. He was also inducted in 1980 into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2000, Hooker was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Music

Hooker’s guitar playing is closely aligned with piano Boogie Woogie. He would play the walking bass pattern with his thumb, stopping to emphasize the end of a line with a series of trills, done by rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs. The songs that most epitomize his early sound are “Boogie Chillen”, about being 17 and wanting to go out to dance at the Boogie clubs, “Baby Please Don’t Go”, a blues standard first recorded by Big Joe Williams, and “Tupelo Blues”, a stunningly sad song about the flooding of Tupelo, Mississippi in April 1936.

He maintained a solo career, popular with blues and folk music fans of the early 1960s and crossed over to white audiences, giving an early opportunity to the young Bob Dylan. As he got older, he added more and more people to his band, changing his live show from simply Hooker with his guitar to a large band, with Hooker singing.

His vocal phrasing was less closely tied to specific bars than most blues singers’. This casual, rambling style had been gradually diminishing with the onset of electric blues bands from Chicago but, even when not playing solo, Hooker retained it in his sound.

Though Hooker lived in Detroit during most of his career, he is not associated with the Chicago-style blues prevalent in large northern cities, as much as he is with the southern rural blues styles, known as delta blues, country blues, folk blues, or “front porch blues”. His use of an electric guitar tied together the Delta blues with the emerging post-war electric blues.

His songs have been covered by The White Stripes, MC5, The Doors, George Thorogood, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, The Yardbirds, The Animals, R. L. Burnside, the J. Geils Band and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Awards and Recognition

* A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980
* Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991

Grammy Awards:

* Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1990 for “I’m in the Mood” (with Bonnie Raitt)
* Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1998 for Don’t Look Back
* Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 1998, “Don’t Look Back” (with Van Morrison)
* Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000

* Two of his songs, “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom Boom” were named to the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. “Boogie Chillen” was included as one of the Songs of the Century.

Quotes

* “It don’t take me no three days to do no album.” (during the recording of the double album Hooker ‘N’ Heat with Canned Heat.)

* “I don’t play a lot of fancy guitar. I don’t want to play it. The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean licks.” (when describing his own music in an article from The Daily News, Atlanta, Ga. 1992)

* “Women are like wet bars of soap. Hold on to em too hard and they pop outta your hands.” (as spoken to Randy Wilkinson in New Orleans 1983, friend and road manager)

* “His [Grateful Dead keyboardist/singer Ron 'Pig Pen' McKernan's] wife can cook but Pig can’t cook, I told him ‘Man, I can’t eat your cookin’.” (during the recording of Hooker ‘N Heat.)

* “Elvis Presley – one of the greatest people ever been born.”

Discography

Singles

Hooker issued a large number of singles, with almost a hundred releases by 1960.
Here are ten of his early classic recordings:

* Detroit September 1948 – Boogie Chillen’ – Modern 627 (11/48) R&B #1 (Crown LP “The Blues”)
* Detroit September 1948 – Hobo Blues – Modern 663 (3/49) R&B #5 (Crown LP “The Blues”)
* Detroit September 1948 – Crawling King Snake – Modern 715 (10/49) R&B #6 (Crown LP “The Blues”)
* Detroit August 7, 1951 – I’m In the Mood – Modern 835 (9/51) R&B #1 (Crown LP “The Blues”)
* Detroit Early 1955 – The Syndicator b/w Hug And Squeeze – Modern 966 (8/55) (Crown LP “Sings The Blues”)
* Chicago March 17, 1956 – Dimples – Vee-Jay 205 (8/56) (VJ LP “I’m John Lee Hooker”)
* Chicago June 10, 1958 – I Love You Honey – Vee-Jay 293 (9/58) R&B #29 (VJ LP “I’m John Lee Hooker”)
* Chicago March 1, 1960 – No Shoes – Vee-Jay 349 (4/60) R&B#21 (VJ LP “Travelin’”)
* Chicago Late 1961 – Boom Boom – Vee-Jay 438 (4/62) R&B #16 (VJ LP “Burnin’”)
* Chicago Mid 1964 – It Serves Me Right (To Suffer) – Vee-Jay 708 (11/65) (VJ/Dynasty LP “In Person”)

Albums

There are many John Lee Hooker albums out there. Below you will find the original albums with notable reissues.

THE DETROIT YEARS (recordings 1948-1955)

* 1960 – The Blues (Crown) – reissued on United, also as “The Greatest Hits” (Kent, 1971) Modern tracks
* 1960 – House Of The Blues (Chess) 1951-52 tracks
* 1961 – Sings The Blues (Crown) – reissued on United, also as “Driftin’ Thru The Blues” (Custom) Modern tracks
* 1961 – Plays And Sings The Blues (Chess) 1950-52 tracks
* 1961 – Sings Blues (King) – reissued as “Moanin’ and Stompin’”, and “Don’t You Remember Me” (Charly) Texas Slim 1948-50 tracks
* 1962 – Folk Blues (Crown) – reissued on United (Modern tracks)
* 1963 – The Great John Lee Hooker (Crown) – reissued as “The Great Blues Sounds of” (United) Modern tracks
* 1963 – Don’t Turn Me from Your Door – John Lee Hooker Sings His Blues (Atco) 1953 and 1961
* 1963 – Big Maceo Merriweather / John Lee Hooker (Fortune) 1/2 of an LP
* 1964 – Original Folk Blues (Kent) Modern compilation – reissued on United
* 1967 – John Lee Hooker & his Guitar (Advent) British bootleg; early tracks
* 1969 – No Friend Around (Red Lightnin’) early tracks, bootleg compilation
* 1970 – Alone (Specialty) 1949-1951 tracks
* 1971 – Goin’ Down Highway 51 (Specialty) 1949-1951 tracks
* 1972 – Coast to Coast Blues Band – Anywhere Anytime Anyplace (United Artists) 1948-1952 tracks
* 1972 – Johnny Lee (Greene Bottle) early Besman alternates (not issued on CD)
* 1973 – Hooker, Hopkins, Hogg (Specialty) half an LP of 1954 recordings
* 1973 – Slim’s Stomp (Polydor) King’s “Sings Blues” plus bonus tracks
* 1973 – John Lee Hooker’s Detroit (United Artists) Besman alternate 1948-1952 tracks
* 1973 – Mad Man Blues (Chess) compilation 1950s and 1966
* 1979 – Southern Blues (Savoy) 1948 tracks on half an LP
* 1981 – Blues For Big Town (Chess) compilation featuring unissed early 1950s
* 1987 – Gotham Golden Classics – Rare Recordings (Collectables) 1951-52 tracks – also issued as “Detroit Blues, 1950-51″ (Krazy Kat with bonus tracks)
* 1989 – 40th Anniversary Album (DCC) – also issued on Demon as “The Detroit Lion” (compilation of early tracks)
* 1990 – Boogie Awhile (Krazy Kat) unissued early Elmer Barbee recordings
* 1999 – Savoy Blues Legends, 1948-1949 (SavoyJazz/Atlantic) – reissued on Savoy (Elmer Barbee recordings)
* 2000 – The Unknown John Lee Hooker (Krazy Kat, 1951 tracks) – reissued as “Jack 0′Diamonds” (Eagle, 2004)

THE CHICAGO YEARS (recordings 1955-1964)

* 1959 – I’m John Lee Hooker (Vee Jay 1955-1959)
* 1960 – Travelin (Vee Jay)
* 1961 – The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker (Vee Jay)
* 1962 – Burnin’ (Vee Jay)
* 1962 – The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker (Vee Jay)
* 1962 – The Best of John Lee Hooker (Vee Jay) – compilation
* 1962 – Gold (Vee Jay) – compilation
* 1963 – John Lee Hooker On Campus (Vee Jay) – reissued as “Big Band Blues” (Buddah)
* 1965 – … And Seven Nights (Verve-Folkways) British recordings of 1964 (re-issued with brass overdub as “On The Waterfront” on Wand) – and reissued in several versions later
* 1965 – Is He The World’s Greatest Blues Singer? (Vee Jay) compilation – reissued on Exodus
* 1974 – In Person (VeeJay/Dynasty) late Vee-Jay tracks
* 1993 – John Lee Hooker on Vee-Jay 1955-1958 (VeeJay) compilation

THE FOLK YEARS (recordings 1959-1963)

* 1959 – The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (Riverside) – reissued as “How Long Blues” (Battle, 1963)
* 1960 – That’s My Story – JLH Sings the Blues (Riverside) – reissued as “The Blues Man” (Battle, 1963)
* 1962 – John Lee Hooker (Galaxy) – reissued as “The King of Folk Blues” (America)
* 1963 – Live At Sugar Hill (Galaxy)
* 1964 – Burning Hell (Riverside) recorded 1959
* 1964 – Concert At Newport (Vee Jay) – reissued with bonus tracks as “Live At Newport” (Fantasy)
* 1966 – Teachin’ The Blues (Guest Star) half an LP of recordings from 1961
* 1969 – That’s Where It’s At! (Stax) recordings of 1961
* 1971 – Detroit Special (Atlantic) compilation (“Don’t Turn Me From Your Door” plus bonus tracks)
* 1972 – Boogie Chillun (Fantasy) (“Live at Sugar Hill” plus bonus tracks) – reissued on Ace as “Live at Sugar Hill Vol. 1 & 2″
* 1979 – Sittin’ Here Thinkin (Muse) – reissued as “Sad And Lonesome” (Savoy recordings of 1961)
* 2002 – Live At Sugar Hill, Vol. 2 (Fantasy) unissued recordings from 1961 (featuring a “third session”)

THE ABC YEARS (recordings 1965-1974)

* 1966 – It Serves You Right To Suffer (Impulse)
* 1966 – The Real Folk Blues (Chess) new Chicago recordings
* 1967 – Live at the Cafè Au Go-Go (Bluesway)
* 1968 – Urban Blues (Bluesway)
* 1969 – Simply The Truth (Bluesway)
* 1969 – If You Miss ‘Im … I Got ‘Im (Bluesway)
* 1969 – On The Waterfront (Wand) (… And Seven Nights” with brass overdub)
* 1970 – I Wanna Dance All Night (America) Europe recordings – reissued with the next as “Black Rhythm & Blues” (Festival)
* 1970 – I Feel Good (Carson) Europe recordings – reissued on Jewel (1972)
* 1971 – Endless Boogie (ABC)
* 1971 – Get Back Home In The USA (Black & Blue) Europe recordings – reissued with bonus tracks as “Get Back Home”
* 1971 – Hooker ‘N’ Heat (Liberty) – reissued as “Infinite Boogie” (Rhino)
* 1972 – Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive (ABC)
* 1972 – Live at Kabuki Wuki (Bluesway)
* 1973 – Live At Soledad Prison (ABC)
* 1973 – Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee (ABC)
* 1974 – Free Beer And Chicken (ABC)
* 1991 – More Real Folk Blues – The Missing Album (Chess) – also issued with “The Real Folk Blues” as “The Complete Chess Folk Blues Sessions”

THE ROSEBUD YEARS (recordings 1975-2001)

* 1976 – Alone Vol 1 (Labor) live – reissued on Tomato
* 1976 – Alone – Live in New York Vol 2 (MMG) – reissued on Tomato
* 1978 – Live + Well (Ornament)
* 1978 – The Cream (Tomato) live recordings – reissued with bonus tracks on Charly
* 1979 – Live in 1978 (Lunar)
* 1981 – Hooker ‘n’ Heat Recorded Live at the Fox Venice Theatre (Rhino, various artists)
* 1986 – Jealous (Pulsa) – reissued on Pointblank 1996 – and on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
* 1989 – The Healer (Chameleon)
* 1990 – The Hot Spot (Featuring Miles Davis)
* 1991 – Mr. Lucky (Pointblank)
* 1992 – Boom Boom (Pointblank) – reissued on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
* 1995 – Chill Out (Pointblank) – reissued on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
* 1997 – Don’t Look Back (Pointblank/Virgin) – reissued on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
* 1998 – The Best of Friends (Pointblank) compilation 1986-1998 incl one new track – reissued on Shout!Factory download with bonus track
* 2003 – Face to Face (Eagle) new recordings

Selected CD Compilations

* 1990 – That’s My Story/The Folk Blues of (Ace) – the two original Riverside LPs on one CD
* 1990 – That’s Where It’s At (Stax) reissue of Florida recordings from 1961
* 1991 – The Ultimate Collection 1948-1990 (Rhino 2CDbox)
* 1991 – Half A Stranger (Mainstream) Modern tracks 1948-1955 incl unedited masters
* 1991 – Free Beer And Chicken (BeatGoesOn/MCA) recorded 1974
* 1991 – Don’t Turn Me From Your Door (Atlantic/Atco) 1953 and 1961 (incl the bonus tracks)
* 1992 – Graveyard Blues (Specialty/Ace) 1948-1950 Besman/Sensation tracks
* 1992 – The Best of John Lee Hooker 1965 to 1974 (Universal) Impulse and ABC/Bluesway recordings
* 1993 – Everybody’s Blues (Specialty/Ace) Besman tracks of 1950-51 plus two 1954 sessions direct for Specialty
* 1993 – The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954 (Flair/Ace) the original singles
* 1994 – The Boogie Man (Charly DIG 5) anthology box featuring 1948-1966 (excluding Modern)
* 1995 – Alternative Boogie – Early Studio Recordings, 1948-1952 (Capitol 3CD) Besman alternates
* 1996 – Live at the Café Au Go-Go (and Soledad Prison) (Universal) 1966 with Muddy Waters’ band and 1972
* 1998 – The Complete 50′s Chess Recordings (Chess 2CD) anthology featuring the tracks from “House of the Blues” and “Plays and Sings the Blues” (1951-52) plus several bonus tracks from Fortune 1954 incl “Blues For Big Town”
* 2000 – The Complete 1964 recordings (RPM) last Vee-Jay session 1964 plus British London recordings – the British tracks reissued with brass overdubs as “The London 1965 Sessions” on Sequel
* 2000 – I’m John Lee Hooker (Charly -with bonus tracks) his very first LP, 1955-1959 recordings – reissued on SNAP in 2003 and without bonus tracks on Shout!Factory in 2007
* 2000 – Travelin’ (Charly -with bonus tracks) the great LP session of 1960- reissued on SNAP in 2003
* 2000 – The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker (Charly -with bonus tracks) his third VJ LP – reissued on SNAP in 2003
* 2000 – Burnin’ (Charly -with bonus tracks) the fourth VJ LP, 1962 – reissued on SNAP in 2003
* 2000 – The Complete – Vol. 1 1948-49 [Body & Soul 2CD]
* 2000 – The Complete – Vol. 2 1949 [Body & Soul 2CD]
* 2001 – The Complete – Vol. 3 1949-50 [Body & Soul 2CD]
* 2001 – House Rent Boogie (Ace) Modern compilation of rare early 1950s recordings
* 2001 – Testament – 3CDbox featuring some of the very best Vee-Jay recordings (Charly/Snapper)
* 2002 – The Complete – Vol. 4 1950-51 [Body & Soul 2CD]
* 2002 – The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues (Chess) 1966 recordings; reissue of the 1991 CD “The Complete Chess Folk Blues Sessions”
* 2003 – Boogie Chillen’ (Audio Fidelity) 1949 – 1952 Besman and Siracuse (engineer) compilation
* 2003 – Blues Kingpins – Blues Immortal (Virgin) 1948-1955 Modern anthology
* 2004 – Early Years – The Classic Savoy Sessions (Metro Doubles 2CD) recorded 1948 and 1961 – comprising the tracks from “Savoy Blues Legends” (Savoy in 1999 and 2003) and the 1961 Savoy recordings from “Sittin’ Here Thinkin’” (32Blues in 2004 with the bonus track)
* 2004 – I’m A Boogie Man (Varése Sarabande) Vintage 1948 – 1953 Texas Slim and John Lee Booker (King/DeLuxe tracks featuring all the King singles)
* 2004 – The Complete – Vol. 5 1951-53 [Body & Soul 2CD]
* 2005 – The Complete – Vol. 6 1953-54 [Body & Soul 2CD]
* 2006 – Hooker (a terrific 4CD Box chronological anthology covering his whole career) (Shout!Factory)
* 2006 – The Boogie Man 1948 – 1955 (Charly 4 CDBox) – not identical to Charly’s rare CD DIG 5 (but this time also featuring Modern recordings)
* 2007 – Gold (Hip-O Select 2CD) 1948-2001 chronological anthology

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Jun 24

1999 – Eric Clapton parts with 100 of his guitars …

Posted in 1990s, Agents & Lawyers, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Bio, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Gold, Guitarists, Industry, Off the Hook, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers, TV, Movies, Radio, Internet, & itunes | No Comments »

1999 – Eric Clapton parts with 100 of his guitars and generates over $5 million for his Crossroads Centre at Antigua, and alcohol and drug-dependency treatment center in the West Indies. Among the stringed beauties auctioned off is “Brownie,” a 1956 sunburst Fender upon which he recorded his hit “Layla”; the instrument goes for a record-breaking $450,000.

FEATURED

from: http://www.xs4all.nl/~slowhand/ecfaq/guitars.html

Q: What was Clapton’s first guitar?
A: His first guitar was an acoustic Spanish Hoya. His first electric guitar was a double cutaway Kay.

Q: Where did “Blackie” come from?
A: In 1970, Clapton bought a handful of Stratocasters, Telecasters, and various other Fenders for $100.00 each at the Sho-Bud shop in Nashville, Tennessee. He took them back to England and gave one to George Harrison, one to Steve Winwood, and one to Pete Townshend. Clapton disassembled the remaining three and constructed “Blackie” out of the best components from each of them.

Q: Where is “Blackie” now?
A: “Blackie” was retired in 1985 after 15 years of faithful service. According to Clapton: “It’s at home. It’s off the road completely. I play it at home occasionally, but it is too precious for me to take out for fear of loss or breakage or something like that.”

Q: What is the Eric Clapton Signature Strat?
A: Dan Smith, the head of Fender guitars, approached Clapton to discuss a plan to create a guitar to Clapton’s specifications and market it under his name. Clapton told them to make an exact copy of “Blackie” (his favorite Strat), especially the shape of the neck. Clapton’s favorite neck was the “V” neck, like the early Martins. Fender made up a neck and put it on a Strat Elite guitar body for Clapton to try. In the meantime, Fender made another prototype with a less V’ed neck that Clapton liked even more. Among the Elite’s features was a “mid boost” control, which on the Elite was meant to mimic the output and sound of a Gibson Les Paul. Clapton loved the boost (which he calls a “compressor”) and told Fender to keep it, but he wanted “more of the compressor”. The original prototype had 14 db of boost but Clapton wanted more than that. So, they put the guitar together with Lace Sensor pick-ups and a circuit that had a 25 db boost in the midrange at around 500 Hz [Guitar World, Dec 1989] The guitar can be seen in an interview with Lee Dickson that ran in a 1985 issue of Guitar Player magazine. It’s a black Elite body with a different neck attached (quite easy to tell). The fact that Clapton’s favorite guitar was a Fender, apparently had nothing to do with the fact that his signature guitar is marketed by that company. The original production guitar was available in three colors — charcoal gray, Torino red, and 7-Up green. Per Clapton’s request, the color black was not offered initially, but was added as an option around 1991. Alpine white was also added about the time of the “Nothing But the Blues” tour.

Q: Where is Clapton’s famous psychedelic SG guitar from his days with the band Cream?
A: . The design on Clapton’s 1961 SG/Les Paul was done by The Fool, the Dutch group of artists (Simon and Marijke) that designed the album sleeve for the first pressing of the Beatles “Sgt. Peppers” album. Clapton first purchased this guitar in 1966/67, and was used on the first two Cream albums (Fresh Cream and Disraeli Gears), and on the Wheels of Fire live recordings.
The guitar is now in the collection of Todd Rundgren and the paint has been touched up.

Q: What kind of strings does Clapton use?
A: At least on his Strats, he uses Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies (.010) or Super Slinkies (.009).

Q: How did he do that?
A: Tabs of many of Clapton’s songs are available at The Slowhand Blues World tab archive. The tone and feeling is up to you, but the notes are here! In printed form, Hal Leonard (check in your local music store) sells many Clapton songbooks and stylebooks — some even contain a CD for easy playing.

Q: Has Clapton always played Fender guitars?
A: No. From about June 1965 until around 1970, Clapton played Gibson electric guitars almost exclusively. His reputation as a guitarist (i.e. “Clapton is God”) was developed with a Gibson guitar. In June 1965, when Clapton bought a second-hand, cherry sunburst Gibson Les Paul guitar, little did anyone know that he was about to change the history of the electric guitar. Clapton created a new electric guitar sound and employed an overdriven Marshall amplifier that provided the distortion, feedback, and sustain he needed for his trademark sound. Although not the first to use these electrical “by-products” to his advantage, he refined their use and combined them with his virtuoso abilities and, most importantly, angst-driven passion. Clapton’s blues solos during his days with John Mayall’s Blues Breakers could send shivers down the spine while bringing tears to the eyes.

The Gibson Les Paul model guitar that Clapton played, however, was a discontinued model, having been produced from 1952-1960. He subsequently purchased several more, but his favorite one was stolen during early Cream rehearsals in the summer of 1966. Clapton’s popularizing of the Les Paul model guitar affected the electric guitar world so much that Gibson decided to re-introduce and reissue the guitar in 1968.

If Clapton had not popularized the Gibson Les Paul guitar, it would have been consigned to the dust-bin of history. Today, vintage Gibson Les Paul sunburst guitars from the 1958-1960 are collector’s items.

Q: How did Clapton get the famous “woman-tone” in Cream?
A: According to Clapton, the “woman-tone” is achieved by rolling the tone control all the way off on either the neck or the bridge pickup of a guitar with humbucking pickups and the volume all the way up. Heavy strings and a bassy-sounding amp at high volume also helps to achieve that wooing, whooshing tone. In fact, a lot of Clapton’s “woman tone” was achieved this way [with a wah-wah pedal], with the pedal about three-quarters back from the forward position. (from Guitar Player magazine, Gear Guru, March 1993)

Q: What equipment set-up did Clapton use during [fill-in band name/date/tour here] ?
A: During his tenure with the Yardbirds, Clapton used a Vox AC-30 amplifier and a Fender Telecaster guitar.

In John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, Clapton used a 1960 model Les Paul Standard through a 45-watt, model-1962 Marshall 2-12 combo. The amp was stock except that the output tubes were replaced with KT66′s (which have a more refined mid-range and clearer top end than either EL34s or 6L6s). The amp was almost always turned up full volume, even in the studio. When the engineer complained that Clapton’s amp was too loud, Eric replied “That’s the way I play.” Clapton-fan and researcher, DeltaNick, has extensively researched the history of the Clapton Les Paul and contributed the following article, Clapton’s Bluesbreakers 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar.

In Cream, Clapton switched to 100-watt Marshall heads (JTM 45) and 4-12 cabinets (two full stacks). He also used a Vox wah-wah and occasionally a fuzz. After his Blues Breakers-era Les Paul was stolen, Clapton had several more Les Paul model guitars (presumably 1960 models because the neck on the 1960 model was significantly thinner than on previous models). He used Les Paul guitars exclusively until 1967, having used at least three different Les Paul Standard model guitars in 1966 (the latter two — one of which was borrowed — with Cream). Sometime in 1967, Clapton started using the 1961 Gibson SG-style Les Paul (the famous psychedelic guitar). He switched to a single pick-up Gibson Firebird I during the Spring of 1968 and then switched between the Firebird and a Gibson ES-335 “block” guitar for the remainder of Cream and for Cream’s farewell concert.

In Blind Faith, Clapton used a Gibson Firebird through either Fender Dual Showman or Marshall amps; and at the debut performance played a Fender Telecaster with a Stratocaster neck (supposedly Clapton didn’t like the Tele neck). [Guitar World, Dec 1989]

During Derek and the Dominoes, Clapton switched to maple neck Fender Stratocasters and Fender tweed Champ amps for recording the “Layla” album.[Guitar Player January 1999]. On stage, he used either Marshalls or a Fender Showman.

From 1972 to 1987, Clapton used his famous “Blackie” guitar as his basic stage guitar.

In 1976, Clapton used a Gibson ES-335 for slide playing. It was strung with Ernie Ball Super Slinky’s .009-.042 and an Isis medium slide. He utilized Modified Music Man amps (HD 130 Reverb) with the bias up all the way and special open-back cabinets. He also used a Leslie cabinet with JBL components and had a special foot switch with fast/slow and on/off positions so that the guitar could go either through the amp, through both the amp and the Leslie, or just through the Leslie at either fast or slow speeds (as in the song “Badge”). He also used a Cry Baby Wah-wah pedal.

On the Journeyman album, Clapton used the Eric Clapton Signature Strat and the Gibson ES-335 on “Hard Times”.

On the song “Forever Man” from the Journeyman album, Clapton achieved that “fat” tone by using a different Strat with heavy strings and tuned the guitar down to “D” — not a “D” tuning, but down a whole step down from concert (normal) pitch.

On the Behind the Sun tour, Clapton used an effects board similiar to the one used by Jeff Pocaro. The effects board from right to left ; Jim Dunlop Cry baby re-issue, the Bradshaw foot controller, a Roland 700 synthesizer bank. The rack is controlled by a pedal board consisting of an Ibanez Harmonics/Delay, a DBX 160 compressor, a Roland SDE-3000 delay, a Tri Stereo CVhorus [Dyno-My-Piano], a Boss CE-1 chorus, and a Boss Heavy Metal pedal but actually only uses the one chorus and then a deeper chorus. Clapton switched from Music Man amps to Marshall 800 series heads (50 watts) during this time. The amp settings were: presence 3; bass and middle 1 o’clock; treble 8; and volume just under 9. The strings he used were Ernie Balls .010-.046. He used his usual array of Strats, including Blackie and Brownie. He also used a Dean Markely head— possibly a 130 with Marshall cabinets. Ernie Ball strings (.009), Picks: Ernie Ball heavys.

On the ARMS tour, Clapton used a ’57 blonde Fender Twin, Blackie, a Gibson Explorer, a Martin acoustic, and other Fender Strats.

In recording the album From The Cradle, Clapton used approximately 50 guitars from his collection, including a dot-neck Gibson ES-335 (a tobacco sunburst model from the early 60s), and his famous cherry-red model from Cream. He also used his white Eric Clapton Model Strat from the Fender Custom Shop, several different Gibson L-5′s, Byrdlands, and some Super 400′s. He also played straight through a Soldano head. The acoustic guitars he used included several Martins, a Tony Zemaitis 12-string, and several Dobros in different tunings. He used an old Fender Twin with no effects and occasionally an old Fender Champ amp [Guitar World, Dec 1994], plus a Silverface Fender Deluxe and a Blonde Showman head.

Jason Richlar was a Clapton fanatic. He spent hours assembling this guitar list. He waited anxiously for it to go onto the site and then wrote in with corrections. Jason passed away sometime in 1996. Most Slowhanders never met Jason, but his memory lives here. This list was contributed by Jason and is dedicated to his memory.

Danelectro paisley/psychedelic painted	Blind Faith, (Weiler p. 39)
Dobro
Dobro #45 (ornate fingerboard)
Epiphone Bard 12 string	1969; now in Miami Hard Rock Cafe
Fender Bass VI, block inlays	“Tears in Heaven” video
Fender Electric XII	“Tears in Heaven” video
Fender Electric XII (gold, block inlays)	“Tears in Heaven” video
Fender Jazzmaster	Yardbirds
Fender Stratocaster black w/ black pickguard	(Life and Music p. 156)
Fender Stratocaster Natural ?	(Life and Music p. 92)
Fender Stratocaster red rosewood neck	(Weiler p. 86)
Fender Stratocaster Signature E.C. 7-Up green
Fender Stratocaster Signature E.C. black
Fender Stratocaster Signature E.C. charcoal grey
Fender Stratocaster Signature E.C. dark metallic blue	Modena 1996
Fender Stratocaster Signature E.C. olympic white
Fender Stratocaster Signature E.C. red
Fender Stratocaster sunburst
Fender Stratocaster sunburst
Fender Stratocaster sunburst 1956	“Layla”; given to Ron Wood???
Fender Stratocaster (Blackie)	Assembled from 3 different 1950s Strats
Fender Telecaster blonde 1952
Fender Telecaster red	Yardbirds
Fender Telecaster (Strat neck)	Blind Faith
Fender Telecaster (sunburst)	“Tears in Heaven” video
Gibson Byrdland natural alnicos	From the Cradle
Gibson Byrdland natural humbuckers	Concert for Bangladesh
Gibson Byrdland sunburst alnicos	From the Cradle
Gibson Chet Atkins gut string
Gibson ES 150	“Motherless Child” video
Gibson ES 175	Now in Chicago Hard Rock Cafe
Gibson ES 335 Cherry Red block neck	Yardbirds onward; originally Gibson deluxe tuners (see L&M pp. 31,44 and Weiler p.42, later Grovers?)
Gibson ES 335 natural dot neck
Gibson ES 335 sunburst dot neck	From the Cradle
Gibson ES 350 T	Chuck Berry’s Hail Hail Rock and Roll
Gibson Explorer	ARMS concerts
Gibson Explorer (sawed off top)	given to Julian Marvin
Gibson Firebird I	Cream; Delaney & Bonnie
Gibson L5 ??	“Wish it Would Rain” video
Gibson L5CES	From the Cradle tour
Gibson L7 (with engraved fingerboard)
Gibson Les Paul Custom Black 3 pickups (covers removed later??)	Cream (Strange Brew p. 93) Delaney & Bonnie; Plastic Ono Band; given to Albert Lee
Gibson Les Paul Goldtop humbuckers
Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (1955, P90s)	Given to Delaney Bramlett
Gibson Les Paul Red	Beatles’ White Album ; given to George Harrison; Rainbow Concert (see July, 1995 Guitar World)
Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst	1987 Prince’s Trust
Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst	John Mayall and the Blues Breakers; Cream
Gibson Les Paul Standard with Bigsby	Cream (New Visual Documentary p. 13)
Gibson Les Paul/SG (painted by The Fool)	Cream; now owned by Todd Rundgren
Gibson SG Standard	1970s; backup
Gibson Switchmaster	(see Guitar Player August, 1976)
Giffin Stratocaster (blue)	For slide; 1980s
Gretsch 6120	Yardbirds
Guild F112 12 string	“Anyone for Tennis” TV
Guild F50 1968
Guild Catalogue and onward
Guild G46	Replacement from Guild for guitar donated to Prince’s Trust
Guild G46/GF 60R	Endorsed 1987-88 (see Guitar Player August 1988, p.89); donated to Prince’s Trust; model number changed by Gruhn
Guild Songbird Hagstrom?	electric 12; Blind Faith (Life and Music of p.44)
Hoya First Guitar Kay Jazz II	Yardbirds
Lowden 0-38 1997	Grammy Awards
Martin 000 28 EC
Martin 000-28 (w/ style 45 fingerboard and headstock)	ARMS tour
Martin 000-42 E.C. (#s 1 and 461)
Martin 000-42 (1939)
Martin 000-45
Martin 12 string (slotted head)
Martin D12-28
Martin D-28 (with Barcus-Berry bridge pickup)
Martin D-45	Derek and the Dominos’ Lyceum debut (Life and Music p.58)
Martin J-40 12
Martin OM-42
Martin ?? with pickup	From the Cradle tour
National Duolian (pre-decal, NOT slot headstock)	Given to Delaney Bramlett
National Resophonic	Rush
Ovation acoustic	Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour
Pensa Suhr Custom, EMG pick ups (black)	Royal Albert Hall 1988; owned by Clapton, or Knofler??
Ramirez gut string	“Tears in Heaven”
Roland Synthesizer guitar	Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour
Stahl (Larson Bros) 1940s	“Anyone for Tennis”; given to Hendrix
Taylor 514C	Modena 1996
Taylor 855 – 12
Zemaitis (w/cutaway)	(Life and Music p. 104)
Zemaitis 12 string	Custom Built for Clapton circa Cream

Lot # DescriptionNote:Photos of the guitars can be seen on the Shun & Lisa Eric Clapton Fan Page Estimated ValueIn U.S. Dollars Final BidIn U.S. Dollars Purchased By
1 1994 Martin J12-40 (natural) 4 – 6,000 26,000 in person
2 1996 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (midnight blue) 6 – 8,000 35,000 in person
3 1951 Gibson J-185 (sunbrust) 6 – 8,000 14,000 in person
4 1998 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (sunburst) 5 – 7,000 22,000 in person
5 Gibson ES-335 DOT (natural) 6 – 8,000 38,000 by telephone
6 1996 Martin OM-28 VR (natural) 6 – 8,000 35,000 by telephone
7 1995 Gibson Les Paul Custom (sunburst) 6 – 8,000 28,000 in person
8 c. 1960′s Silvertone (sunburst) signed by Les Paul 1 – 2,000 24,000 in person
9 1995 Gibson B.B. King Lucille (black) signed by B.B. – bought at a charity auction 6 – 8,000 45,000 by telephone
10 1996 Gibson Explorer (black) bought at a Stevie Ray Vaughan Benefit Auction 2 – 3,000 24,000 in person
11 c. 1960 Harmony Stratotone Mars Model (sunburst) 1 – 2,000 16,000 ?
12 1985 Martin Shenandoah 000-2832 (natural) generally used by Andy Fairweather-Low 3 – 5,000 21,000 by telephone
13 1994 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (cream) 6 – 8,000 50,000 Mike D. of California
14 1991 Gibson Firebird (red) given to Clapton by a fan 2 – 3,000 34,000 in person
15 1970′s Gibson Les Paul Custom (cherry red) 5 – 7,000 26,000 in person
16 1999 Gibson Les Paul Standard (sunburst) 3 – 5,000 26,000 in person
17 c. 1962 Gibson SG Les Paul Standard (cherry red) 5 – 7,000 30,000 in person
18 1958 Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean (translucent red) 5 – 7,000 22,000 in person
19 1959 Martin 00-17 (natural) 4 – 6,000 17,000 in person
20 Late 1950′s Hofner Club 60 (natural) gift from Roger Forrester 2 – 3,000 24,000 in person
21 1959 Gibson ES-335TDN (natural) 20 – 30,000 45,000 in person
22 1990s Vicente Sanchis Flamenco Model 41 (cypress) 3 – 5,000 26,000 by telephone
23 1960s Coral Sitar (red/black crackle) 6 – 8,000 36,000 in person
24 1919 Martin 0-18 (ntaural) 4 – 6,000 44,000 by telephone
25 c. 1920 Gibson L-3 (red mahogany sunburst) 2 – 3,000 24,000 in person
26 1940 Gibson L-7 (sunburst) 5 – 7,000 22,000 Jeff Gale
27 1990s Beltona Tri-cone (nickel) 6 – 8,000 35,000 in person
28 1970s Gibson Les Paul Recording Model (walnut) signed by Les Paul 6 – 8,000 40,000 by telephone
29 c. 1962 Gibson SG Les Paul Junior (cherry red) 3 – 5,000 30,000 in person
30 c. 1928 Gibson L-3 (sunburst) 2 -3,000 16,000 in person
31 c.1940s Gibson L-50 (sunburst) 4 – 6,000 20,000 ?
32 c. 1949 Gibson ES-125 (sunburst) used on Motherless Child video 6 – 8,000 32,000 Michael J. Fox
33 c. Late 1930s Kalamazoo (sunburst) 1 – 2,000 l 7,000 Steve & Anna Fern, England
34 1960 Gibson ES-330TD (sunburst) 3 – 5,000 24,000 in person
35 1994 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (cream) used on film score of The Van 6 – 8,000 50,000 in person
36 1959 Gibson ES-225TD (sunburst) 2 – 3,000 18,000 in person
37 1953 Gibson ES-295 (sunburst) 6 – 8,000 21,000 by telephone
38 Fender/Versace Guitar Strap 800 – 1,200 14,000 in person
39 1996 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (black/green) 6 – 8,000 52,000 by telephone
40 c.1940 Gibson ES-100 (sunburst) 4 – 6,000 17,000 Debra Berg-McCarthy
41 1960 Gibson ES-330T (sunburst) 3 – 5,000 22,000 in person
42 1956 Gibson Byrdland (sunburst) 15 – 20,000 52,000 in person
43 Fender/Versace Guitar Strap 800 – 1,200 9,000 in person
44 1996 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (black/green) 6 – 8,000 50,000 in person
45 Late c. 1930s Kalamazoo (sunburst) 1 -2,000 24,000 in person
46 1959 Gibson ES-335TD (sunburst) 20 – 30,000 70,000 Gill Southworth, who owns Southworth Vintage guitars in Bethesda, Maryland
47 1993 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (ivory shite) 6 – 8,000 42,000 in person
48 1957 Gibson Byrdland (sunburst) 10 – 15,000 38,000 in person
49 1947 Fender Broadcaster Relic (blonde) 5 – 7,000 19,000 in person
50 1994 Fender Stratocaster 40th Anniversary Concert Edition Model (wine red) 5 – 7,000 28,000 by telephone
51 1941 Martin 00-18G (natural) 5 -7,000 24,000 in person
52 Late 1950s Fender Twin Amplifier 2 – 3,000 12,000 by telephone
53 1958 Fender Stratocaster (Mary Kay – translucent blonde) 20 – 40,000 55,000 in person
54 c. 1952 Gibson Super 400C (sunburst) 12 – 18,000 26,000 in person
55 1956 Gibson Super 300C (sunburst) 10 – 15,000 26,000 in person
56 1990 National Reso-phonic Model M-1 (sunburst) used on film Rush 6 – 8,000 42,000 Peter Morton’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas)
57 Fender D’Aquisto (natural) used on Retail Therapy 5 – 7,000 22,000 by telephone
58 1991 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton “Blackie” Signature Model (smoker’s model) 5 – 7,000 68,000 in person
59 1987 Guild GF-60NT (natural) on the 25 Years tour programme 2 – 3,000 20,000 in person
60 1989 Guild F-46NT (sunburst) 3 – 5,000 16,000 in person
61 1982 Gibson Chet Atkins Standard (natural) 5 – 7,000 35,000 in person
62 1986 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (pewter) 10 – 15,000 95,000 in person
63 1987 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (Torino red) 6 – 8,000 60,000 in person
64 1987 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (7-Up green) 6 – 8,000 50,000 in person
65 1988 Guild G-60NT (natural) 2 – 3,000 18,000 by telephone
66 1988 Guild F-61RNT (natural) 2 – 3,000 17,000 in person.
67 1987 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (Torino red) 3 – 5,000 50,000 by telephone.
68 Late 19th Century Salvador Ibanez (natural) 3 – 5,000 42,000 Jeff Gale
69 1990 James Trussart Steel Deville (chrome) 3 – 5,000 35,000 in person
70 1990s Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Model (gold with snow leopard) 5 – 7,000 42,000 in person
71 1982 Fender Stratocaster ’57 Re-issue model (sunburst) 5 – 7,000 28,000 by telephone
72 1992 Fender Telecaster 40th Anniversary model (sunburst) custom made for Clapton 5 – 7,000 62,000 in person
73 1988 Pensa-Suhr (honey) gift from Mark Knopfler 5 – 7,000 45,000 in person
74 1982 Roland G-505 (candy apple red) with two synthesizers – used during Edge of Darkness period 3 – 5,000 29,000 in person
75 1986 Guild Nightbird (green metallic) 3 – 5,000 26,000 Jonathan Mikos (VH1 contest winner)
76 1980s Fender Stratocaster XII (sunburst) 6 – 8,000 42,000 ?
77 1991 Taylor 955-C (natural) gift from Richie Sambora 5 – 7,000 30,000 by telephone
78 1987 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model (7-Up green) 6 – 8,000 55,000 by telephone
79 1990 Gibson Chet Atkins Standard 5 – 7,000 35,000 in person
80 Fender/Versace Guitar Strap 800 – 1,200 15,000 in person
81 1990 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature ‘Blackie’ Model 5 – 7,000 48,000 ?
82 Late 1950s Fender Twin Amplifier 2 – 3,000 16,000 ?
83 1956 Gibson ES-350TN (natural) played at Chuck Berry tribute 15 – 20,000 62,000 ?
84 1959 Gibson J-200 (sunburst) 8 – 12,000 78,000 ?
85 c.1964 Gibson ES-345TD (sunburst) 15 – 20,000 32,000 ?
86 c.1980 Santa Cruz F-13 (sunburst) pictured with cat 4 – 6,000 35,000 ?
87 c.1980 Santa Cruz FTC-15 (natural) 3 – 5,000 35,000 ?
88 1960s National Studio 66 Model (black) used on film Water 1 – 2,000 28,000 ?
89 1980s Fender Stratocaster Elite (cream) 5 – 7,000 30,000 ?
90 1980s Roger Giffin (blue metallic) 5 – 7,000 42,000 Jeff Gale
91 1980s Fender Stratocaster Elite (black) 5 – 7,000 26,000 ?
92 1958 Gibson Explorer (natural) used in ARMS concert unknown 120,000 ?
93 1979 Fender Stratocaster Anniversary Model (silver metallic) 5 – 7,000 35,000 ?
94 c. 1930s National Duolian (nickel) 6 – 8,000 35,000 Michael J. Fox
95 1978 Guild D-55NT (natural) 5 – 7,000 32,000 ?
96 1974 Martin 000-28 (natural) rodeo man sticker 12 – 18,000 155,000 ?
97 c.1975 Telecaster (translucent blonde) 6 – 8,000 42,000 ?
98 1956 Fender Stratocaster (sunburst ) 20 – 30,000 80,000 ?
99 Dobro Electric 12-string (natural) 2 – 3,000 28,000 ?
100 c.1930 Gibson L-4 (sunburst ) 6 – 8,000 50,000 ?
101 1930s D’Angelico (sunburst ) 20 – 25,000 55,000 ?
102 1930s D’Angelico Excel (sunburst ) 20 – 30,000 42,000 ?
103 1954 Fender Stratocaster (sunburst ) 20 – 30,000 190,000 ?
104 1952 Fender Telecaster (natural) gift from Carl Radle 15 – 20,000 90,000 ?
105 ‘Brownie’ – 1956 Fender Stratocaster (used on Layla album) 80 – 100,000 450,000 by telephone
These prices were confirmed by Christie’s TOTAL $4,452,000 Total (including premium) $5,072,350

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2002 – Lonnie Donegan, known as the “king of skiff…

2001 – Bluesman John Lee Hooker, believed to be 83…

1999 – Eric Clapton parts with 100 of his guitars …

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