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James Paul McCartney was born to working-class parents in Liverpool, England, on June 18, 1942. His Irish Catholic mother, Mary, was a nurse and midwife, while his British father, Jim, was a cotton salesman and amateur jazz pianist. He had a happy childhood with one younger brother, Michael, until his mother's sudden death from breast cancer when he was 14. Shortly afterward, he wrote his first song, and a few months later he met John Lennon during the latter's performance at a local church fete (festival). McCartney sooned joined Lennon's band, The Quarrymen, and with the eventual addition of George Harrison and Pete Best the band morphed into The Beatles. After a long stint playing in Hamburg, Germany, the band returned to Liverpool and soon became a top local act. After replacing drummer Best with Ringo Starr. The Beatles soon became an international hit-making phenomenon, influencing everything from fashion to politics. Yet it wouldn't last: internal strife and disagreement over management issues tore the band apart. In April 1970, McCartney announced the band's breakup. He was 27 years old. His first solo album, "McCartney," was a #1 hit and spawned the evergeen ballad "Maybe I'm Amazed", yet critical reaction was mixed. This was a continuing motif in McCartney's career, as he continued to release music, with new band Wings. In 1980 McCartney was arrested in Tokyo, Japan, for marijuana possession. After a ten-day stint in jail, he was released to a media firestorm. The jail stint aborted his worldwide tour and put the final nail in the coffin of Wings. After almost a year of absence from the music scene, McCartney returned in 1982 with the album "Tug of War," which enjoyed great critical acclaim. He was a solo artist from then onward. After two successful world tours and the somewhat disappointing album "Off the Ground" (1992), McCartney concentrated on composing the classical work "The Liverpool Oratorio". In 1995 he was working on a new pop album, "Flaming Pie," when his wife Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. The album was eventually released in 1997 to both critical and commerical success. It was also the year McCartney was knighted, but caring for his wife during her illness meant only sporadic public appearances during this time. In April 1998, Linda died of breast cancer He eventually returned to the studio, releasing an album of rock n'roll covers in 1999. "Run Devil Run" made both Entertainment Weekly and USA Today's year-end top ten lists. McCartney also slowly returned to the public spotlight, embarking on a romantic relationship with ex-model and disabled rights activist Heather Mills (who lost a leg in a road accident). He and Heather married in June, 2000.His new relationship was reflected in the songs on his 2001 album, "Driving Rain.
Trivia
Working title of his own personal favourite composition "Yesterday" was "Scrambled Eggs".
Mary McCartney
Played all the instruments on two of his solo albums, 'McCartney' (1970) and 'McCartney II' (1980).
Originally wanted to call his post-Beatles band the Dazzlers, but came up with the name Wings after his wife Linda gave birth to their daughter Stella. He found 'Wings' to be uplifting, as he did the birth of their second child.
Won last-minute court order preventing Christie's from auctioning his handwritten lyrics to song "Hey Jude." Paper with lyrics scrawled on it had been expected to bring up to $116,000 at auction scheduled for April 30, but England's High Court, ruled for Sir Paul the day before, deciding that the valuable Beatles artifact will remain at auction house until ownership is finally determined by agreement or trial.
