Sir Paul McCartney

As a founding member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney’s words and music had an unparalleled impact on the sounds and beliefs of post-1964 popular culture. McCartney’s music – which would encompass 60 gold discs and the sale of some 100 million singles, both with the Beatles, his ‘70s outfit Wings, and as a solo artist, making him the most successful musician and composer in history – combined the raw and joyous sound of the earliest American rockers with an innate knack for beautiful and complex melodies. McCartney’s music struck emotional chords with nearly everyone who heard it, from fellow