EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) 鈥 Hard to think of a better way for Paul McCartney to celebrate his 80th birthday than by singing 鈥淕lory Days鈥 onstage with Bruce Springsteen or being serenaded by some 60,000 well-wishers.
That's right, the 鈥渃ute Beatle鈥 turns 80 on Saturday. It's one of those cultural milestones that bring a sharp intake of breath 鈥 has it been THAT long? 鈥 along with an appreciation of what he still has to offer.
For it has been more than a half-century now since the Beatles broke up, a realization that hits you like that 1970s-era joke about young people saying, 鈥淧aul McCartney was in a band before Wings?鈥
Like several other members of the 鈥渉ope I die before I get old鈥 generation, including Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and former Beatles mate Ringo Starr, McCartney keeps working, keeps sharing his music from the stage. Another 1960s icon, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is scheduled to play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City on his 80th birthday Monday.
鈥淗e has a youthful exuberance that is ageless,鈥 said Bob Spitz, a Beatles biographer. 鈥淭here's still some of that 21-year-old boy that shines through in all of his performances.鈥
It would be a clich茅 鈥 and wrong 鈥 to suggest time hasn't taken a toll. The fragility in his voice was evident while singing 鈥淏lackbird鈥 on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief U.S. tour. He struggled for the high notes in 鈥淗ere Today,鈥 his love letter to John Lennon, who was robbed of a long life by an assassin's bullet.
The skill of a sympathetic band, along with the imagination and voices in the audience, patches over the rough spots.
鈥淵eah, yeah, right, I've got a birthday coming up,鈥 McCartney said, scanning signs in the audience that reminded him. 鈥淚'm not trying to ignore it, but...鈥
The crowd offered a spontaneous 鈥淗appy Birthday鈥 serenade, even before Jersey guy Jon Bon Jovi brought out a fistful of balloons during the encore to lead them in another verse.
That other Jersey guy, Springsteen, joined McCartney for the duet on 鈥淕lory Days鈥 and a version of 鈥淚 Wanna Be Your Man.鈥 He later popped up to join the guitar duel from 鈥淎bbey Road.鈥
For most artists, the appearance of such local royalty would be a hard-to-top moment. Most artists can't immediately whip out 鈥淟et it Be鈥 and 鈥淗ey Jude鈥 to follow it.
To mark the birthday, Stereogum magazine asked 80 artists to pick their favorite McCartney song, and the choices were remarkable in their breadth 鈥 from the pre-Beatles 1958 cut 鈥淚n Spite of All the Danger鈥 (which McCartney performed at MetLife) to his 2016 collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West 鈥淔ourFiveSeconds鈥 (which he didn't).
David Crosby and Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys both chose 鈥淓leanor Rigby.鈥 Master showman Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips picked 鈥淢agical Mystery Tour.鈥 Steve Earle selected 鈥淓very Night,鈥 while Def Leppard's Joe Elliott went against type with the gentle 鈥淟ittle Lamb Dragonfly.鈥 Mac DeMarco picked the 鈥淩am鈥 epic, 鈥淭he Back Seat of My Car.鈥
Many remarked upon the unfairness of having to pick just one.
Stereogum's feature illustrated the varied entry points musicians of different generations have into a living, breathing catalog. For example, it revealed that a largely overlooked album like 1980's 鈥淢cCartney II鈥 had a far greater impact on developing artists than its reception at the time would have foreshadowed.
On Friday, McCartney's team announced that it was packaging 鈥淢cCartney II鈥 with his other DIY albums, 鈥淢cCartney鈥 of 1970 and 2020's 鈥淢cCartney III," into a boxed set that will go on sale in August.
How vast is the songbook? McCartney performed 38 songs at MetLife, 20 of them Beatles songs, and even managed to miss an entire decade. Remember the 1990s?
With the help of Peter Jackson, who reimagined the 鈥淕et Back鈥 sessions for last year's television project, McCartney was able to perform a virtual 鈥渄uet鈥 with Lennon singing his part of 鈥淚've Got a Feeling" from the Apple rooftop concert. McCartney also paid tribute to George Harrison, who died in 2001, with a version of 鈥淪omething鈥 that began with Paul on a ukulele George gave him and built to a full band version.
Spitz recalled a Beatles-era film clip of Lennon telling an interviewer that he'd be flabbergasted if it lasted more than 10 years. McCartney stood next to him laughing.
Lennon was right about the Beatles as a unit, but not about the music. He couldn't have imagined that in 2022, one adult standing in line to get into MetLife being overheard asking a companion: 鈥淲here are Mom and Dad?鈥
Advanced birthday be damned, the irrepressibly cheerful McCartney left with a promise when the last firework burst and he walked offstage.
鈥淪ee you next time.鈥
___
This story corrects year in third to last paragraph to 2022.
