McCartney, Sir Paul

McCartney, Sir (James) Paul

(born June 18, 1942, Liverpool, Eng.) British singer and songwriter. Born to a working-class family, he learned piano but switched to guitar after hearing American rock-and-roll recordings. In the mid-1950s he met John Lennon, with whom he formed the Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles. He and Lennon cowrote scores of songs, including some of the most popular songs of the 20th century. He released his first solo album in 1970. With his wife, the photographer Linda Eastman (1941–98), he formed the group Wings; their hit albums include Band on the Run (1973) and Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976). After the band dissolved, McCartney had a string of hits in the 1980s. In Rio de Janeiro in 1990, he set a world record by performing before a paying audience of more than 184,000. He was knighted in 1997.