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February 2014

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Februrary 27, 2014 -- Yahoo News

McCartney honoured at NME awards, 50 years after topping bill

Beatles legend Paul McCartney received a standing ovation at the NME awards ceremony in London on Wednesday, where he accepted the influential British magazine's special prize honouring his 50-year-career.

On receiving the magazine's "songwriters' songwriter" award at the annual show, the 71-year-old admitted to guests at the O2 Academy Brixton that he could not explain how he had written some of the most famous pop songs of all time.

"The great thing about songwriting is that you don't know how you do it, so you can't talk about it," he said as he picked up the award from Blur and Gorillaz star Damon Albarn.

The Beatles played at the magazine's annual show in 1963 and topped the bill in 1964 as Beatlemania swept the UK.

Young pretenders Arctic Monkeys picked up where they left off at last week's Brit Awards, winning five prizes including best album for "AM".

Pop princess Lily Allen capped her return from "retirement" by winning the best solo artist award, but suggested fellow nominees David Bowie and Jake Bugg were more deserving of the accolade.

Allen was also on stage to present New York rocker Debbie Harry and her band Blondie with the "Godlike genius" award.

Scottish band Belle & Sebastian won the outstanding contribution to music prize before aiming a playful jibe at David Bowie's plea for Scotland to stay part of the UK.

"England stay with us -- at least just for a night," joked guitarist Stevie Jackson. "And if we do leave you, let's stay friends."

MORE...

Macca Report News

What Paul said in his NME Speech

"One of the things we (Beatles) used to like to try and do was to plant a false story in the NME. And we actually got in with, George was Billy Fury's cousin, which he wasn't! Living on the edge man! You know what I'm saying? Oh yeah anyway (laughs) Woo-hoo-ho-Ooo-hoo (does a little dance plays air guitar) Yeah come on... It's all there.

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

"So anyway listen. Songwriting, the thing about songwriting, the great thing about it is, we don't know how we do it, so you can't talk about it! Thank you!" (applause)

He's known for being hugely successful as a singer.

And at the age of 71 Sir Paul McCartney has been perfecting another one of his many talents by taking to the French Alps with a personal instructor to hone his skiing skills.

If you could win prizes for looking like the part then The Beatles singer, who is enjoying a break in Megeve, France, with his wife Nancy Shevell, would become a professional in no time.

Paul was pictured looking every inch the esteemed skier in his all-black winter wear as he went for a lesson on Thursday.

He looked in focused mood as he headed onto the snow carrying his ski poles and flanked by his personal instructor, who had skis in hand.

While on the slopes, Paul looked like he had the technique down to a tee as he sped across the snow.

Despite Paul's new hobby, his wife Nancy, 53, doesn't appear to be quite as keen as her husband to take to the ice.

According to The Sun newspaper, she has been steering clear of the icy conditions by staying in their private lodge when the singer heads out to test his skiing skills.

The skiing trip couldn't have come at a better time for Paul, who has been busy in the US for the past month making a special TV show, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles, to commemorate 50 years since the group first appeared on American television.

During the show, Paul and his bandmate Ringo Starr paid tribute to late Beatle John Lennon - who was shot and killed in New York in 1980 - and George Harrison, who died of lung cancer in 2001.

Drummer Ringo 73, told the audience during the programme: 'We were in a band called The Beatles and whenever we play George and John are always with us.'

The show aired on CBS on February 9 and featured performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Keith Urban, Katy Perry, John Mayer and Alicia Keys.

To mark the opening of the Linda McCartney retrospective at Le Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier, PaulMcCartney.com today publishes a new collection of photographs, reflecting Linda's instinctive ability to capture the beauty of a particular moment.

The exhibition will run until 4th May 2014, for more info click HERE!

Check out the full collection HERE!

More than 200 prints and original documents are displayed, reflecting Linda's instinctive ability to capture the beauty of a particular moment.

Linda got her first big break as a photographer while working as receptionist at 'Town and Country Magazine'. She used an unwanted invitation to a Rolling Stones promotional event on the SS Sea Panther on the Hudson River in New York to document the event and photograph the band.

She became a professional photographer in the mid-sixties. Her pictures during this period chronicled the musical revolution of the decade.

Linda's photographic oeuvre contains photographs of the musical scene of the 60s in New York, California and London, her family life with Paul and their children, and photographs of the natural world she was so fond of.

www.PaulMcCartney.com will be publishing a new collection of photos from the exhibition next week.

Sir Paul McCartney in Montpellier

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

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Februrary 20, 2014 -- Macca Report News

Paul South America Tour News

According to newspapers in South America, Paul will play Lima, Peru at Estadio Nacional on Friday, April 25th. Tickets will go on sale next week.

Also confirmed by newspapers, Paul will play Centennial Stadium in Uruguay on Saturday, April 18th.

More dates are speculated for Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil and other places.

Paul McCartney coming to Montevideo?

Negotiations in Montevideo could confirm the return of Paul McCartney to Centenario Stadium around Easter.

The British musician who performed at Centennial in 2012 for more than 50,000 could return to Uruguay this year to promote his latest album "New."

That show was preceded by a month of speculation until the star signed the contract. McCartney tours in the past have announced concert dates on short notice.

According to sources consulted by El País, meetings with Paul's concert planners this week in Montevideo could confirm a concert rumored for Saturday, April 19.(thanks to Matais)

If that day falls within Holy Week (Easter), it is speculated that about 15,000 Argentine would travel to attend the concert.

It is speculated that McCartney's 2014 South American tour could have dates in Chile, Ecuador, Peru and other places.

One of Stu's aka "Adam Ant" Macca autographs

"I probably was the most envied kid in Britain because my mom used to (work) for Paul McCartney.

"After school I'd go around his house and take his sheepdog for a walk. I do remember they were doing Magical Mystery Tour and going up into his music room with their psychedelic piano...

"He wrote me an autograph, 'To Stuart, Best Wishes, Paul McCartney (Beatles),' as if I needed to know! I've still got that."

Adam Ant, aka Stuart Goddard, on his childhood ties to McCartney.

Creative director of Hunter, Alasdhair Willis, recalls how he fell for his designer wife of 11 years, Stella McCartney

We had a breakfast meeting at Browns. And we haven't really been apart since", Alasdhair Willis tells The Times of how he met his designer wife, Stella McCartney.

While reports have previously speculated that the duo met around the art colleges of London (Stella at Central St. Martins, Alasdhair at the Slade School of Fine Art), it was when Willis began consulting McCartney during the genesis of her eponymous brand that sparks began to fly.

After the fateful breakfast discussion, Willis, now the creative director of the Hunter Wellington Boot brand, called her that afternoon. "That was a big leap of faith, it could have gone wrong," he jests. "Fortunately she said yes, and the rest is history."

The couple, who tied the knot in 2003 on the Isle of Bute with Stella modelling an updated version of the dress her mother wore to wed Sir Paul McCartney in 1969, are still as happy as ever: "We respect each other, we enjoy each other's company and she's my best friend. I love hanging out with her," says Willis.

Do the consultant and designer keep work separate from play? "We do vibe off each other quite well when it comes to ideas. But at the weekend it's all about the kids," Willis continues.

And as if the question wasn't worth asking, of course Stella will be on the front row of Hunter's debut show at London autumn/winter 2014 Fashion Week in less than two weeks time. "I've never missed one of her shows, so I'd be a bit gutted if she didn't turn up at my first one," confesses the business mogul. "She'll be there."

Former Beatles star being celebrated by fellow songwriters for contribution to music over past half century

Sir Paul McCartney is being celebrated by fellow songwriters with a special one-off prize at the NME Awards recognising his contribution to music over the past half century.

The music weekly has chosen to honour him after approaching a number of musicians who were united in naming him as being unmatchable in his craft.

He is to attend the event, to be staged on February 26 at London's O2 Academy in Brixton, to collect his Songwriter's Songwriter award.

NME editor Mike Williams said: "We've spoken to the biggest and best musicians around, and they've told us Paul McCartney is the world's ultimate songwriter. Paul's enduring and stunning talent is worth celebrating, and I'm incredibly honoured that NME are giving him the special, one-of-its-kind Songwriter's Songwriter award to recognise that."

The show featured performances from Paul and Ringo Starr, plus Dhani Harrison, Pharrell Williams, Dave Grohl, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, John Mayer, Keith Urban, Ed Sheeran, Eurythmics, Brad Paisley, Joe Walsh, Jeff Lynne, Imagine Dragons and Gary Clark Jr.

Photographer MJ Kim was on hand to capture exclusive photos from the rehearsals and the show.

Check out the full collection HERE!

Viewers who tuned in Sunday night to "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles" on the 50th anniversary of the band's debut appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" got to see most of what transpired two weeks earlier when the show was filmed at the Los Angeles Convention Center. But a couple of noteworthy bits wound up on the editing room floor.

Musically, the biggest surprises were the elimination of Paul McCartney and his band's set-opening performance of "Magical Mystery Tour," and the editing of his and Ringo Starr's reunion performance of "Hey Jude," their first time playing the song together since 1968.

At the Convention Center, the extended vamp of the song's signature "Na-na-na na-na-na-nahhhh" singalong was considerably longer than what ended up in the 2 1/2-hour telecast. The show's producers edited over the section in which McCartney first asked for only the men in the audience to sing the riff, then the women, and finally everyone in the house to join.

Two other lost bits -- perhaps they ll be included as bonus material on a DVD/Blu-ray release of the show -- belonged to Jeff Bridges and Eric Idle.

One of several celebrities tapped to introduce various performances, Bridges told of his reaction to seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show 50 years earlier, when he was 14. But his full story of subsequently meeting the Fab Four didn t make the cut, a shame since he was the only participant in the show with a story of a personal encounter with the group in the early stages of Beatlemania.

Bridges noted that his father, actor Lloyd Bridges, bought tickets -- for $25 apiece -- to a fundraiser hosted by one of their Hollywood neighbors that the Beatles attended.

When the Bridges family arrived, the Liverpool lads were thrilled to meet Lloyd Bridges, star of "Sea Hunt," the syndicated TV underwater adventure series that ran from 1958-61. Bridges recalled one of the Beatles imitating sounds of blowing bubbles and making swimming gestures, a degree of awareness of their father that made a big impression on Bridges and his older brother, Beau.

A chunk of Eric Idle's comedic spot in the show also was trimmed. The founding member of Monty Python and co-creator of the Rutles parody of the Beatles and Beatlemania reprised the latter role for a humorously convoluted salute to the historic nature of the show.

"Fifty years ago on this very stage," he began, "well, not on this very stage" in a bit that cleverly wound its way through the artificiality of explaining a moment in history that took place Feb. 9, 1964, in New York to a live audience in Los Angeles looking on two weeks before the show would air.

Otherwise, the special was a faithful presentation of the live performances delivered the night after the Grammy Awards ceremony and featuring many of the same performers from the Grammy telecast serving up Beatles songs.

In addition to McCartney and Starr, the Beatles' legacy was saluted by Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and John Legend, the reunited Eurythmics, Katy Perry, John Mayer and Keith Urban, Joe Walsh, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison, Dave Grohl, Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5, Gary Clark Jr., Pharrell Williams and Brad Paisley and Ed Sheeran as well as troupe members from Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles show "Love."

PHOTO: MJ Kim

Recently, as the world saw, Ringo Starr joined Paul on stage at the GRAMMYs for a performance of 'Queenie Eye'.

PaulMcCartney.com is publishing an exclusive look behind-the-scenes shot at the rehearsals featuring Paul and Ringo practicing 'Queenie Eye'. The clip includes interviews with both musicians and sees Paul say that "playing with [Ringo] is very special". He also tells how the first time Ringo played with The Beatles "the band lifted to what it was about to become." Ringo goes on to say of his lifelong friend, "Paul McCartney is the finest".

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Rehearsing 'Queenie Eye'

CLICK TO WATCH

The Beatles tribute was filmed on Monday, January 26th, the day after Paul took home five GRAMMYs, his most successful night at the awards ever.

The combination of his artistic legacy and continued vitality has paid off well for Paul McCartney. He is the winner of the two most prestigious 2014 Ultimate Classic Rock Awards -- Artist of the Year and Album of the Year.

McCartney was a landslide winner in the Artist of the Year category, taking 64 percent of the vote. In second place was Black Sabbath, who, despite putting out a solid reunion album, "13", only received 20 percent. David Bowie s surprise comeback only netted him 5 percent, which was still good enough for third place.

Album of the Year was considerably closer, with McCartney's "New" beating out "13" by a total of 45-38 percent. Bowie s "The Next Day" was, again, in third place with 5 percent.

If not for Rush, the former Beatle would have had a clean sweep of the top four awards. McCartney finished in second place behind the Canadian trio in the Best Tour of 2013 category -- we attended his excellent Milwaukee show -- by a tally of 36 percent to 28 percent, and his "Queenie Eye" (36.8 percent) narrowly lost to Rush's "The Garden" (37.4 percent). McCartney could have been a victim of split-voting. His collaboration with the surviving members of Nirvana, "Cut Me Some Slack," finished in third place, with 8 percent.

Congratulations to Paul McCartney on his two 2014 Ultimate Classic Rock Awards!

Who Was the Artist of the Year? (Poll Closed)

Paul McCartney 64.43%

Black Sabbath 20.32%

David Bowie 5.25%

The Rolling Stones 4.59%

Lemmy Kilmister 2.57%

Elton John 1.55%

Bob Dylan 1.28%


What Was 2013's Album of the Year? (Poll Closed)

Paul McCartney, 'New' 45.13%

Black Sabbath, '13' 38.33%

David Bowie, 'The Next Day' 5.39%

Motorhead, 'Aftershock' 3.96%

John Fogerty, 'Wrote a Song for Everyone' 2.58%

Gov't Mule, 'Shout!' 1.72%

Elton John, 'The Diving Board' 1.61%

Elvis Costello & the Roots, 'Wise Up Ghost' 1%

All You Need Is Love: The Beatles In My Life

For the past month or two, I've had the honor of spending a significant part of my time helping to celebrate the uniquely positive and enduring impact of The Beatles on our lives. I was happy to do so on The Grammy Awards, in Playtone's The Sixties: The British Invasion on CNN, and this Sunday night on CBS, The Beatles -- The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute. Our big Grammy Salute to The Beatles is airing on the same network exactly 50 years after John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr first played on The Ed Sullivan Show. Please please me and see it -- it's Fab.

This two-and-a-half-hour CBS special features performances by Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Katie Perry, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh, Maroon Five, Eurythmics, Brad Paisley, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Keith Urban, Pharrell Williams, Gary Clark Jr., Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons and John Mayer, and appearances by Johnny Depp, David Letterman, Anna Kendrick, Jeff Bridges, LL Cool J, Kate Beckinsale and Eric Idle. Of course, the whole show builds to something you don't want to miss -- Paul and Ringo performing a few Beatles classics together again.

To have these opportunities to salute my greatest heroes has been a profound privilege on a professional and personal level, and like the paperback writer that I am, I thought I'd try and tell you why. The Beatles changed my life -- as they have changed so many of yours -- but some of my experiences feel unique, at least to me. In fact, I could write a book about my brushes with and feelings for The Beatles -- in fact, I may be the only writer who hasn't written a book about them at this point.

I am part of a lost and found generation that fell in love with the Beatles in a peculiar kind of retrospect. I was born in the Sixties, but was too young to remember the British Invasion firsthand. I do remember my parents having a few Beatles albums in our record player that looked like a giant piece of furniture, and vaguely recall my childhood friend David Klein's older brother having those cool posters from the White Album posted on the wall of their basement. But in truth, I fell in love with the Beatles backwards, buying each and every one of their solo albums in the Seventies and gradually going back and realizing that the Beatles made possible all those Electric Light Orchestra and Raspberries albums I fell for first.

My love of the Fab Four just grew deeper with every year. The night John Lennon died so tragically in 1980, I was a freshman at Cornell working at the school paper. I will never forget my father calling me in my dorm and kindly asking me if I wanted to come home from school to mourn, as if this was a death in our family, because in a sense, it was.

Within two years of graduating college, I somehow found myself with my dream job at Rolling Stone where I would annoy my boss Jann Wenner by asking countless questions about his late great friend John Lennon. I thank Jann for his patience. Weeks after arriving at the magazine in 1986, I met my first Beatle. It was in the lobby of Radio City Music Hall where I was briefly brought over to meet Paul and Linda McCartney at the record release party for Paul's album Press To Play. For once in my life, I found myself virtually speechless, but I do remember the lovely Linda McCartney grabbing my arm as if trying to steady this overwhelmed rock critic.

Now cut to 1993. I am thrilled to be sent on the road with Paul and Linda, going around the world with them for a tour piece in Rolling Stone. During my time on the road with the McCartneys in America and South America, Linda was tremendously kind to me, even taking a portrait of me when I wasn't looking and offering it to me to use as my author's photo -- a generous offer I took her up on gladly. Another day when the tour hit the New York area, Linda asked me if I had a girlfriend. I told her that I had just met a nice girl named Fran who was, in fact, visiting New York that same week. Linda said she wanted to check out "this Fran character' and asked me to invite her to the next day's sound check. For the record, there is nothing like a Paul McCartney sound check -- they are even more fun than the man's actual concerts.

Afterward, Linda invited a suitably impressed Fran and I to have a surprisingly tasty tofu lunch with her. Within moments, Linda pulled me aside. "Marry that girl," she said, matter of factly. This was the very first time the thought had entered my mind. Sensing my surprise, Linda asked me a question. "Do you think I know something about marriage?" she asked. Having seen Linda's loving relationship with Paul and their kids firsthand, I responded that she very clearly did. "So hear what I am telling you." And so I did. Not long after that, inspired in no small measure by Linda's wise words coming from her strong and beautiful soul, I popped the question and ended up marrying the woman who became my love.

Now flash-forward another decade or two.

On February 3rd of this year, I was backstage working on writing The Grammy Awards on which Paul and Ringo both appeared, when my wife Fran and our two teenaged sons arrived to visit me backstage. My wife immediately asked me if I've seen the photo she had just texted me. I had not, so she showed me a photo on her phone of Paul with his arms warmly around our two sons. Remarkably, she explains, she did not even try to get this photo. Everyone tries to get a photo with a Beatle, but somehow my wife and sons were passing Paul in the hall when Paul stopped and put his arms around my sons. As my amazed and amazing wife snapped the photo, Paul warmly embraced them, telling my boys that they are "the stars of the future." I cannot explain how this happened exactly. Perhaps Paul mistook our two sons for some stray boy band members, and simply showed them extraordinary kindness. Yet I prefer to think it was the loveliness of Linda's kind spirit living on through Paul, recognizing something in the eyes of two kids who might not be here if she had not told me in no uncertain terms to marry their mom. So thank you Sir Paul, and most of all, thank you always to the eternally Lovely Linda.

As you may have noticed, I tend to drop a name -- or two hundred. But of all the musicians I have had the pleasure of getting to know, I always tell anyone who asks that my favorite hero I know is and always will be Ringo Starr. The artist formerly known as Richard Starkey is the greatest, funniest, wisest man I have come across yet and imagine I ever will. I admire Ringo even more as a man than as a Beatle, and that's saying something.

I first met Ringo shortly after that speechless first meeting Paul. The year was 1989, and Ringo has just cleaned up his own act, and was taking it on the road for the first time with one of his All-Starr Bands. I remember taking a Beatle Ringo doll I found in the Rolling Stone office to our first interview, and being amazed as Ringo gladly propped his floppy doppelganger on his knee during our entire first chat.

There are far too many Ringo stories to share here, all of them reflecting the warmth and wit and generosity of spirit he and his beloved wife Barbara have always exhibited. But here's just one favorite Ringo story -- one with which I annoy almost everybody I meet.

Sometime in the early 21st Century, I got an invitation to take the whole family to see one of the many incarnations of Ringo and The All-Stars at the Universal Amphitheater. To get my boys excited for the show, I took them to see Yellow Submarine that was screening at a local theater. Apparently, our boys were too young to appreciate the animated feature's mind-blowing brilliance -- in fact, I'm pretty sure one of them might have cried during one of the movie's more trippy sequences. When we got home, to calm my son's nerves, I showed the boys a treasured copy of All You Need Is Cash, the amazing Beatles mockumentary that allowed the world to Meet The Rutles.

When we arrived at the gig, I was surprised when Ringo's wonderful, longtime PR representative Elizabeth Freund explained that we were to come backstage and say hello before the show. When Ringo spotted our youngest son Alec -- then five or so -- he sweetly told him, "You're so young, you don't even know who I am, do you?" Alec, never shy, immediately set Ringo straight, "Sure I do," my son told my hero, "You're a Rutle, right?" I will never forget Ringo's wry smile, as he told Alec, "Unfortunately, son, I wasn't that lucky."

Four or five years later, Ringo asked me to help write some jokes and material for the event at which he got his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Among the stars there that day was Eric Idle, of Monty Python and Rutles fame. Afterwards, we walked into a Fab after-party in the Capitol Studios. In one of the most surreal moments of my life, Ringo took son by the hand and walked him over to meet Eric Idle. "Alec, tell Eric what you said when you met me," Ringo told my boy. At that precise moment, I remember thinking that if as a child, a Beatle had asked me to quote myself to a member of Monty Python, my head might have exploded.

George Harrison I mostly loved from afar. I only met George once, but it was absolutely unforgettable. In the early 1990s, I was invited to Tom Petty's house for a Christmas party. Indeed, I had somehow been assigned to bring a gift for Tom himself in the day's big gift exchange. Having discussed our shared love for all things Beatles before, I had purchased and poorly wrapped an old Life magazine with the Beatles on the cover that I thought Tom might enjoy. When I arrived at the party, I stared -- as one does -- at a pretty woman near the entrance who looked familiar. Seconds later, I saw a considerably more familiar figure come behind this pretty woman and give her a warm embrace. The pretty woman was Olivia Harrison, and the man behind her was, of course, her husband and my guitar god, George.

When it came time for the gift exchange, George happened to sit down next to me on a couch, As Tom opened up my gift, George turned to me and said, with absolutely perfect, Hard Day Night's deadpan timing and a charming grin, "Oh yeah, The Fabs, I remember them."

Years later, Ringo told me, he had gotten a call from George who was working on an album that would become Brainwashed. Ringo said George told him he had been away from releasing albums for a while and wasn't sure what writers he should talk to about his new project. Ringo told me that he had suggested that George might enjoy talking to me. I will confess I was dumbstruck by this notion of two Beatles discussing me -- that trumped even one Beatle and one Rutle. I remember planning a trip to England to interview George for Rolling Stone, and then a last-minute call that the trip would have to be delayed because George was not feeling well.

Tragically, that trip would never happen, but years later, I remember being asked to help for a day on what would become All Things Must Pass, Martin Scorsese's brilliant documentary about George. As I was leaving my house that morning, my son Alec -- now a budding young guitar player -- asked me why I always said George Harrison was my favorite guitar player. I tried to explain to him that George was my favorite not because he was the most technically advanced player ever, but because he always served the song -- that to my ears, he never played in a way that was about his ego. Alec took in this statement in for a moment then said, "So George Harrison was the best guitar player because he was the best person who played guitar, right?" Later that day, I mentioned this conversation to Olivia and George's lovely son Dhani. "Smart kid," Olivia told me with a smile.

I never met John Lennon. "You would have loved him," Ringo told me once casually, and I had to laugh. The truth is I have loved John Lennon all of my life. At least I got to express some of that love when Ken Ehrlich -- our Executive Producer of the Grammys and the driving force behind Sunday's Grammy Salute to The Beatles -- who in 2001 allowed me to work with him on a tribute to John Lennon that eventually became Come Together: A Night For John Lennon and New York City." Originally, this tribute was meant to be a benefit for gun control, but in the immediate aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11, it became much more than that. Come Together -- hosted by Kevin Spacey and put together with Yoko Ono's considerable help -- became a celebration not just of John Lennon's life and music, but also of the undying spirit of the adopted home he loved.

There are so many more stories I could tell and so many more names I could drop here, but suffice to say, I have rarely enjoyed my work as much as in the last month. For instance, for part of the CBS special, Ken Ehrlich asked me to work on a short video profile of each Beatles' early history to be voiced by -- who else? -- Eric Idle, who introduces these packages by confusing the Beatles and the Rutles, precisely as my kid did once upon a long ago.

Here's how much the Beatles mean to me.

At my wedding, the only song I asked be performed was "In My Life," sung by my groomsman E, later of Eels fame, who proceeded to surprise me by tagging my chosen masterpiece with a short version of "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" by Herman's Hermits with special lyrics about my wife. On the delivery room playlists for the births our two sons, much of the music was by the Fabs, including of multiple versions of the very fitting "Here Comes The Sun." And in perhaps my darkest hour, sitting with my late great father in hospice during some of his final hours here on Earth, I played my Dad music from two artists we both loved -- Frank Sinatra and the Beatles. The last song I ever played for my father was "Let It Be," praying the music comforted him, knowing that it comforted me.

How can any of us thank The Beatles for all they've meant to so many of us these past 50 years? We can't. Because what the Beatles gave the world more than anything else was love in a musical form. And in end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

They live in one of the coolest city's on earth.

But, if Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell's outfits are anything to go by, New York is also one of the coldest.

The star and his wife were spotted wearing padded coats and body warmers as they boarded a British Airways flight from JFK airport to London's Heathrow on Thursday.

Looking casual but stylish, Paul wore a Moncler jacket with skinny jeans and a crisp shirt. ware of his celebrity status, he also sported a pair of designer sunglasses.

Paul's black jacket is thought to retail for £580, while his blue undercoat costs £680.

Meanwhile, Nancy wore a green, sheepskin-lined military overcoat with spray-on jeans and a pair of rock-n-roll buckled boots.

It comes as New York experiences dramatic winter weather, including on-going snow and temperatures of -4.

Together, they looked every inch the trendy couple who spend their glamorous lives jetting between London and Manhattan - which is, of course, true.

The couple have homes in both cities and maintain their careers on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.

Last month Paul and Ringo Starr performed at the Grammy Awards. The duo accepted a lifetime achievement award on behalf of the Fab Four, while Paul was also nominated for best rock song and music film.

Paul, 71, and Ringo, 73 , were joined by R&B singer John Legend, hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as well as country singers Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves and Keith Urban as performers during the 56th Grammy Awards.

An estimated 73 million viewers tuned in to watch the event, which has become one of the world's top cultural moments.

Paul and Ringo taped "Letterman" today at the Ed Sullivan Theater without an audience. The segment will air this Sunday on "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles" CBS 8pm ET.

McCartney has had himself a huge week. Last Sunday he reunited with his drummer from The Beatles, Ringo Starr and performed a brand new song. Watching them two performing together again was very exciting to see considering I've been listening to the Fab Four my entire life.

Yeah, I'm only 25 but my Uncle Michael had me listening to their music ever since I was a baby. Now next Sunday will mark the 50th anniversary since The Beatles they made their American debut on the Ed Sullivan show. CBS will air a recorded program called 'The Night That Changed America: A Grammy tribute to The Beatles" at 8pm eastern 7pm central.

That's Ed Sullivan's old television spot. Performers including Dave Grohl, Alicia Keys, John Legend, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Brad Paisley, Imagine Dragons and Ed Shereen will pay tribute to one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands of all time.

But for right now, all eyes are on this blow out game. Now here's the GIF of Paul and Nancy watching "American Football". Not sure if he's bored or not, but he seems to be enjoying his slice of pizza.

One of his latest accolades was a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon him and the rest of The Beatles during the Grammys on Jan. 26.

But McCartney this year also is set to receive his own Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

The Arnolds Park-based Rock Hall and the board of directors of the nonprofit Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Music Association voted in McCartney last year among 30 honorees in its Class of 2014.

Executive Director Jenna Hardy Pedersen said the museum wanted to be sure it's "not missing a giant piece of the puzzle" even as it launches a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign to build a larger facility.

"It wouldn't make sense to try to tell the story of rock 'n' roll and not have Paul McCartney as part of that story," she said.

Board member Tom Bethke of Fort Dodge explained that it was his own "harebrained idea to go after one of four people."

"If we're serious about this," he told his fellow board members, "how can we avoid the Beatles, McCartney, Elvis or (Motown founder) Berry Gordy?"

The board ultimately chose McCartney because he has performed in Iowa - the Beatles came only as close as Kansas City - and has endured as a prolific, influential songwriter.

Among the Iowans to be inducted alongside McCartney Aug. 31 in Arnolds Park will be KIOA-FM morning DJ Maxwell Schaeffer.

"What? Really?" was his reaction when he heard that he and Macca would be classmates. "That's kind of cool."

"I don't know if he'll show, but that would be a wonderful surprise," Schaeffer said.

Bethke has reached out to McCartney through his publishing company to try to lure the Beatle to Iowa. No confirmation yet.

The Iowa Rock Hall does feature an exhibit through July 4 with such Beatles memorabilia as two original copies of the infamous "butcher cover" LP - the 1966 "Yesterday and Today" compilation that pictured the Beatles clad in white smocks and strewn with dismembered baby dolls and pieces of meat. (It seemed like a good idea in the '60s.) The offending cover was swiftly rejected and replaced.

Whether or not McCartney shows his face over Labor Day weekend to claim his Iowa award, he will receive the requisite plaque, and his name will be forever enshrined in the museum.

More coverage of The Beatles' connection to Iowa at DesMoinesRegister.com/beatles

Fifty years after Beatlemania and the British Invasion, McCartney finally can prove that he's made it in Iowa.

It wasn't quite a hard day's night for Sir Paul McCartney.

He and wife Nancy Shevell rolled up to Saturday (February 1) night's Revolt and Time Warner Cable bash and rocked out in the VIP box while the DJ played "I Want To Hold Your Hand."

Diddy, whose cable music network Revolt co-hosted the party, then took to the stage and said "Thank you, Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles! And Kevin Costner and God," before Drake got the crowd standing.

Whooping it up in the VIP box alongside McCartney and Shevell were Costner with wife Christine, Mary J. Blige, Ryan Phillippe, Hayden Panettiere, Tony Danza and Katie Couric.

Should WINGS be nominated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? There's a debate amongst Beatles/Paul McCartney fans whether Wings is covered by Paul's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a "solo artist." Does Wings qualify as a band and are they worthy with a string of number one hits during the '70s? Should its band members be recognized for their contributions?

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION

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Macca Report news continues with March 2014

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Macca Report current Paul News!!!

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Jorie Gracen