Get ready for the 2009 British Invasion when Sir Paul McCartney — still known by many as one-quarter of the Beatles — takes the stage at FedEx Field in Landover on Saturday night.
It’s difficult for some to believe, especially when looking at the agile and dapper 67-year-old McCartney, that 45 years have passed since the Beatles took the stage at D.C.’s Washington Coliseum for their first U.S. concert. The terrific news for fans who attend this upcoming show is they can expect McCartney to play at least a few of the classic Beatles songs.
“When he toured the U.S. for ‘Wings Over America’ [with his group Wings in 1975 and 1976], he was sensitive to identifying himself outside of the Beatles,” said author Richie Unterberger, widely regarded as a Beatles expert. “After he had big hits with his solo album, he felt his current work could coexist with his past work.”
That success was tremendous, as evidenced by his nine No. 1 singles for work with Wings and as a solo artist, his listing in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, and other honors that continue to open his music to new generations of fans.
Washington resident Blair Miles was 15 in 1993 when McCartney performed on “Saturday Night Live.” McCartney’s rendition of “Hey Jude,” one of his most famous Beatles songs, hooked Miles into a lifelong appreciation for the man and his music.
At his July 21 concert in New York, tributes to late Beatles John Lennon (for which he played “Here Today”) and George Harrison (for which he played “Something” on one of Harrison’s favorite instruments, a ukelele) were close to tearjerkers, Miles said.
“It was great; there was just a great vibe,” Miles said. “The crowd was racially diverse, and the ages were older people, people with kids, people in their 20s. Everyone was dancing, but when he did a tribute to John, he really was choking up.”
The natural persona is what has kept McCartney in the pinnacle of rock royalty — inhabited by a very few other artists who include Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton — while others have quickly reached the late autumn of their careers.
“With McCartney there is a certain amount of image at play,” Unterberger said. “I’ve never met Paul, but I’ve interviewed people who have worked with him. They have all said what a really nice, unpretentious guy he is. … And he delivers at show not just as an obligation but because he enjoys it and really wants to fulfill people’s highest expectations. That is what makes people respond to him.”
Of course the deaths of the other two Beatles — specifically McCartney’s writing partner, Lennon — also has made McCartney more relevant to many people’s lives, said Michael Wood, general manager of City Lights Entertainment in Ottawa.
“The beauty of music that is recorded is that you can go back in time and replay them,” he said. “That’s one reason people are still drawn to Paul. His music is that of the Beatles [and his solo ventures]. He plays songs that are bookmarks in your life.”
