Happy Birthday, Paul!

One of the greatest songwriters and singers in rock and roll, Paul McCartney turns 67 on Thursday (June 18).  With the Beatles and later as a solo performer and bandleader, McCartney created some of the best (and worst) music in rock and roll history.  He isn’t as cool today as he was in the 1960s, or in the early part of the 1970s, but even at the twilight of his career McCartney is still a formidable talent.  His album Electric Arguments, released as The Fireman late last year, was considered to be one of the year’s best and a return to form for McCartney.  A collaboration with fellow legend Bob Dylan may be in the works – if it happens, that would be another milestone in an incredible career.

In 1965 McCartney wrote “Yesterday,” which the Guinness Book of World Records says is the most covered song ever.  It has been covered more than 3,000 times and in the 20th century alone the song was performed more than 7 million times.  We thought about doing a marathon with different covers of one song (as we did a few weeks ago on Bob Dylan’s birthday) but thought it would be more fun to just dig up songs from throughout McCartney’s career.  So after the jump you have some of McCartney’s best music as performed by others, as well as a few versions of “Yesterday.”  McCartney may be rather unfairly judged by his output over recent years, but most of this shit rocks.  Happy birthday!

MP3: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

MP3: “Band On The Run” by the Foo Fighters

MP3: “Hey Jude” by Wilson Pickett

MP3: “Yesterday” by Frank Sinatra

MP3: “Let It Be” by the Persuasions

MP3: “World Without Love” by Peter and Gordon

MP3: “Eleanor Rigby” by Booker T. and the MGs

MP3: “Lady Madonna” by the Crystalites

MP3: “Drive My Car” by Bobby McFerrin

MP3: “Yesterday” by Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson

MP3: “Eat At Home” by The Broken West

MP3: “Get Back” by Ike and Tina Turner

MP3: “Goodbye” by Mary Hopkin

MP3: “Yesterday” (parody) by John Lennon

MP3: “Like Dreamers Do” by the Applejacks

MP3: “Blackbird” (live at Woodstock) by Crosby, Stills and Nash

MP3: “Can’t Buy Me Love” (live) by Johnny Rivers

MP3: “Yesterday” by Daffy Duck

MP3: “Love Of The Loved” by Cilla Black

MP3: “Maybe I’m Amazed” by the Faces

MP3: “Yesterday” by the Ron Eschete Ensemble

MP3: “From A Window” by Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas

MP3: “Live and Let Die” by Duffy

MP3: “Yesterday/Hey Jude” (live) by Elvis Presley

MP3: “Thingumybob” by John Foster and Sons Ltd. Black Dyke Mills Band

MP3: “Ob La Di, Ob La Da” by the Heptones

MP3: “I Wanna Be Your Man” by the Stooges

MP3: “Back In The USSR” by Lemmy Kilmister w/John 5 and Eric Singer

MP3: “Helter Skelter” by Mötley Crüe

MP3: “Yesterday” by Dr. John

MP3: “We Can Work It Out” by Stevie Wonder

MP3: “The Fool On The Hill” by Bugs Bunny and Friends (feat. Elmer Fudd)

MP3: “With A Little Help From My Friends” (live at Woodstock) by Joe Cocker

MP3: “I Saw Her Standing There” (live) by John Lennon & Elton John

YouTube: Paul McCartney performing “Birthday”