An Impatient Paul McCartney Worked on a 'Sgt. Pepper' Song Without George Martin

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Paul McCartney always seemed to be able to create a song from thin air. Anyone who watched The Beatles: Get Back saw Macca pull the song “Get Back” out of thin air. He proved his genius as a songwriter when he wrote “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” based solely on a slang phrase one of his friends uttered. When inspiration struck, Paul arranged one gentle Sgt. Pepper song without producer George Martin.

Paul once said writing songs with John Lennon was easy because they had a pleasabt back and forth relationship (at least for a while). That allowed them to work quickly. Yet Paul also wrote rapidly on his own. The supposedly wistful Get Back sessions and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” weren’t the only examples of his songwriting prowess.

Macca wrote Let It Be opener “Two of Us” while on a date with Linda. He pulled a similar trick several years later. Paul wrote the song “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)” on the spot and put it on a Wings album when Dustin Hoffman asked him to. Paul famously churned out “Wonderful Christmastime” in a few minutes during the sweltering summer heat.

Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com