How Paul McCartney's and John Lennon's Rivalry Affected The Beatles, Sting Guitarist Explains

Sting guitarist & author of "The Beatles Arranged for Solo Guitar," Dominic Miller, argued in a recent interview with Rick Beato that the competitive dynamic between Paul McCartney and John Lennon drove both to become better songwriters and ultimately shaped The Beatles' legendary output.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon are widely considered to be some of the best songwriters to grace the pop music scene. And while the duo's relationship is often perceived as an integral part of The Beatles' story, "they never really wrote songs together", as the legendary band's famous producer & unofficial "fifth Beatle," George Martin, told Rolling Stone in 1976.

"John would write the germ of something and say, 'I'm having trouble with the middle eight, what do you think?' Paul would say, 'Try this,'" Martin said of the extent of their collaboration at the time. Milller, who's been delving deep into the inner workings of The Beatles for his recent songbook, "The Beatles Arranged for Solo Guitar," described the McCartney-Lennon dynamic similarly during a December 23 interview with Rick Beato, noting the competitive streak that the two icons had to them, and which, he argued, pushed both to be better songwriters (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):"I think the thing is, with John and Paul, they were kind of challenging each other. So, I think, John, the person he wanted to impress the most was Paul. And Paul, when he'd show up, he'd want to show John, 'Look, I've taken it up another level,' just constantly raising the bar with each other. I think that's what good collaboration is. You know, it's really great. I think that's what happened. And George Martin was the audience."

Source: Ultimate Guitar

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