When I'm Sixty Four

He turns 64 today. Sir Paul McCartney, that is.

Will you still need me,
Will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

Sir Paul wrote the music for this song when he was only 15 years old. He later put lyrics to the music in honor of his father's 64th birthday. The song was released on the Beatles 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. He probably never gave much thought to the idea that he, himself, would one day turn 64. Well today is that day.

McCartney is known around the world as the elder statesman of rock and roll. From his early days in Liverpool, England with the band known as the Quarrymen, to the short-lived Silver Beatles, to the culture-shaping Beatles, to Wings, all the way to the present with his 2005 release, Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, McCartney has been writing and performing music for nearly fifty years.

As a songwriter myself, McCartney has been one of the many "voices in my attic." He is not in the top ten, but his music writing skills have certainly been an inspiration to me throughout the years. Paste Magazine rated him as the number three songwriter of the 20th century, behind Bob Dylan (no.1) and Neil Young (no.2). I hope to write a little bit more about McCartney's influence on my own musical creavity in a future Voices in My Attic blog.

On March 11, 1997, McCartney was officially knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Thus the Sir preceding his name.

Happy birthday Sir Paul.