Paul McCartney has always been a musical sponge, both during his time with
the Beatles and beyond, and tracking down his diverse compositional influences, which range from early rock & roll artists to jazz vocalists, Broadway composers, skiffle bands, classical orchestras and quartets, the avant-garde, and even beat poets and their poetry, would be a monumental task. This 29-track playlist just scratches the surface of what may have influenced
McCartney at any one time or another in his career, and while it’s fun to think of it that way, any collection that includes
Buddy Holly's “That’ll Be the Day,”
Brian Wilson's “Good Vibrations,”
Fred Astaire's “Fascinating Rhythm,”
Chuck Berry's “Sweet Little Sixteen,” and
the Everly Brothers' “Cathy’s Clown,” along with
Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading his poem “Dog” and
Allen Ginsberg reading his poem “A Supermarket in California,” is going to be a varied and interesting playlist under its own merits even without the
McCartney connection.