This duet with Stevie Wonder – a first for McCartney with another major artist – is much maligned because of its simplified ode to racial harmony. And for those Beatles songs co-written with John Lennon, if McCartney included them in his book, “ The Lyrics,” they were under consideration. Songs that he wrote that became hits for others (such as Badfinger’s 'Come and Get It' and Elvis Costello’s “Veronica”) weren’t included. So here is an imperfect list of 80 of our favorites from The Beatles, Wings and his solo catalog. Why John Lennon 'gleefully' quit The Beatles: McCartney's 'The Lyrics' tell all His joy for music is infectious and for that, we thank him. And anyone who has witnessed his current Got Back tour knows that he also still clearly revels in playing 30-plus nuggets from his catalog at every show, grinning through “Live and Let Die,” storytelling before “Blackbird,” giddily leading the singalong on “Hey Jude.” McCartney isn’t just a prolific songwriter he’s an astoundingly consistent phenomenal songwriter.

Let’s just say that if the man lived to 200 and people attempted to classify that number of compositions, they would still have an unwieldy task. That Paul McCartney is a musical genius is indisputable.īut just how gifted he is as a musician and songwriter might not truly become evident until you accept the ludicrous task of ranking 80 of his best songs in honor of his 80th birthday on Saturday.

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