It’s not every day that a legend talks about the younger musicians who have inspired him. It’s almost always the other way around. Paul McCartney, however, has been very generous in giving out compliments to his progeny. There are several contemporary artists he claims are an inspiration to him, despite making their debut long after he did. Learn more about three of them below.
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Dominic Fike
McCartney hasn’t exactly come right out and said that Dominic Fike is an inspiration to him. But handpicking him to reimagine one of his songs is certainly a testament to how he feels about the younger artist. McCartney and Fike share a similar genre-bending, experimental affinity. This made him the perfect choice to bring McCartney’s “Kiss Of Venus” into modernity.
McCartney praised Fike’s fearless approach to redoing a McCartney track. While most artists would’ve timidly painted by the numbers, this artist went beyond what was expected. “The Dominic Fike track was really surprising, because he’d really reimagined it and added his own lyrics and everything, which I think if it’d been strictly controlled, someone might have said to him, ‘No, stick to the script,’” McCartney once said. “He went beyond it, and the video he’s done is terrific.”
Khruangbin
On the same reimagined album, McCartney tapped Texas trio Khruangbin for “Pretty Boys”. They, like Fike, turned this song on its head, giving it a new spin. “[Khruangbin’s song ] which I love,” McCartney once said. “It’s like, ‘Wow!’ Listening to it in the evening at home, it turns the place into a disco!”
Like McCartney’s music, this band’s sound has killer bass tones and global references. Given this, it’s really no surprise McCartney has cited them as contemporary influences. Their inclusion on this star-studded redux album speaks volumes about their place in McCartney’s lineage.
St. Vincent
Last but not least, we have St. Vincent. This genre-bending artist has been referenced by McCartney on numerous occasions, speaking to his love of her music. The pair have done interviews together, and she also features on his McCartney III album. This contemporary icon has captured the attention of a music great; that’s for sure.
On McCartney’s third self-titled effort, St. Vincent takes on “Women And Wives”. “Hear me, women and wives / Hear me, husbands and lovers / What we do with our lives / Seems to matter to others,” the lyrics read. This song gets a boost from a female perspective.
(Photo by Doug Griffin/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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