Responsible for writing or co-writing some of the most memorable songs of all time, Paul McCartney’s music will be popular, and beloved for years to come. Today, the 80-year-old Liverpool-born artist and former Beatle puts out work often, whether it be music, documentaries, or films, and remains as popular as ever.
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But while the world knows him for songs like “Yesterday” and “Blackbird,” McCartney also brought his pen and guitar (or bass) to the aid of other artists. While we here at American Songwriter have covered songs he and his former Mop Top partner John Lennon have written for other artists, here below are three songs McCartney wrote without Lennon.
Here are three songs you likely didn’t know Paul McCartney wrote for other artists.
1. “Veronica,” Elvis Costello
Written by Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney
Released in 1989 from Costello’s album Spike, “Veronica” features a triumvirate of big names, from Costello and McCartney, as a co-writer, to producer T-Bone Burnett. McCartney also plays bass on the song. The song remains Costello’s highest-charting song in the U.S., hitting No.19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is about an older woman with memory loss. Costello was inspired to write it by his grandmother afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?
What goes on in that place in the dark?
Well I used to know a girl and I would have
sworn that her name was Veronica
Well she used to have a carefree mind of her
own and a delicate look in her eye
These days I’m afraid she’s not even sure if her
name is Veronica
2. “On the Wings of a Nightingale,” The Everly Brothers
Written by Paul McCartney
McCartney wrote “On the Wings of a Nightingale” specifically for the harmony-driven American rockers the Everly Brothers. He also played guitar on the track’s recording. The song was released by the Everly Brothers in 1984 on their LP, EB 84, and became the group’s most popular track since 1970, hitting No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.
When I love
I get a feeling like I’m travelling through the sky
On the wings of a nightingale
As I ride
My head is reeling but I don’t even wonder why
On the wings of a nightingale I’ll fly
High above land and sea
I’ll be thinking of you and me
Couldn’t ask for a better place to be
Oh, I can feel something happening
Oh, I can feel something happening
Oh, I can feel something happening to me
3. “Six O’Clock,” Ringo Starr
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
“Six O’Clock,” which was released on Starr’s 1973 album, Ringo, marked the first time he and McCartney collaborated together since the breakup of the Beatles a few years prior. The song was co-written by McCartney and his wife Linda. The song later led to speculation the Beatles might get back together since Starr had then-recently just worked with the other two members of the band, George Harrison and John Lennon, in L.A. Though, of course, that never happened, sadly. The song itself is about the singer not treating his lover like he should.
Six o’clock in the morning, you’ve just gone to sleep
I wipe a tear from my eye
It can’t be the kind of company I keep
That keeps me asking, you keep me asking
You keep me wondering why
I don’t treat you like I’d like to treat you
Every planet in the sky is in your eyes
Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns
