John Lennon Complimented Paul McCartney’s Writing Only Once
Paul McCartney revealed that John Lennon complimented his songwriting only once, and described the fact that he can never forget the moment as “pathetic.”
The admission comes in McCartney's first-ever 60 Minutes profile, which will be aired on CBS Sunday at 7.30PM ET. It was filmed in the run-up to his tour in support of his latest album, Egypt Station.
Asked by host Sharyn Alfonsi whether the Beatles legends had ever complimented each others’ abilities, McCartney said, “Once. Once John gave me a compliment. It was only once the whole time. It was ‘Here, There and Everywhere,’ one of my songs on [Revolver]. … John says just as it finishes, ‘That’s a really good song, lad. I love that song.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes! He likes it!’”
McCartney reflected on his emotional attachment to the endorsement in the light of the pair’s competitive approach to writing. “I’ve remembered it to this day," he said. "It’s pathetic, really.” He added that Lennon received many more compliments than he gave. “I would tell him his stuff was great," he recalled. "You’d normally have to be a little bit drunk. It helped.” Looking over photos of the two of them together, McCartney noted of one, “Very special for me. … We’re obviously just two mates.”
Meanwhile, McCartney announced the publication of a children's storybook called Hey Grandude, which is about a grandfather of four. "They love him and they go on adventures with him and he’s kind of magical, so you’ll see that in the book," he said. "I wanted to write it for grandparents everywhere – and the kids – so it gives you something to read to the grandkids at bed time.”
He added that he's got eight grandchildren of his own and "they’re all beautiful, and one day one of them said to me, ‘Hey Grandude!’ … So from then on I was kind of known as Grandude.”
The 50th anniversary version of the Beatles’ White Album will be released on Nov. 9.