John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the most successful songwriting pair in the history of music, regarding both numerical success and intangible success. The last thing we need to do is remind you about how much they’ve accomplished, and frankly, if we wanted to do it in full detail, this article would be well over a thousand words. Though what is not as widely known is how McCartney and Lennon’s juxtaposing personalities led to the most iconic musical partnership of all time.
On the surface, one can pick up on the differences between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. McCartney, in a general sense, is far more jubilant, politely compliant, and willing to take part in the game of being the most famous musician in the world. Lennon was seemingly not that, as he was rebellious, dark, and guarded, and spoke his mind no matter the situation. However, it’s these differences, and others, that quite possibly made them such a successful pair
Paul McCartney and John Lennon Fed off Each Other’s Qualities
In The Beatles canon, it is fairly common knowledge that Paul McCartney was the more talented musician, and John Lennon the more talented poet. Attesting to that fact is George Martin in the book, The Beatles: The Authorized Biography. “All the time [Paul’s] trying to do better, especially trying to equal John’s talent for words. Meeting John has made him try for deeper lyrics. But for meeting John, I doubt if Paul could have written ‘Eleanor Rigby,’” stated Martin.
So, John Lennon helped Paul McCartney become a better lyricist, and according to Martin, McCartney helped instill a better work ethic into Lennon. “Paul needs an audience, but John doesn’t,” and “John is very lazy, unlike Paul. Without Paul, he would often give up. John writes for his own amusement. He would be content to play his tunes to [his wife, Cynthia],” added the iconic producer of The Beatles, George Martin.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney went on to have illustrious solo careers, but without their partnership and the lessons it entailed, it seems their career paths as musicians might have been a bit different following The Beatles’ end. Lennon taught McCartney, and McCartney taught Lennon, and for that reason, there is truly not one Beatles member who is the most “talented.” In short, Lennon and McCartney’s partnership was seemingly collaborative in every sense of the word, and the fly on the wall, George Martin, reportedly agrees.
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