John Lennon ‘Never Felt a Loss’ When He Stopped Working With Paul McCartney
TL;DR:
- John Lennon discussed what he felt after the Lennon-McCartney partnership ended.
- Paul McCartney also discussed what he felt when the partnership ended.
- The two singers had wildly different things to say.
John Lennon “never felt a loss” after he stopped working with Paul McCartney. Despite this, he didn’t want people to think he didn’t need Paul. Subsequently, Paul discussed what he missed about writing songs with John.
John Lennon said Paul McCartney knew how to play more instruments than he did when they 1st met
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John discussed what instruments Paul could play when he first met him. “When I met him he could play guitar, trumpet, and piano,” he recalled.
“Doesn’t mean to say he has a greater talent, but his musical education was better,” John added. “I could only play the mouth organ and two chords on a guitar when we met. I tuned the guitar like a banjo.” John said his mother, Julia Lennon, taught him to play the guitar like a banjo because the banjo was the only instrument she could play.
John Lennon did not miss working with Paul McCartney and he said they worked together partially because of their workload
Subsequently, John was asked if he missed Paul on an artistic and musical level. “No,” he replied. “I mean, we worked together partly because the demand on us was tremendous. They’d want a record, a single, every three months, and we’d do it in 12 hours in a hotel or a van. So the cooperation was functional as well as musical.”
John was asked if he missed the “magic” of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. “I never actually felt a loss,” he responded. “I don’t want it to sound negative, like I didn’t need Paul, because when he was there, obviously, it worked. But I can’t — it’s easier to say what my contribution was to him than what he gave to me. And he’d say the same.”
The cute Beatle discussed his fond memories of working with the ‘Imagine’ singer
Paul had a very different take on the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. During a 2016 interview with NPR, he said he’s written songs with many people but the “Imagine” singer was “the biggie.” Paul missed working with John.
Paul said they had a special level of emotional intimacy only teenage friends could have. It was difficult for Paul to replicate that kind of chemistry. He said they shared many important life moments together, such as the time they hitched to Paris together or the time The Beatles spent in Hamburg.
Paul also revealed he used the same songwriting method he used with John. The method involved sitting down with an instrument and thinking of a random chord or phrase to use in a song.
Lennon-McCartney was one of the most important songwriting partnerships ever even if John and Paul had different views of each other.
