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TL;DR:

  • Paul McCartney named his favorite love songs of all time.
  • His list includes songs by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles.
  • He revealed why he writes love songs so often.
Paul McCartney in a chair
Paul McCartney | Fiona Adams / Contributor

Paul McCartney‘s favorite love songs are primarily by artists who got their start before The Beatles. Some of the songs are by Frank Sinatra. In addition, one of them is a song by The Beatles.

1 of Paul McCartney’s favorite love songs was written by another British artist

In the 2015 book Conversations with McCartney, Paul was asked to name some of his favorite love songs of all time.

“I’ve always loved ‘Stardust,’ it was one of my all-time favorites, by Hoagy Carmichael,” he said. “A great melody.

“A song that’s become one of my particular favorites is ‘The Very Thought of You,’ which interestingly was written by Ray Noble, a British guy,” Paul continued. “It’s not often that you get these classics that Sinatra and Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett would sing as part of their regular repertoire, written by a British guy. So, well done our team.” Noble was a bandleader known for his recording of “Midnight, the Stars and You” that was featured in The Shining.

Paul McCartney said 1 Frank Sinatra song is perfect for a dinner with the woman you love

Paul also gave fans his take on Nat King Cole. “I love ‘When I Fall in Love,’ particularly Nat King Cole’s version, which I remember as a kid,” he said. “Though I always liked Nat King Cole, I never really listened to a lot of Sinatra, and now I have, and see what people were on about.

“It’s nice to have come to him later, actually,” Paul added. “There’s a lot of stuff he sings that I like. [He offers a section of ‘A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening.’] When you’ve got the candles going, and you’re having dinner with your bird, a glass of wine, there’s no finer record.”

While discussing his favorite love songs, Paul also praised Sinatra’s “I Only Have Eyes for You” and The Beatles’ “Julia.” Paul said “Julia” was a love song John Lennon wrote for his mother, Julia Lennon. Paul revealed he had warm memories of Julia.

The former Beatle discussed why he wrote so many love songs for the Fab Four and during his solo career

During a 2020 interview with NPR, the interviewer told Paul many Beatles song revolve around love. He picked “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “All My Loving,” and “All You Need Is Love” as examples. The interviewer noticed love was a big theme on Paul’s latest album, McCartney III.

Paul said he wrote about love because it was the only subject worth writing about. He occasionally tries to write protest songs about topics in the news, but this was not his forte. Paul wants his songs to be “optimistic and helpful,” like in The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” He said he’s the same as other people because he’s trying to figure everything out.

Paul admires many great love songs and he wrote several himself.

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