Paul McCartney Reveals the First Record He Ever Bought: ‘It’s Just Fabulous’
Paul McCartney had a passion for music at a young age. That passion expanded once he discovered rock ‘n’ roll. Later in his life, McCartney would become a rock legend with The Beatles and his solo career. The former Beatle still recalls the first record he bought that ignited his love for music.
Paul McCartney remembers hearing rock ‘n’ roll for the first time
McCartney grew up in Liverpool in a working-class home. While his family wasn’t wealthy, they did have a piano in the house that his dad often played. He always loved music, even the old-school songs that his dad would play. However, Paul McCartney says everything changed once he discovered rock ‘n’ roll. In an interview for his website Paulmccartney.com, the British artist said rock was a “completely different sound” when it arrived in Liverpool.
“It’s very hard to imagine now that there was a time before rock and roll, because it’s now history,” McCartney said. “But there really was! We were kids from Liverpool being brought up on more traditional music from my dad’s era. It would be a family party, and he would play the piano and people would sit around having a sing-song, so that was great. And I still love that kind of music. But then rock and roll came along, and it was a completely different sound. And very exciting! And it was like – wow! It gave you a completely different feeling from anything you’d ever felt with music.”
McCartney shares the first record he bought
McCartney is still amazed by how much music has been influenced by rock and roll over the years. He can remember hearing it for the first time, and he says there is no comparison to that feeling, except for possibly hearing hip-hop for the first time. He still remembers the first record he bought, saying it is “fabulous.”
“There’s a Gene Vincent record called ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’, and that was the first record I ever bought,” McCartney explained. “We didn’t have much money, so I had to really save up for it. I remember going down to the shop, a place called Currys – an electrical goods shop – and it had a little record department in the back. Getting it home and playing it – it was so exciting, you know… It’s just fabulous!”
McCartney was influenced by Elvis and Little Richard
In many interviews, Paul McCartney has shared how he and The Beatles considered artists like Elvis and Little Richard to be their rock idols. He recalled hearing Elvis sing and Little Richard scream on their records was “shocking” and “revolutionary.”
“We were teenagers, so hearing Elvis Presley sing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was shocking, in a good way,” McCartney stated. “Hearing Little Richard screaming ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ or ‘Lucille’ was so revolutionary. And hearing Buddy Holly sing ‘That’ll Be The Day.’ Now that we know those songs quite well and they’re part of musical history, it is very hard to imagine hearing them for the first time.”
McCartney and The Beatles would later become more popular and just as influential as Elvis, becoming revolutionary music artists themselves.
