Paul McCartney Wants to Duet With Bob Dylan, but He Doesn’t Think They’ll Ever ‘Get Round to It’
Paul McCartney has been a fan of Bob Dylan since the earliest days of Beatlemania. The American artist heavily influenced The Beatles’ music and each member of the band has praised him over the years. McCartney still counts himself as a Dylan fan. He said he would collaborate with him if he could.
Paul McCartney said he’d love to work with Bob Dylan
McCartney has long admired Dylan’s music. When asked which of Dylan’s songs he’d like to cover, he said he hard time picking just one.
“That’s a very difficult question to answer,” McCartney said, per Far Out Magazine. “As there are so many great songs. ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ comes to mind because it’s something you could cover. Singing Dylan songs can be difficult because something like ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, it’s so Dylan that it would be hard to get the spirit that he puts on it. ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ is another good one, you know. I’d put that on a list as well.”
Recently, he said he’d also like to collaborate with Dylan. Given their ages and schedules, though, he’s not sure they’ll be able to.
“Bob Dylan keeps coming up in my mind, but I don’t know if we’ll ever get round to it,” he said in a 2023 Q&A on his website.
Bob Dylan praised Paul McCartney
Dylan has also spoken highly of McCartney. He said the former Beatle is one of the few musicians who inspires awe in him.
“I’m in awe of Paul McCartney,” Dylan told Rolling Stone in 2007. “He’s about the only one that I am in awe of. But I’m in awe of him.”
He said he made every aspect of his music seem effortless.
“He can do it all and he’s never let up, you know,” he said. “He’s got the gift for melody, he’s got the rhythm. He can play any instrument. He can scream and shout as good as anybody and he can sing the ballad as good as anybody, you know so … And his melodies are, you know, effortless. That’s what you have to be in awe … I’m in awe of him maybe just because he’s just so damn effortless.”
He joked that McCartney was such an impressive artist that he wished he’d retire.
“I mean I just wish he’d quit, you know? [Laughs] Just everything and anything that comes out of his mouth is just framed in a melody.”
Another Beatle worked extensively with the American artist
While McCartney may not get a chance to collaborate with Dylan, his former bandmate worked with him. Dylan and George Harrison were in The Traveling Wilburys together. According to Tom Petty, another member of the group, Harrison acted like a fan around Dylan.
“George quoted Bob like people quote Scripture,” Petty told Rolling Stone, per The Petty Archives. “Bob really adored George, too. George used to hang over the balcony videoing Bob while Bob wasn’t aware of it. Bob would be sitting at the piano playing, and George would tape it and listen to it all night.”
