Paul McCartney has been writing songs since he was a teenager and making money from his music for over 60 years. Macca struggled to write songs with John Lennon in The Beatles. He found new artists to collaborate with when the band broke up, but Paul said he once got a little defensive when Michael Jackson asked to work with him.
Paul McCartney collaborated successfully with several artists after the Beatles split
A photo of him and John Lennon he saw later reminded Paul that he wasn’t the villain of the Beatles split, but he didn’t necessarily believe him at the time. His relationship with John was so strong that he has nightmare-like dreams with Lennon in them. Still, he didn’t hesitate to form a new band soon after the Fab Four broke up.
Macca’s new band Wings released several albums in the 1970s. Later he and Stevie Wonder teamed up on “Ebony and Ivory”, which was banned in South Africa, wrote songs with Elvis Costello , teamed up with former Nirvana members, overcame his hesitations and worked with Ye, and chewed celery to a song. for Britpop band Super Furry Animals (h/t NME). And that’s not far from a full list of Macca collaborations.
The collaboration with the King of Pop ultimately earned him one of his 81 Grammy nominations, but Paul was a bit uneasy when Michael Jackson approached him about working together.
Paul got a little defensive when Micheal Jackson called and asked to ‘do some shots’
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Paul never hesitated to work with other musicians. The relatively short sessions with Jackson produced three songs. The Grammy-nominated The Girl Is Mine was the first single from Thrillerand “Say Say Say” and “The Man” both appeared on Paul’s peace pipes registration.
The partnership proved successful, but Paul admitted he was a bit defensive when Jackson asked to team up, as he told David Letterman (via YouTube):
“I was at home, my phone rang and a little voice spoke to me. I said, ‘Who is this?’ kind of keep my privacy, [you know,] private number. ‘Who is this?’ “It’s Michael.” ‘Michael who?’ because I thought it was a little dodgy. But anyway, he said, ‘Michael Jackson,’ and he said, ‘Do you want to do hits?’ So I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ You know, being of the hit variety. So we did, and it was really nice. He came to my house and got to know the family and all that… It was very nice. We had a great time and made a few records together, made a video, and we were really good friends.
Paul McCartney reveals how he got a little defensive when Michael Jackson called him out
Somehow, Paul was completely in the dark that the King of Pop wanted to work together. It’s a bit surprising that Macca’s management team didn’t notify Jackson of the call.
If Jackson somehow tracked down Paul’s number without going through an agent or manager, that’s both impressive and fishy. And if that was how it was, Paul had every right to be a little defensive about an unsolicited call on his home phone.
Jackson’s other questionable move ruined his friendship with Paul
Paul ended up feeling a bit defensive about Jackson’s cold calling, and their partnership in the early 1980s proved fruitful. Prior to teaming up, Macca wrote a Wings song for Jackson, a cover of the King of Pop on On the wall. However, their friendship couldn’t stand up to some of the business maneuvers Jackson did years later.
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Paul told Letterman that Jackson had asked him for business advice, to which Macca told Jackson to go into music publishing. The King of Pop did just that. He bought the publishing rights to Beatles music, which Paul considered a shady move.
Not only did Jackson buy the rights to the Beatles catalog, but he also refused to give Paul and the rest of the Fab Four a bigger share of the profits from the tracks they wrote in the 1960s. Jackson’s decision – buying Beatles songs and not giving them a bigger share – discouraged Paul, and they never worked together again.
Paul McCartney became defensive when Michael Jackson called him out of the blue in the early 1980s. It would have benefited him to stay on his toes when Jackson stepped in and bought the Beatles music.
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