141-482: The Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry , built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston , Jamaica . Despite the rudimentary set-up and dated equipment, it was nonetheless the breeding ground for some of Jamaica's most innovative sounds and recording techniques in the latter half of the 1970s. From
282-837: A Liver bird holding an acoustic guitar in its claw, reflects his background in Liverpool and his musical career. The shield includes four curved emblems which resemble beetles ' backs. The arms' motto is Ecce Cor Meum , Latin for "Behold My Heart". In 2003, the McCartneys had a child, Beatrice Milly. In July 2005, he performed at the Live ;8 event in Hyde Park , London, opening the show with " Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band " (with U2 ) and closing it with " Drive My Car " (with George Michael ), " Helter Skelter ", and " The Long and Winding Road ". In September, he released
423-456: A string quartet . Included on the Help! LP, the song was the group's first recorded use of classical music elements and their first recording that involved only a single band member. "Yesterday" became one of the most covered songs in popular music history. Later that year, during recording sessions for the album Rubber Soul , McCartney began to supplant Lennon as the dominant musical force in
564-498: A telephone hybrid for putting telephone calls on the air, a POTS codec for receiving remote broadcasts , a dead air alarm for detecting unexpected silence , and a broadcast delay for dropping anything from coughs to profanity . In the U.S., stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also must have an Emergency Alert System decoder (typically in the studio), and in
705-416: A bicycle to her patients; McCartney described an early memory of her leaving at "about three in the morning [the] streets ... thick with snow". On 31 October 1956, when McCartney was 14, his mother died of an embolism as a complication of surgery for breast cancer. McCartney's loss later became a connection with John Lennon , whose mother, Julia , died in 1958 when Lennon was 17. McCartney's father
846-581: A bit, but it's silly to fight that discipline if it's our own". In March 1969, McCartney married his first wife, Linda Eastman , and in August, the couple had their first child, Mary , named after his late mother. Abbey Road was the band's last recorded album, and Martin suggested "a continuously moving piece of music", urging the group to think symphonically . McCartney agreed, but Lennon did not. They eventually compromised, agreeing to McCartney's suggestion: an LP featuring individual songs on side one and
987-559: A cut of the record profits. Perry himself stated in an interview with clashmusic.com regarding the fire, "Too much stress in Jamaica, all the time. Everybody want money, everybody want paid. Everyone got problem and want me to solve their problem. Nobody gave me anything, people just took everything. Everybody take this, and take that. So the atmosphere in the Black Ark studio was changing; it wasn’t like it used to be. Then I decided to make
1128-401: A different machine, which records the combined signals (called printing ) to a 1 ⁄ 2 -inch two-track stereo tape, called a master . Before digital recording, the total number of available tracks onto which one could record was measured in multiples of 24, based on the number of 24-track tape machines being used. Most recording studios now use digital recording equipment, which limits
1269-458: A four-year break, he returned to touring and has since performed over 80 shows. More than forty-five years after the Beatles first appeared on American television during The Ed Sullivan Show , he returned to the same New York theatre to perform on Late Show with David Letterman . On 9 September 2009, EMI reissued the Beatles catalogue following a four-year digital remastering effort, releasing
1410-750: A home studio is challenging because they are usually the loudest instruments. Acoustic drums require sound isolation in this scenario, unlike electronic or sampled drums. Getting an authentic electric guitar amp sound including power-tube distortion requires a power attenuator or an isolation cabinet , or booth. A convenient compromise is amplifier modeling , whether a modeling amp, preamp/processor, or software-based guitar amp simulator. Sometimes, musicians replace loud, inconvenient instruments such as drums, with keyboards, which today often provide somewhat realistic sampling . The capability of digital recording introduced by ADAT and its comparatively low cost, originally introduced at $ 3995, were largely responsible for
1551-490: A home studio via the Internet. Additional outside audio connections are required for the studio/transmitter link for over-the-air stations, satellite dishes for sending and receiving shows, and for webcasting or podcasting . Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles , for whom he played bass guitar and
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#17327722390661692-757: A large building with space for a full orchestra of 100 or more musicians. Ideally, both the recording and monitoring (listening and mixing) spaces are specially designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties (acoustic isolation or diffusion or absorption of reflected sound reverberation that could otherwise interfere with the sound heard by the listener). Recording studios may be used to record singers, instrumental musicians (e.g., electric guitar, piano, saxophone, or ensembles such as orchestras), voice-over artists for advertisements or dialogue replacement in film, television, or animation, Foley , or to record their accompanying musical soundtracks. The typical recording studio consists of
1833-413: A large role in the recording process. With software, a powerful, good quality computer with a fast processor can replace the mixing consoles , multitrack recording equipment, synthesizers, samplers and effects unit (reverb, echo, compression, etc.) that a recording studio required in the 1980s and 1990s. A computer thus outfitted is called a digital audio workstation , or DAW. While Apple Macintosh
1974-444: A lesser amount of diffused reflections from walls to make a good-sounding room. A drummer, vocalist, or guitar speaker cabinet, along with microphones, is acoustically isolated in the isolation booth. A typical professional recording studio today has a control room , a large live room , and one or more small isolation booths . All rooms are soundproofed by varying methods, including but not limited to, double-layer 5/8" sheetrock with
2115-525: A long medley on side two. In October 1969, a rumour surfaced that McCartney had died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike, but this was quickly refuted when a November Life magazine cover featured him and his family, accompanied by the caption "Paul is still with us". John Lennon privately left the Beatles in September 1969, though agreed not to go public with the information to not jeopardise ongoing business negotiations. McCartney
2256-475: A magic marker, covered every available surface of the Black Ark with impenetrable writings before allegedly burning it to the ground. This event, with the loss of the studio's unique sound and a hiatus in Perry's extraordinary creative skills, effectively ended an era during which much of Jamaica's most innovative sounds had captured the world of music. However, it has been related by several Perry family members that
2397-471: A music video game called The Beatles: Rock Band the same day. McCartney's enduring fame has made him a popular choice to open new venues. In 2009, he performed three sold-out concerts at the newly built Citi Field , a venue constructed to replace Shea Stadium in Queens , New York. These performances yielded the double live album Good Evening New York City later that year. In 2010, McCartney opened
2538-506: A musical piece by him to celebrate its sesquicentennial . He collaborated with composer Carl Davis , producing Liverpool Oratorio . The performance featured opera singers Kiri Te Kanawa , Sally Burgess, Jerry Hadley and Willard White with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir of Liverpool Cathedral . Reviews were negative. The Guardian was especially critical, describing
2679-403: A mystifying bass drum effect and his drum booth at the Black Ark was for a time surrounded with chicken wire to further his distinctive sound. Many of his songs are layered with a variety of subtle effects created from broken glass, ghastly sighs and screeches, crying babies, falling rain and cow noises. While it was thought that Perry recorded the "mooing" noises from actual cows, it was actually
2820-438: A nickel-plated trumpet from his father for his fourteenth birthday, but when rock and roll became popular on Radio Luxembourg , McCartney traded it for a £15 Framus Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar , since he wanted to be able to sing while playing. He found it difficult to play guitar right-handed, but after noticing a poster advertising a Slim Whitman concert and realising that Whitman played left-handed, he reversed
2961-456: A particular sound and everybody was fascinated by his sound. He had this way of putting things together; it was just his sound and it influenced a lot of people. I’ve even gone to the Black Ark with Eric Gale for that Negril album; I remember myself and Val Douglas, we laid some tracks there, Eric Gale overdubbed stuff on there, but I honestly don’t remember what happened to it." Lee Perry and his studio were also formative in creating
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#17327722390663102-788: A record 32 songs that have topped the Billboard Hot 100 and, as of 2009 , he had sales of 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the US. His honours include two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1999), an Academy Award , a Primetime Emmy Award , 18 Grammy Awards , an appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and an appointment as Knight Bachelor in 1997 for services to music. As of 2024, he
3243-508: A regular stage or film set. In the era of acoustical recordings (prior to the introduction of microphones, electrical recording and amplification), the earliest recording studios were very basic facilities, being essentially soundproof rooms that isolated the performers from outside noise. During this era it was not uncommon for recordings to be made in any available location, such as a local ballroom, using portable acoustic recording equipment. In this period, master recordings were made by cutting
3384-421: A room called the "studio" or "live room" equipped with microphones and mic stands, where instrumentalists and vocalists perform; and the " control room ", where audio engineers, sometimes with record producers, as well, operate professional audio mixing consoles , effects units , or computers with specialized software suites to mix , manipulate (e.g., by adjusting the equalization and adding effects) and route
3525-410: A rotating cylinder (later disc) made from wax. Performers were typically grouped around a large acoustic horn (an enlarged version of the familiar gramophone horn). The acoustic energy from the voices or instruments was channeled through the horn to a diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lathe , which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly onto the surface of the master. Electrical recording
3666-407: A sacrifice as the energy wasn’t good anymore." Shortly thereafter, he moved to London and then Switzerland . Recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single singer-guitarist, to
3807-465: A selection of acoustic-only songs on MTV Unplugged and released a live album of the performance titled Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) . During the 1990s, McCartney collaborated twice with Youth of Killing Joke as the musical duo "the Fireman" . The two released their first electronica album together, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest , in 1993. McCartney released the rock album Off
3948-497: A selection of instruments in their live room, typically instruments, amplifiers and speaker cabinets that are large, heavy, and difficult to transport (e.g., a Hammond organ ) or infeasible (as in the case of a grand piano ) to hire for a single recording session. Having musical instruments and equipment in the studio creates additional costs for a studio, as pianos have to be tuned and instruments and associated equipment needs to be maintained. General-purpose computers rapidly assumed
4089-562: A set that included "Let It Be" and "Live and Let Die". He closed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on 27 July, singing " The End " and " Hey Jude " and inviting the audience to join in on the coda . Having donated his time, he received £1 from the Olympic organisers. On 12 December 2012, McCartney performed with three former members of Nirvana ( Krist Novoselic , Dave Grohl , and guest member Pat Smear ) during
4230-584: A short promotional film for the song, and another for its B-side, " Rain ". The films, described by Harrison as "the forerunner of videos ", aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June 1966. Revolver also included McCartney's " Eleanor Rigby ", which featured a string octet . According to Jonathan Gould, the song is "a neoclassical tour de force ... a true hybrid, conforming to no recognizable style or genre of song". Except for some backing vocals,
4371-402: A signal from one or more of the microphones in the studio could be routed to the loudspeaker in the echo chamber; the sound from the speaker reverberated through the chamber and the enhanced signal was picked up by the microphone at the other end. This echo-enhanced signal, which was often used to sweeten the sound of vocals, could then be blended in with the primary signal from the microphone in
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4512-414: A single take. In the 1970s the large recording companies began to adopt multi-track recording and the emphasis shifted to isolation and sound-proofing, with treatments like echo and reverberation added separately during the mixing process, rather than being blended in during the recording. Generally, after an audio mix is set up on a 24-track tape machine, the tracks are played back together, mixed and sent to
4653-686: A song for the comedic feature film Spies Like Us . He composed and recorded the track in four days, with Phil Ramone co-producing. McCartney participated in Live Aid , performing "Let it Be", but technical difficulties rendered his vocals and piano barely audible for the first two verses, punctuated by squeals of feedback . Equipment technicians resolved the problems and David Bowie , Alison Moyet , Pete Townshend and Bob Geldof joined McCartney on stage, receiving an enthusiastic crowd reaction. McCartney collaborated with Eric Stewart on Press to Play (1986), with Stewart co-writing more than half
4794-415: A technological standpoint, the Black Ark was at the low end in comparison to the international music recording standards of its day. The studio's legendary reputation stems from the innovative production techniques employed by Perry to create sounds that baffled his contemporaries, and which have continued to be a source of amazement to later generations of music producers. An example of Perry's inventive style
4935-408: A vibrant acoustic signature as the natural reverb enhanced the sound of the recording. In this period large, acoustically live halls were favored, rather than the acoustically dead booths and studio rooms that became common after the 1960s. Because of the limits of the recording technology, which did not allow for multitrack recording techniques, studios of the mid-20th century were designed around
5076-473: A void, which left the Beatles perplexed and concerned about their future. McCartney stepped in to fill that void and gradually became the de facto leader and business manager of the group that Lennon had once led. In his first creative suggestion after this change of leadership, McCartney proposed that the band move forward on their plans to produce a film for television, which was to become Magical Mystery Tour . According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn ,
5217-527: A year earlier. It was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 10 April 1999, and was organised by two of her close friends, Chrissie Hynde and Carla Lane . Also during 1999, he continued his experimentation with orchestral music on Working Classical . In 2000, he released the electronica album Liverpool Sound Collage with Super Furry Animals and Youth, using the sound collage and musique concrète techniques that had fascinated him in
5358-428: Is a key goal, the musicians, singers, audio engineers and record producers still need to be able to see each other, to see cue gestures and conducting by a bandleader. As such, the live room, isolation booths, vocal booths and control room typically have windows. Amplified instruments, like electric guitars and digital keyboards, may be connected directly to the recording console using DI units and performance recorded in
5499-404: Is a one-man album, with McCartney providing compositions, instrumentation and vocals. In 1971, he collaborated with Linda and drummer Denny Seiwell on a second album, Ram . A UK number one and a US top five, Ram included the co-written US number-one hit single " Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey ". Later that year, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine joined the McCartneys and Seiwell to form
5640-409: Is essential to preserving the ability to fine-tune lines up to the last minute. Sometimes, if the rapport between the lead actors is strong enough and the animation studio can afford it, the producers may use a recording studio configured with multiple isolation booths in which the actors can see each another and the director. This enables the actors to react to one another in real time as if they were on
5781-618: Is one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated fortune of £1 billion. McCartney was born on 18 June 1942 at Walton Hospital in the Walton area of Liverpool , where his mother, Mary Patricia ( née Mohin), had qualified to practise as a nurse. Both of his parents were of Irish descent. McCartney has a younger brother, Peter Michael , and a younger stepsister, Ruth, born to his father Jim's second wife, Angie, during her first marriage. Paul and Michael were baptised in their mother's Catholic faith, even though their father
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5922-580: Is the most successful in modern music history. Born in Liverpool , McCartney taught himself piano, guitar, and songwriting as a teenager, having been influenced by his father, a jazz player, and rock and roll performers such as Little Richard and Buddy Holly . He began his career when he joined Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen , in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the cute Beatle", McCartney later immersed himself in
6063-490: Is used for most studio work, there is a breadth of software available for Microsoft Windows and Linux . If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, this is referred to as mixing in the box (ITB). OTB describes mixing with other hardware and not just the PC software. A small, personal recording studio is sometimes called a project studio or home studio . Such studios often cater to
6204-687: The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania; it was his first concert in Pittsburgh since 1990 due to the old Civic Arena being deemed unsuitable for McCartney's logistical needs. In July 2011, McCartney performed at two sold-out concerts at the new Yankee Stadium . A New York Times review of the first concert reported that McCartney was "not saying goodbye but touring stadiums and playing marathon concerts". In August 2011, McCartney left EMI and signed with Decca Records ,
6345-514: The RCA company in the 1930s were crucial to the crooning style perfected by Bing Crosby , and the famous Neumann U 47 condenser microphone was one of the most widely used from the 1950s. This model is still widely regarded by audio professionals as one of the best microphones of its type ever made. Learning the correct placement of microphones is a major part of the training of young engineers, and many became extremely skilled in this craft. Well into
6486-535: The Royal College of Music —"kind of amazing for somebody who doesn't read a note of music", commented McCartney. In 1997, McCartney released the rock album Flaming Pie . Starr appeared on drums and backing vocals in " Beautiful Night ". Later that year, he released the classical work Standing Stone , which topped the UK and US classical charts. In 1998, he released Rushes , the second electronica album by
6627-465: The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , standing with a host of celebrities . The cover piqued a frenzy of analysis. After Brian died ... Paul took over and supposedly led us you know ... we went round in circles ... We broke up then. That was the disintegration. I thought, 'we've fuckin' had it.' — John Lennon, Rolling Stone magazine, 1970 Epstein's death in August 1967 created
6768-543: The soundtrack album issued six months later received a less enthusiastic response. By late 1968, relations within the band were deteriorating. The tension grew during the recording of their eponymous double album, also known as the " White Album ". Matters worsened the following year during the Let It Be sessions, when a camera crew filmed McCartney lecturing the group: "We've been very negative since Mr. Epstein passed away ... we were always fighting [his] discipline
6909-577: The 1950s and 1960s, the sound of pop recordings was further defined by the introduction of proprietary sound processing devices such as equalizers and compressors, which were manufactured by specialist electronics companies. One of the best known of these was the Pultec equalizer which was used by almost all the major commercial studios of the time. With the introduction of multi-track recording , it became possible to record instruments and singers separately and at different times on different tracks on tape. In
7050-513: The 1960s, in the classical field it was not uncommon for engineers to make high-quality orchestral recordings using only one or two microphones suspended above the orchestra. In the 1960s, engineers began experimenting with placing microphones much closer to instruments than had previously been the norm. The distinctive rasping tone of the horn sections on the Beatles recordings " Good Morning Good Morning " and " Lady Madonna " were achieved by having
7191-478: The 30th Street Studio at 207 East 30th Street, the CBS Studio Building at 49 East 52nd Street, Liederkranz Hall at 111 East 58th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues (a building built by and formerly belonging to a German cultural and musical society, The Liederkranz Club and Society), and one of their earliest recording studios, Studio A at 799 Seventh Avenue. Electric recording studios in
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#17327722390667332-455: The 30th Street Studios in the late 1940s and A&R manager Mitch Miller had tweaked it to perfection, Miller issued a standing order that the drapes and other fittings were not to be touched, and the cleaners had specific orders never to mop the bare wooden floor for fear it might alter the acoustic properties of the hall. There were several other features of studios in this period that contributed to their unique sonic signatures. As well as
7473-450: The 418th spot on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . In 1974, McCartney hired guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton to replace McCullough and Seiwell. Britton subsequently quit during recording sessions in 1975 and was replaced by Joe English . Wings followed Band on the Run with the chart-topping albums Venus and Mars (1975) and Wings at
7614-401: The Beatles were breaking up in 1969–70, McCartney fell into a depression. His wife helped him pull out of that condition by praising his work as a songwriter and convincing him to continue writing and recording. In her honour, he wrote " Maybe I'm Amazed ", explaining that with the Beatles breaking up, "that was my feeling: Maybe I'm amazed at what's going on ... Maybe I'm a man and maybe you're
7755-427: The Beatles' partnership on 9 January 1975, though sporadic lawsuits against their record company EMI , Klein, and each other persisted until 1989. I didn't really want to keep going as a solo artist ... so it became obvious that I had to get a band together ... Linda and I talked it through and it was like, "Yeah, but let's not put together a supergroup, let's go back to square one." — McCartney As
7896-627: The Best Albums of the Year for 1973, and in 1975, Paul McCartney and Wings won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Band on the Run", and Geoff Emerick won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording for the album. In 1974, Wings achieved a second US number-one single with the title track . The album also included the top-ten hits " Jet " and " Helen Wheels ", and earned
8037-541: The Dirt ; a collaborative effort with Elvis Costello that included musical contributions from Gilmour and Nicky Hopkins . McCartney then formed a band consisting of himself and Linda, with Hamish Stuart and Robbie McIntosh on guitars, Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and Chris Whitten on drums. In September 1989, they launched the Paul McCartney World Tour , his first in over a decade. During
8178-507: The Fireman. In 1999, McCartney released Run Devil Run . Recorded in one week, and featuring Ian Paice and David Gilmour, it was primarily an album of covers with three McCartney originals. He had been planning such an album for years, having been previously encouraged to do so by Linda, who had died of cancer in April 1998. McCartney did an unannounced performance at the benefit tribute, " Concert for Linda ", his wife of 29 years who died
8319-683: The Ground in 1993. The subsequent New World Tour followed, which led to the release of the Paul Is Live album later that year. Starting in 1994, McCartney took a four-year break from his solo career to work on Apple's Beatles Anthology project with Harrison, Starr and Martin. He recorded a radio series called Oobu Joobu in 1995 for the American network Westwood One , which he described as "widescreen radio". Also in 1995, Prince Charles presented him with an Honorary Fellowship of
8460-561: The Life " required a forty-piece orchestra, which Martin and McCartney took turns conducting. The sessions produced the double A-side single " Strawberry Fields Forever "/" Penny Lane " in February 1967, and the LP followed in June. Based on an ink drawing by McCartney, the LP's cover included a collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth , featuring the Beatles in costume as
8601-547: The Little Richard cover " Long Tall Sally " was the only song that the Beatles had previously recorded. McCartney wanted the tour to avoid large venues; most of the small halls they played had capacities of fewer than 3,000 people. In March 1973, Wings achieved their first US number-one single, " My Love ", included on their second LP, Red Rose Speedway , a US number one and UK top five. McCartney's collaboration with Linda and former Beatles producer Martin resulted in
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#17327722390668742-448: The London avant-garde scene and played a key role in incorporating experimental aesthetics into the Beatles' studio productions . Starting with the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , he gradually became the band's de facto leader, providing creative impetus for most of their music and film projects. Many of his Beatles songs, including " And I Love Her ", " Yesterday ", " Eleanor Rigby ", and " Blackbird ", rank among
8883-407: The McCartneys and Laine recorded Band on the Run . The album was the first of seven platinum Wings LPs. It was a US and UK number one, the band's first to top the charts in both countries and the first ever to reach Billboard magazine's charts on three separate occasions. One of the best-selling releases of the decade, it remained on the UK charts for 124 weeks. Rolling Stone named it one of
9024-800: The Presidents, the Prime Minister, I never met anyone half as nice as some of the people I know from Liverpool who are nothing, who do nothing. They're not important or famous. But they are smart, like my dad was smart. I mean, people who can just cut through problems like a hot knife through butter. The kind of people you need in life. Salt of the earth. — Paul McCartney, Playboy interview, 1984 Mary McCartney's midwifery paid well, and her earnings enabled them to move into 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton , where they lived until 1964. She rode
9165-534: The Speed of Sound (1976). In 1975, they began the fourteen-month Wings Over the World Tour , which included stops in the UK, Australia, Europe and the US. The tour marked the first time McCartney performed Beatles songs live with Wings, with five in the two-hour set list : " I've Just Seen a Face ", "Yesterday", " Blackbird ", " Lady Madonna " and "The Long and Winding Road". Following the second European leg of
9306-585: The UK that included the live debut of the Beatles songs " Got to Get You into My Life ", " The Fool on the Hill " and "Let It Be". In 1980, McCartney released his second solo LP, the self-produced McCartney II , which peaked at number one in the UK and number three in the US. As with his first album, he composed and performed it alone. The album contained the song " Coming Up ", the live version of which, recorded in Glasgow , Scotland, in 1979 by Wings, became
9447-505: The UK in 1963 , and in the US a year later. The fan hysteria became known as " Beatlemania ", and the press sometimes referred to McCartney as the "cute Beatle". McCartney co-wrote (with Lennon) several of their early hits, including " I Saw Her Standing There ", " She Loves You ", " I Want to Hold Your Hand " (1963) and " Can't Buy Me Love " (1964). In August 1965, the Beatles released the McCartney composition " Yesterday ", featuring
9588-497: The US , released internationally in 2003 as Back in the World . The tour earned a reported $ 126.2 million, an average of over $ 2 million per night, and Billboard named it the top tour of the year. The group continues to play together; McCartney has played live with Ray, Anderson, Laboriel, and Wickens longer than he played live with the Beatles or Wings. In July 2002, McCartney married Heather Mills . In November, on
9729-571: The addition of guitarist Henry McCullough , Wings' first concert tour began in 1972 with a debut performance in front of an audience of seven hundred at the University of Nottingham . Ten more gigs followed as they travelled across the UK in a van during an unannounced tour of universities , during which the band stayed in modest accommodation and received pay in coinage collected from students, while avoiding Beatles songs during their performances. McCartney later said, "The main thing I didn't want
9870-658: The age of fifteen on 6 July 1957, McCartney met John Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen, at the St Peter's Church Hall fête in Woolton . The Quarrymen played a mix of rock and roll and skiffle , a type of popular music with jazz , blues and folk influences. Soon afterwards, the members of the band invited McCartney to join as a rhythm guitarist, and he formed a close working relationship with Lennon. Harrison joined in 1958 as lead guitarist, followed by Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe on bass, in 1960. By May 1960,
10011-490: The band Wings . McCartney had this to say on the group's formation: "Wings were always a difficult idea ... any group having to follow [the Beatles'] success would have a hard job ... I found myself in that very position. However, it was a choice between going on or finishing, and I loved music too much to think of stopping." In September 1971, the McCartneys' daughter Stella was born, named in honour of Linda's grandmothers, both of whom were named Stella. Following
10152-686: The band had tried several names, including Johnny and the Moondogs , Beatals and the Silver Beetles . They adopted the name the Beatles in August 1960 and recruited drummer Pete Best shortly before a five-engagement residency in Hamburg . In 1961, Sutcliffe left the band, and McCartney became their bass player. It is disputed whether he did so reluctantly or actively sought out the role. While in Hamburg, they recorded professionally for
10293-453: The band. Musicologist Ian MacDonald wrote, "from [1965] ... [McCartney] would be in the ascendant not only as a songwriter, but also as instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and de facto musical director of the Beatles." Critics described Rubber Soul as a significant advance in the refinement and profundity of the band's music and lyrics. Considered a high point in the Beatles catalogue, both Lennon and McCartney said they had written
10434-474: The baritone voice of Watty Burnett through a tin foil laced cardboard tube that produced the cow-like noises. These and other notable recording techniques helped define the Black Ark sound, as well as Lee Perry's creative legacy. Perry was known for his eccentric and superstitious behavior during production sessions. He would often "bless" his recording equipment with mystical invocations, blow ganja smoke onto his tapes while recording, bury unprotected tapes in
10575-519: The case of full-power stations, an encoder that can interrupt programming on all channels which a station transmits to broadcast urgent warnings. Computers are used for playing ads , jingles , bumpers , soundbites , phone calls, sound effects , traffic and weather reports , and now are able to perform full broadcast automation when no staff are present. Digital mixing consoles can be interconnected via audio over Ethernet . Network connections allow remote access , so that DJs can do shows from
10716-550: The closing act of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief , seen by approximately two billion people worldwide. On 28 August 2013, McCartney released the title track of his upcoming studio album New , which came out in October 2013. A primetime entertainment special was taped on 27 January 2014 at the Ed Sullivan Theater with a 9 February 2014 CBS airing. The show featured McCartney and Ringo Starr, and celebrated
10857-489: The concept of grouping musicians (e.g., the rhythm section or a horn section ) and singers (e.g., a group of backup singers ), rather than separating them, and placing the performers and the microphones strategically to capture the complex acoustic and harmonic interplay that emerged during the performance. In the 2000s, modern sound stages still sometimes use this approach for large film scoring projects that use large orchestras. Because of their superb acoustics, many of
10998-480: The consideration of the physical dimensions of the room itself to make the room respond to sound in the desired way. Acoustical treatment includes and the use of absorption and diffusion materials on the surfaces inside the room. To control the amount of reverberation, rooms in a recording studio may have a reconfigurable combination of reflective and non-reflective surfaces. Soundproofing provides sonic isolation between rooms and prevents sound from entering or leaving
11139-436: The control room. This greatly enhances the communication between the producer and engineer with the player, as studio mics, headphones and talkback are unnecessary. Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with accuracy. Architectural acoustics includes acoustical treatment and soundproofing and also
11280-459: The end of the Beatles' performing career, McCartney sensed unease in the band and wanted them to maintain creative productivity. He pressed them to start a new project, which became Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , widely regarded as rock's first concept album . McCartney was inspired to create a new persona for the group, to serve as a vehicle for experimentation and to demonstrate to their fans that they had musically matured. He invented
11421-483: The fictional band of the album's title track . As McCartney explained, "We were fed up with being the Beatles. We really hated that fucking four little mop-top approach. We were not boys we were men ... and [we] thought of ourselves as artists rather than just performers." Starting in November 1966, the band adopted an experimental attitude during recording sessions for the album. Their recording of " A Day in
11562-727: The fire brigade at night. The growing family was rehoused at a flat in Knowsley in 1944 and then in a council housing development in Speke in 1946. After the war, Jim returned to his job at the cotton merchants with a reduced income. Mary's work as a visiting midwife was much more remunerative. McCartney attended Stockton Wood Road Primary School in Speke from 1947 until 1949, when he transferred to Joseph Williams Junior School in Belle Vale because of overcrowding at Stockton. In 1953, he
11703-549: The first anniversary of George Harrison's death, McCartney performed at the Concert for George . He participated in the National Football League 's Super Bowl , performing "Freedom" during the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. The English College of Arms honoured McCartney in 2002 by granting him a coat of arms . His crest, featuring
11844-542: The first time and were credited as the Beat Brothers, who were the backing band for English singer Tony Sheridan on the single " My Bonnie ". This resulted in attention from Brian Epstein , who was a key figure in their subsequent development and success. He became their manager in January 1962. Ringo Starr replaced Best in August, and the band had their first hit, " Love Me Do ", in October, becoming popular in
11985-568: The group's last number-one hit. By 1981, McCartney felt he had accomplished all he could creatively with Wings and decided he needed a change. The group discontinued in April 1981 after Laine quit following disagreements over royalties and salaries. In 1982, McCartney collaborated with Stevie Wonder on the Martin-produced number-one hit " Ebony and Ivory ", included on McCartney's Tug of War LP, and with Michael Jackson on " The Girl Is Mine " from Thriller . "Ebony and Ivory"
12126-561: The group's official canon of studio albums, the Magical Mystery Tour LP achieved $ 8 million in sales within three weeks of its release, higher initial sales than any other Capitol LP up to that point. The Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine , loosely based on the imaginary world evoked by McCartney's 1966 composition , premiered in July 1968. Though critics admired the film for its visual style, humour and music,
12267-464: The highly innovative reggae subgenre called dub , in which the producer/engineer becomes the focus of the music, manipulating a pre-recorded track and creating something entirely new using the mixing console as nothing less than an instrument. Perry worked with The Clash and Paul McCartney and his band Wings had recorded there between 1972 and 1979. In 1979, following years of increasingly bizarre and erratic behavior, Lee "Scratch" Perry, armed with
12408-412: The inherent sound of the large recording rooms, many of the best studios incorporated specially-designed echo chambers , purpose-built rooms which were often built beneath the main studio. These were typically long, low rectangular spaces constructed from hard, sound-reflective materials like concrete, fitted with a loudspeaker at one end and one or more microphones at the other. During a recording session,
12549-422: The jack panel. The jack panel is the brain itself, so you got to patch up the brain and make the brain a living man, that the brain can take what you sending into it and live. Artists who were produced and/or recorded at the Black Ark include Bob Marley , Junior Byles , The Congos , Junior Murvin , Max Romeo , Mighty Diamonds , The Heptones , Augustus Pablo and Jah Lion . Paul Douglas mentions, "Scratch had
12690-611: The larger studios were converted churches. Examples include George Martin 's AIR Studios in London, Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York City, and Pythian Temple studio in New York. Facilities like the Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York and Abbey Road Studios in London were renowned for their identifiable sound—which was (and still is) easily identifiable by audio professionals—and for
12831-485: The merits of the work." The New York Times was slightly more generous, stating, "There are moments of beauty and pleasure in this dramatic miscellany ... the music's innocent sincerity makes it difficult to be put off by its ambitions". Performed around the world after its London premiere, the Liverpool Oratorio reached number one on the UK classical chart, Music Week . In 1991, McCartney performed
12972-566: The mid-1960s. He contributed the song "Nova" to a tribute album of classical, choral music called A Garland for Linda (2000), dedicated to his late wife. Having witnessed the September 11 attacks from the JFK airport tarmac, McCartney was inspired to take a leading role in organising the Concert for New York City . His studio album release in November that year, Driving Rain , included
13113-584: The mid-20th century often lacked isolation booths, sound baffles , and sometimes even speakers. A major reason that isolation was not used was that recordings in this period were typically made as live ensemble takes and all the performers needed to be able to see each other and the ensemble leader while playing. The recording engineers who trained in this period learned to take advantage of the complex acoustic effects that could be created through leakage between different microphones and groups of instruments, and these technicians became extremely skilled at capturing
13254-422: The mid-20th century, recordings were analog , made on 1 ⁄ 4 -inch or 1 ⁄ 2 -inch magnetic tape , or, more rarely, on 35 mm magnetic film , with multitrack recording reaching 8 tracks in the 1950s, 16 in 1968, and 32 in the 1970s. The commonest such tape is the 2-inch analog, capable of containing up to 24 individual tracks. Throughout the 1960s many pop classics were still recorded live in
13395-414: The most covered songs in history. Although primarily a bassist with the Beatles, he played a number of other instruments, including keyboards, guitars, and drums, on various songs. After the Beatles disbanded , he debuted as a solo artist with the 1970 album McCartney and went on to form the band Wings with his first wife, Linda , and Denny Laine . Under McCartney's leadership, Wings became one of
13536-806: The most successful bands of the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote their US or UK number-one hits, such as " My Love ", " Band on the Run ", " Listen to What the Man Said ", " Silly Love Songs ", and " Mull of Kintyre ". He resumed his solo career in 1980 and has been touring as a solo artist since 1989. Apart from Wings, his UK or US number-one hits include " Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey " (with Linda), " Coming Up ", " Pipes of Peace ", " Ebony and Ivory " (with Stevie Wonder ), and " Say Say Say " (with Michael Jackson ). Beyond music, he has been involved in projects to promote international charities related to animal rights , seal hunting , land mines , vegetarianism, poverty, and music education . McCartney has written or co-written
13677-464: The music as "afraid of anything approaching a fast tempo", and adding that the piece has "little awareness of the need for recurrent ideas that will bind the work into a whole". The paper published a letter McCartney submitted in response in which he noted several of the work's faster tempos and added, "happily, history shows that many good pieces of music were not liked by the critics of the time so I am content to ... let people judge for themselves
13818-462: The music for the song " In My Life ". McCartney said of the album, "we'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." Recording engineer Norman Smith stated that the Rubber Soul sessions exposed indications of increasing contention within the band: "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious ... [and] as far as Paul was concerned, George [Harrison] could do no right—Paul
13959-524: The number of available tracks only on the basis of the mixing console 's or computer hardware interface's capacity and the ability of the hardware to cope with processing demands. Analog tape machines are still used in some cases for their unique sonic characteristics. Radio studios are very similar to recording studios, particularly in the case of production studios which are not normally used on-air , such as studios where interviews are taped for later broadcast. This type of studio would normally have all of
14100-430: The only woman who could ever help me; Baby won't you help me understand ... Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time, hung me on the line, Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you." He added that "every love song I write is for Linda." In 1970, McCartney continued his musical career with his first solo release, McCartney , a US number-one album. Apart from some vocal contributions from Linda, McCartney
14241-459: The order of the strings. McCartney wrote his first song, " I Lost My Little Girl ", on the Zenith, and composed another early tune that would become " When I'm Sixty-Four " on the piano. American rhythm and blues influenced him, and Little Richard was his schoolboy idol; " Long Tall Sally " was the first song McCartney performed in public, at a Butlin's Filey holiday camp talent competition. At
14382-415: The piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon . One of the most successful composers and performers of all time , McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism , exploring genres ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical, ballads, and electronica . His songwriting partnership with Lennon
14523-442: The project was "an administrative nightmare throughout". McCartney largely directed the film, which brought the group their first unfavourable critical response. However, the film's soundtrack was more successful. It was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play disc (EP) and as an identically titled LP in the US, filled out with five songs from the band's recent singles. The only Capitol compilation later included in
14664-502: The property. A Recording studio in an urban environment must be soundproofed on its outer shell to prevent noises from the surrounding streets and roads from being picked up by microphones inside. Equipment found in a recording studio commonly includes: Not all music studios are equipped with musical instruments. Some smaller studios do not have instruments, and bands and artists are expected to bring their own instruments, amplifiers, and speakers. However, major recording studios often have
14805-459: The rise of project studios in the 1990s. Today's project studios are built around software-based DAWs running on standard PC hardware. An isolation booth is either a partially enclosed area in the live room or a completely separate small room built adjacent to the live room that is both soundproofed to keep out external sounds and keep in the internal sounds. Like all the other recording rooms in sound industry, isolation booths designed for having
14946-493: The rock album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard , for which he provided most of the instrumentation. In 2006, McCartney released the classical work Ecce Cor Meum . The rock album Memory Almost Full followed in 2007. In 2008, he released his third Fireman album, Electric Arguments . Also in 2008, he performed at a concert in Liverpool to celebrate the city's year as European Capital of Culture . In 2009, after
15087-399: The sales of the previous record holder, " She Loves You ", and went on to sell 2.5 million copies and hold the UK sales record until the 1984 charity single, " Do They Know It's Christmas? " London Town (1978) spawned a US number-one single (" With a Little Luck "), and continued Wings' string of commercial successes, making the top five in both the US and the UK. Critical reception
15228-444: The same equipment that any other audio recording studio would have, particularly if it is at a large station, or at a combined facility that houses a station group, but is also designed for groups of people to work collaboratively in a live-to-air situation. Broadcast studios also use many of the same principles such as sound isolation, with adaptations suited to the live on-air nature of their use. Such equipment would commonly include
15369-738: The same month that the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences honoured him as the MusiCares Person of the Year , two days prior to his performance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards . McCartney remains one of the world's top draws. He played to over 100,000 people during two performances in Mexico City in May, with the shows grossing nearly $ 6 million. In June 2012, McCartney closed Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Concert held outside Buckingham Palace , performing
15510-541: The same record company that famously rejected The Beatles back in January 1962. McCartney was commissioned by the New York City Ballet , and in September 2011, he released his first score for dance, a collaboration with Peter Martins called Ocean's Kingdom on Decca Records. Also in 2011, McCartney married Nancy Shevell. He released Kisses on the Bottom , a collection of standards , in February 2012,
15651-401: The saxophone players position their instruments so that microphones were virtually inside the mouth of the horn. The unique sonic characteristics of the major studios imparted a special character to many of the most famous popular recordings of the 1950s and 1960s, and the recording companies jealously guarded these facilities. According to sound historian David Simons, after Columbia took over
15792-508: The seams offset from layer to layer on both sides of the wall that is filled with foam, batten insulation, a double wall, which is an insulated wall built next to another insulated wall with an air gap in-between, by adding foam to the interior walls and corners, and by using two panes of thick glass with an air gap between them. The surface densities of common building materials determines the transmission loss of various frequencies through materials. Thomas A. Watson invented, but did not patent,
15933-523: The skill of their staff engineers. As the need to transfer audio material between different studios grew, there was an increasing demand for standardization in studio design across the recording industry, and Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood was highly influential in the 1970s in the development of standardized acoustic design. In New York City, Columbia Records had some of the most highly respected sound recording studios, including
16074-501: The smaller independent studios were often owned by skilled electronics engineers who designed and built their own desks and other equipment. A good example of this is Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the site of many famous American pop recordings of the 1960s. Co-owner David S. Gold built the studio's main mixing desk and many additional pieces of equipment and he also designed the studio's unique trapezoidal echo chambers. During
16215-404: The soil outside of his studio, and surround himself with burning candles and incense, whose wax and dust remnants were allowed to infest his electronic recording equipment. He would also spray tapes with a variety of fluids, including urine, blood and whisky, ostensibly to enhance their spiritual properties. Later commentators have drawn a direct relationship between the decay of Perry's facility and
16356-490: The song " Freedom ", written in response to the attacks. The following year, McCartney went out on tour with a new band that included guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray , accompanied by Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. They began the Driving World Tour in April 2002, which included stops in the US, Mexico and Japan. The tour resulted in the double live album Back in
16497-481: The song " Live and Let Die ", which was the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name . Nominated for an Academy Award , the song reached number two in the US and number nine in the UK. It also earned Martin a Grammy for his orchestral arrangement. Music professor and author Vincent Benitez described the track as " symphonic rock at its best". After the departure of McCullough and Seiwell in 1973,
16638-547: The song included only McCartney's lead vocal and the strings arranged by producer George Martin . The band gave their final commercial concert at the end of their 1966 US tour . Later that year, McCartney completed his first musical project independent of the group—a film score for the UK production The Family Way . The score was a collaboration with Martin, who used two McCartney themes to write thirteen variations. The soundtrack failed to chart, but it won McCartney an Ivor Novello Award for Best Instrumental Theme. Upon
16779-600: The songs on the LP. In 1988, McCartney released Снова в СССР , initially available only in the Soviet Union , which contained eighteen covers ; recorded over the course of two days. In 1989, he joined forces with fellow Merseysiders Gerry Marsden and Holly Johnson to record an updated version of " Ferry Cross the Mersey ", for the Hillsborough disaster appeal fund. That same year, he released Flowers in
16920-474: The sound and keep it from bleeding into the other microphones, allowing better independent control of each instrument channel at the mixing console . In animation, vocal performances are normally recorded in individual sessions, and the actors have to imagine (with the help of the director or a reader) they are involved in dialogue. Animated films often evolve rapidly during both development and production, so keeping vocal tracks from bleeding into each other
17061-408: The sound for analog or digital recording . The engineers and producers listen to the live music and the recorded "tracks" on high-quality monitor speakers or headphones . Often, there will be smaller rooms called isolation booths to accommodate loud instruments such as drums or electric guitar amplifiers and speakers, to keep these sounds from being audible to the microphones that are capturing
17202-445: The soundproof booth for use in demonstrating the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. There are variations of the same concept, including a portable standalone isolation booth and a guitar speaker isolation cabinet. A gobo panel achieves the same effect to a much more moderate extent; for example, a drum kit that is too loud in the live room or on stage can have acrylic glass see-through gobo panels placed around it to deflect
17343-474: The sounds from other instruments or voices, or to provide "drier" rooms for recording vocals or quieter acoustic instruments such as an acoustic guitar or a fiddle . Major recording studios typically have a range of large, heavy, and hard-to-transport instruments and music equipment in the studio, such as a grand piano , Hammond organ , electric piano , harp , and drums . Recording studios generally consist of three or more rooms: Even though sound isolation
17484-444: The specific needs of an individual artist or are used as a non-commercial hobby. The first modern project studios came into being during the mid-1980s, with the advent of affordable multitrack recording devices, synthesizers and microphones. The phenomenon has flourished with falling prices of MIDI equipment and accessories, as well as inexpensive direct to disk recording products. Recording drums and amplified electric guitar in
17625-435: The studio and mixed into the track as the master recording was being made. Special equipment was another notable feature of the classic recording studio. The biggest studios were owned and operated by large media companies like RCA, Columbia and EMI, who typically had their own electronics research and development divisions that designed and built custom-made recording equipment and mixing consoles for their studios. Likewise,
17766-410: The studio in fact caught fire in 1983 after an ill-fated attempt to rebuild it, the result of an electrical accident. More often than not, Perry has claimed that he personally destroyed the Black Ark due to "unclean spirits" - an allusion to some of the undesirable people who were constantly at the Black Ark in later years. There are also stories that Perry was being blackmailed by gangsters who wanted
17907-522: The tour and extensive rehearsals in London, the group undertook an ambitious US arena tour that yielded the US number-one live triple LP Wings over America . In September 1977, the McCartneys' third child was born, a son they named James . In November, the Wings song " Mull of Kintyre ", co-written with Laine, was quickly becoming one of the best-selling singles in UK chart history. The most successful single of McCartney's solo career, it achieved double
18048-637: The tour, McCartney performed for the largest paying stadium audience in history on 21 April 1990, when 184,000 people attended his concert at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That year, he released the triple album Tripping the Live Fantastic , which contained selected performances from the tour. McCartney ventured into orchestral music in 1991 when the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned
18189-571: The unique acoustic properties of their studios and the musicians in performance. It was not until the 1960s, with the introduction of the high-fidelity headphones that it became common practice for performers to use these to monitor their performance during recording and listen to playbacks. The use of different kinds of microphones and their placement around the studio is a crucial part of the recording process, and particular brands of microphones are used by engineers for their specific audio characteristics. The smooth-toned ribbon microphones developed by
18330-420: The unique sounds he was able to create from his studio equipment. Perry has described his relationship to the studio thus: The studio must be like a living thing, a life itself. The machine must be live and intelligent. Then I put my mind into the machine and the machine perform reality. Invisible thought waves — you put them into the machine by sending them through the controls and the knobs or you jack it into
18471-596: Was McCartney's record 28th single to hit number one on the Billboard 100 . The following year, he and Jackson worked on " Say Say Say ", McCartney's most recent US number one as of 2014 . McCartney earned his latest UK number one as of 2014 with the title track of his LP release that year, " Pipes of Peace ". In 1984, McCartney starred in Give My Regards to Broad Street , a feature film he also wrote and produced and which included Starr in an acting role. It
18612-403: Was a former Protestant who had turned agnostic. Religion was not emphasised in the household. Before the war, Jim had worked as a salesman for the cotton merchants A. Hannay and Co., having been promoted from his job as a sample boy in their warehouse; when the war broke out, Hannay's was shuttered, and Jim was employed as a lathe turner at Napier 's defence engineering works, volunteering for
18753-534: Was a trumpet player and pianist who led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s. He kept an upright piano in the front room, encouraged his sons to be musical and advised McCartney to take piano lessons. However, McCartney preferred to learn by ear . When McCartney was 11, his father encouraged him to audition for the Liverpool Cathedral choir, but he was not accepted. McCartney then joined the choir at St Barnabas' Church, Mossley Hill . McCartney received
18894-436: Was absolutely finicky." In 1966, the Beatles released the album Revolver . Featuring sophisticated lyrics, studio experimentation, and an expanded repertoire of musical genres ranging from innovative string arrangements to psychedelic rock , the album marked an artistic leap for the Beatles. The first of three consecutive McCartney A-sides , the single " Paperback Writer " preceded the LP's release. The Beatles produced
19035-442: Was common by the early 1930s, and mastering lathes were electrically powered, but master recordings still had to be cut into a disc, by now a lacquer, also known as an Acetate disc . In line with the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recording of symphony orchestras and other large instrumental ensembles. Engineers soon found that large, reverberant spaces like concert halls created
19176-460: Was disparaged by critics: Variety described the film as "characterless, bloodless, and pointless"; while Roger Ebert awarded it a single star, writing, "you can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the soundtrack ". The album fared much better, reaching number one in the UK and producing the US top-ten hit single " No More Lonely Nights ", featuring David Gilmour on lead guitar. In 1985, Warner Brothers commissioned McCartney to write
19317-404: Was his ability to overdub layers of sound effects and instrumentation on each recording track of a basic 4-track machine, with such precise timing and in such a way that the resulting sound would destroy the competition from Jamaica's other top producers using the latest 16-track mixing consoles . Perry once buried microphones at the base of a palm tree and thumped it rhythmically to produce
19458-464: Was in the midst of business disagreements with his bandmates, largely concerning Allen Klein 's management of the group, when he announced his own departure from the group on 10 April 1970. He filed a suit for the band's formal dissolution on 31 December 1970, and in March 1971 the court appointed a receiver to oversee the finances of the Beatles' company Apple Corps . An English court legally dissolved
19599-533: Was one of only three students out of 90 to pass the 11-Plus exam, meaning he could attend the Liverpool Institute , a grammar school rather than a secondary modern school . In 1954, he met schoolmate George Harrison on the bus from his suburban home in Speke. The two quickly became friends; McCartney later admitted: "I tended to talk down to him because he was a year younger." The type of people that I came from, I never saw better! [...] I mean,
19740-456: Was to come on stage, faced with the whole torment of five rows of press people with little pads, all looking at me and saying, 'Oh well, he is not as good as he was.' So we decided to go out on that university tour which made me less nervous ... by the end of that tour I felt ready for something else, so we went into Europe." During the seven-week, 25-show Wings Over Europe Tour , the band played almost solely Wings and McCartney solo material:
19881-496: Was unfavourable, and McCartney expressed disappointment with the album. Back to the Egg (1979) featured McCartney's assemblage of a rock supergroup dubbed "Rockestra" on two tracks. The band included Wings along with Pete Townshend , David Gilmour , Gary Brooker , John Paul Jones , John Bonham and others. Though certified platinum, critics panned the album. Wings completed their final concert tour in 1979, with twenty shows in
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