And in the End

Although the Beatles' partnership had been dissolved, each member quickly set up a career as a solo artist. Paul's debut record, McCartney, didn't impress fans or critics and seemed like a halfhearted effort for such an obviously talented musician. It did include one noteworthy single in “Maybe I'm Amazed.” In the next few years, he followed with two more mediocre albums before finally hitting his old stride again with the Band on the Run album, recorded in 1974 with his backing band Wings (which included his wife, Linda). This featured two hit singles in “Jet” and the title song, and sold more than five million copies, making it the most popular of any of the Beatles’ solo albums. Paul was ultimately the most successful ex-Beatle, with a total of seven number-one albums and nine number-one singles to his credit.

Paul continued to tour the world throughout the 1970s with and without his band Wings, but was always joined onstage by his wife, Linda, from whom he was inseparable. In more recent years, Paul has composed several classical music pieces, written and starred in a film (Give My Regards to Broad Street), and closed the massive 1985 Live Aid benefit concert with a version of “Let it Be.” During the performance, his microphone was not working, but Paul didn't even notice it, with the crowd singing so loudly. Paul is still active in music—his last album, Run Devil Run, was released in 1999—and recently he appeared at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, the Beatles' old haunt in their early days. Sadly, Linda died in 1998 after a long struggle with cancer.