Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0

Paul McCartney

1942 – present · age 84^[1][2]

Music

Fun Facts About Paul McCartney

• Paul McCartney swapped the trumpet his father gave him for his 14th birthday for a guitar, then reversed the strings after noticing that Slim Whitman played left-handed.^[1]
• In 1969 a rumor spread that McCartney had died in a 1966 car crash and been replaced by a lookalike; a Life magazine cover answered it with the caption "Paul is still with us".^[1]
• In 1980 Japanese customs found about 8 ounces of cannabis in McCartney's luggage; he spent ten days in a Japanese jail before being deported without charge.^[1]
• McCartney is the only artist to reach UK number one as a soloist, in a duo, a trio, a quartet, a quintet, and as part of a charity ensemble.^[1]
• McCartney and Yoko Ono tried to buy the Northern Songs catalogue of Lennon–McCartney songs in 1981 but were turned down; its owner, ATV Music, was later sold to Michael Jackson.^{[1][3][4][5][6][7][8]}
• McCartney met schoolmate George Harrison on the bus in 1954 and later admitted, "I tended to talk down to him because he was a year younger."^[1][9][10]
• Paul McCartney was alive at the same time as David Hilbert — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1942–1943).^{[1][2][11][12]}
• Paul McCartney and Joe Biden were both born in 1942.^{[1][2][13][14]}

Sir James Paul McCartney is an English musician and songwriter. He gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he was the bassist and keyboardist, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile 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 remains the most successful in music history.^[1]

Contemporaries

Noam Chomsky

84 yr overlap

Wole Soyinka

84 yr overlap

Dalai Lama

84 yr overlap

Woody Allen

84 yr overlap

Francis Ford Coppola

84 yr overlap

Bob Dylan

84 yr overlap

Tu Youyou

84 yr overlap

Yoko Ono

84 yr overlap

Jack Nicholson

84 yr overlap

Joe Biden

84 yr overlap

James Watson

83 yr overlap

Jane Goodall

83 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Paul McCartney

When was Paul McCartney born?

Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942, and is alive today.

How old is Paul McCartney?

Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942, and turned 84 on June 18, 2026.

What is Paul McCartney known for?

Paul McCartney is known for: Beatles singer, songwriter and bassist. Sir James Paul McCartney is an English musician and songwriter. He gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he was the bassist and keyboardist, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile 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 remains the most successful in music history.

Who was alive at the same time as Paul McCartney?

Paul McCartney's closest contemporary was Noam Chomsky. Their lives overlapped for 84 years.