Paul McCartney’s Most Embarrassing Early Moment With the Beatles

Paul
McCartney
handled
the

guitar
solos
on
some
of
the

Beatles‘
most
memorable
tracks,
including “Drive
My
Car,” “Back
in
the
U.S.S.R.,” “Helter
Skelter”
and “Taxman.”
But
he
wasn’t
always
so
confident
about
his
playing
–
in
particular
during
their
initial
performances.

“We
had
this
gig
and
it
was
like,
the
first
thing
I
ever
played,
and
I
was
lead
guitar
player,”
McCartney
says
on
the

Paul
McCartney:
A
Life
in
Lyrics
podcast.
Beatles
bandmate “John
[Lennon]
was
rhythm,
and
I
had
a
solo
and
I
totally
froze.
[I]
could
not
move
my
fingers.
…
It
was
like,
just
so
embarrassing.
My
lead
guitar
playing
career
melted
at
that
moment
and
I
said, ‘Well,
I’m
not
doing
this
again.
I’m
not
cut
out
for
this.
I’m
no
good.”

Ironically,
McCartney
had
only
been
invited
to
join
Lennon’s
band
because
he’d
so
impressed
Lennon
with
his
guitar
skills.
McCartney
even
showed
Lennon

how
to
tune
his
instrument. “Mind
you,
when
I
first
met
John,
he
didn’t
play
guitar,”
McCartney
added. “I
had
to
show
him
guitar
chords
because
he’d
been
taught
by
his
mum
[Julia],
and
she
only
knew
banjo
chords.”

These
days,
he
has
such
a
close
relationship
with
his
guitars
that
he
actually
talks
to
them.
McCartney
admitted
that
he’s
even
started
to
worry
that
they
might
miss
him
while
he
was
away.
His
interactions
with
the
piano,
however,
are
quite
different.

“We
always
used
to
say
that
when
you
sit
down
with
your
guitar
to
write
a
song,
you’re
telling
it
your
secrets
–
which
then
become
a
song
for
the
world,”
McCartney
added. “But
at
that
moment,
when
you’re
alone,
the
guitar
is
your
confidante.
You
cradle
it.
When
you
go
up
to
a
piano,
though,
it’s
almost
as
if
you’re
pushing
the
piano
away.
They’re
different
actions
completely.”

You
Think
You
Know
the
Beatles?