According to Paul McCartney, “I never got round to it because we were writing Sgt. Pepper or The White Album,” revealing that he and John Lennon had discussed it. It’s an idea he has never let go of.
After connecting with John over the pop songs of the 1930s, Paul expressed his dream of compiling a collection of their old favorites.
Now, that dream has come to fruition with his upcoming album, which he considers the one he always envisioned creating with The Beatles. “Kisses On The Bottom,” featuring 12 covers and two original tracks, is set to be released on February 6.
During a press conference last Thursday, Paul discussed the album, which draws inspiration from the soundtrack of his and John’s youth.
“I wanted to create music like this with The Beatles, but whenever I approached it, someone else would beat me to it.” Ringo Starr had his turn in 1970 with “Sentimental Journey.” “I kept saying to myself, ‘I can’t do it now; it’ll look like I’m just following the trend.’ But then I chose to just go for it and ignore the market concerns.”
Paul stated that the essence of the record was “channeling Fred Astaire. We (Paul and producer Tommy LiPuma) would pull up chords and lyrics… toss around ideas and record them. That spontaneity is why I enjoyed it so much. There were no preconceived notions.”
Do you think it’s unlikely that John Lennon would be on board with such a project? Keep in mind that John Lennon‘s first commercially recorded vocal with The Beatles was the song “Ain’t She Sweet,” penned in 1927!
by Wallace McTavish
