Paul Mccartney

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British musician who is most widely known as being a member of the mega-star group "The Beatles." Starting in 1961, the group began setting world records in sales and by 1977 it was estimated that the group had sold 100 million singles and 100 million albums. In 1965, McCartney and the rest of the "Fab Four," were dubbed Members of the Order of the British Empire, which is one step below knighthood. After traveling the world with sold-out tours, he formed his own record label, Apple. On 1/01/97 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "Services to Music" in 1996 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a Solo Artist, 1999. McCartney's musical roots came from his father, James, a bandleader. As a youth the big music in England was skiffle, a mixture of rhythm and blues and English folk. In 1957 he met fellow skiffle enthusiast, John Lennon, and formed the band "The Quarrymen." The two began writing their own songs, beginning one of the most popular and productive collaborations in popular music history. In 1961, the band, now called the "Silver Beatles," with pal George Harrison on lead guitar, caught the attention of Liverpool record store owner, Brian Epstein, who became their manager. "Silver" was soon dropped from their name and their wardrobe upgraded to suits and ties. Pete Best, their drummer, was sacked and replaced by Ringo Starr, who had been a member of a rival Liverpool group. After being rejected by almost all of the major record labels in England, the band was signed to EMI in 1962. George Martin, who was accustomed to recording comedy records, became their producer. In 1964 the band won over America with five top singles with McCartney singing lead; "Yesterday" and "Michelle," both Grammy-winning songs. In 1966 the band quite performing live and chose to experiment in the studio and make more sophisticated recordings that were difficult to reproduce on-stage. By 1970 the Beatles were finished. Tensions exploded when McCartney refused to be managed by Allen Klein, whom the other three had picked to handle their money. In 1970 he released his first solo album, "McCartney." His second album, "Ram", was credited to "Paul and Linda McCartney". McCartney's intention was to include his wife on all future musical collaborations and invited her to join his next band, "Wings." She played keyboards and sang backup. They won a Grammy for the 1974 album "Band on the Run." In 1981 McCartney was arrested for marijuana possession while touring Japan. Linda was busted on the same charge in 1984 upon the family's return from Barbados. A successful world tour in the 90's helped bring back his flagging popularity. In 1997 the three surviving Beatles reunited for a TV special "The Beatles Anthology" to promote a three volume retrospective of their work. On 3/11/97 McCartney received a knighthood. He was married in March 1969 to American photographer, animal rights activist and vegetarian Linda Eastman. Their 29-year marriage produced three kids whom they raised in the remote countryside of Sussex: Mary, 28, Stella, 27 and James, 21 and Linda's daughter, Heather, 36. Linda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in December 1995 after a malignant tumor was removed. She soon began chemotherapy and by July 1997, with her hair grown back, she seemed on the road to recovery. In March 1998, tests revealed the cancer had spread to her liver. After an exceptionally sound and caring marriage, he lost her to breast cancer on 4/17/98, Tucson, AZ. Paul had a devastated period of mourning, wading through grief and loss for several years. In June 1998 he attended a Manhattan gallery opening of an exhibit of Linda's photographs and by fall had prepared for the release of a predominantly instrumental album of ambient music using the pseudonym "The Fireman." He led a campaign to promote Linda's posthumous solo album "Wild Prairie." In March 1999 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo performer and in April, 1999 joined a chorus of stars to sing "Let It Be" at a charity concert in Linda's memory. In March 2000, McCartney confirmed that he and 32-year-old Heather Mills were "an item." A former swimsuit model, Mills lost her left leg below the knee when she was run over by a London motorcycle cop in 1993 and is now an advocate for land-mine victims. On 3/31/2001, media announced that McCartney had bought a $4 million, 4,700-square-foot house in the Hollywood Hills from Courtney Love. They married at a posh ceremony in Ireland on 6/11/2002. Acting very much the proud papa, the musician provided an elegant, media-free wedding for his 31-year-old daughter Stella on August 30, 2003 on the Scottish Isle of Bute. Paul was accompanied by his seven-months-pregnant wife, Heather Mills, age 35. On November 1, 2004, the prolific musician released another memoir, this one entitled "Each One Believing: On Stage, Off Stage and Backstage" and it is a personal account of his prior world tour. He became a grandfather on February 25, 2005 when his daughter Stella gave birth to a baby boy early in the morning in London. The baby's name is Miller Alasdhair James Willis. On May 17, 2006, McCartney and Heather Mills announced that they have separated. The divorce proceedings were widely covered in the media, with each hurling accusations at the other, including at least one accusation of Paul's "dark side" where he was overly controlling and hit her. McCartney married again, this time to Nancy Shevell. The pair had met in the Hamptons (New York) in 2007; they exchanged vows in London on October 9, 2011. Link to Wikipedia biography