Sir Paul McCartney has revealed that no collaborator has ever compared to John Lennon, crediting their teenage friendship with creating one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in music history.
Speaking on the Song Exploder podcast, the former Beatle reflected on the unique relationship he shared with Lennon, admitting that every collaborator since has inevitably been measured against the standard they established together.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s partnership began as teenagers
McCartney was just 15 years old when he met a 16-year-old Lennon at a church fête in Woolton, Liverpool, in 1957.
Lennon was performing with his skiffle group, The Quarrymen, when the pair were introduced by their mutual friend Ivan Vaughan. After McCartney impressed Lennon by tuning his guitar and playing Eddie Cochran’s Twenty Flight Rock, the foundations were laid for what would become one of the most influential songwriting partnerships of all time.
Together, the pair would go on to write many of The Beatles’ most celebrated songs and help reshape popular music throughout the 1960s.
McCartney says no collaboration has felt the same
Reflecting on their creative relationship, McCartney explained that their songwriting developed naturally because they were learning the craft together.
“Working with John Lennon was something that happened when we were kids. Neither of us really knew how to write songs so it just grew organically.
“Because John and I had such a natural relationship that had matured together I’m inevitably comparing whoever the next person is that I’m writing with.”
Following The Beatles’ split in 1970, McCartney worked with a wide range of artists, including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Rihanna and Kanye West.
Yet he admits those collaborations never replicated the ease of working with Lennon.
“As time went on and The Beatles broke up and I was no longer writing with John I did try writing with a couple of other people.
“Having worked with John, now for someone to just come into the room we don’t necessarily know much about each other it does make it a bit harder, I must admit.”
How Andrew Watt helped shape McCartney’s latest album
While Lennon remains the benchmark, McCartney recently found a productive new creative partner in producer and songwriter Andrew Watt.
The pair worked closely on McCartney’s latest album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, sharing songwriting credits on five tracks, including Home to Us, which features fellow Beatle Ringo Starr.
McCartney recalled that their partnership began unexpectedly during a casual meeting at Watt’s Los Angeles studio.
“I met Andrew in LA. My manager said, ‘There’s this guy called Andrew Watt. Would you like to meet him?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’ve heard of him.’
“I didn’t particularly think we would work together. I thought let’s just see if we like each other.”
What started as a conversation quickly turned into a songwriting session.
“We were sitting around chatting. I started to show him a couple of ideas just in general conversation. He followed on, so we were just sitting there throwing ideas around and we writing the first song on the album.
“That was it. We just met, cup of tea and a song appeared. Kind of lucky, really.”
Trusting a modern producer’s instincts
McCartney also revealed that one of the album’s songs evolved after he encouraged Watt to bring a more contemporary production approach to the track.
“Andrew, look, one of the reasons I got with you is because you’re a pop producer and I’m waiting for you to pop these songs up. What are you going to do with them?”
According to McCartney, Watt initially held back out of respect for the songwriting.
“He said, ‘Well, I’m just letting you lead the song.’
“I said, ‘Well, you shouldn’t.'”
The result was a track that blended McCartney’s songwriting with Watt’s modern pop sensibilities. Listen here:
