{"id":36760,"date":"2017-06-18T19:45:29","date_gmt":"2017-06-18T23:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=36760"},"modified":"2017-06-18T19:45:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T23:45:29","slug":"happy-75th-to-my-almost-husband-paul-mccartney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/happy-75th-to-my-almost-husband-paul-mccartney\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy 75th to My Almost-Husband, Paul McCartney"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My almost-husband <a href=\"http:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2017\/06\/18\/paul-mccartneys-family-send-birthday-messages-as-their-daddy-cool-turns-75-6717595\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paul McCartney turned 75<\/a> today! I like <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/jewel-of-the-month-pearl-cufflinks-for-mrbs-birthday\/\" target=\"_blank\">that number<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ThrowbackOfTheDay?src=hash\">#ThrowbackOfTheDay<\/a>: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PaulMcCartney\">@PaulMcCartney<\/a> loved a selfie back in the &#39;60s <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KWDpn2WotS\">pic.twitter.com\/KWDpn2WotS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NME (@NME) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NME\/status\/876394162400231424\">June 18, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Sir Paul&#8217;s birthday reminds me that I&#8217;ve been meaning to write about the 50th anniversary of the Beatles album <em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band\" target=\"_blank\">Sgt. Pepper&#8217;s Lonely Hearts Club Band<\/a><\/em>. (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band\" target=\"_blank\">The release date was May 26, 1967, in the U.K., and June 2, 1967, in the U.S.<\/a>) Isn&#8217;t it remarkable that my almost-husband was part of something so culturally significant when he was only 25? Personally, I&#8217;m dreaming of doing something culturally significant by age 75, but I&#8217;d also be happy to make it to the &#8220;80 over 80&#8221; list. I left behind the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/30-under-30-2016\/#469cfc1a3afb\" target=\"_blank\">30 under 30<\/a>&#8221; list quite a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I appreciated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/30\/arts\/music\/beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-anniversary.html?\" target=\"_blank\">this recent New York Times piece about <em>Sgt. Pepper<\/em> by Jon Pareles<\/a>, particularly because of this point it made in the second paragraph:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;We simply can\u2019t hear &#8216;Sgt. Pepper&#8217; now the way it affected listeners on arrival in 1967. Its innovations and quirks have been too widely emulated, its oddities long since absorbed. Sounds that were initially startling \u2014 the Indian instruments and phrasing of George Harrison\u2019s &#8216;Within You Without You,&#8217; the tape-spliced steam-organ collage of &#8216;Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,&#8217; the orchestral vastnesses of \u201cA Day in the Life\u201d \u2014 have taken on a patina of nostalgia.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/wanderlust-2014-i-tuned-in-to-liverpool\/\" target=\"_blank\">It&#8217;s like what I wrote in 2014 after I visited Liverpool<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Recently, I heard someone say that the Beatles didn\u2019t accomplish anything all that radical musically. That they\u2019re kind of middle of the road.  It reminded me of the old story of the ignoramus who sees <em>Hamlet<\/em> and declares that Shakespeare is full of cliches. No! The originals only sound ordinary now because they were so influential that the entire culture imitated them. They SET the new standards. It\u2019s the same progression that clothing designer Charles James described in the fashion world:<\/p>\n<p>    &#8216;A great designer does not seek acceptance. He challenges popularity, and by the force of his own convictions renders popular in the end what the public hates at first sight.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Or as I say, &#8216;Never Is the Next New Thing\u2122&#8217;!&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/topic\/sgt-pepper-s-lonely-hearts-club-band\" target=\"_blank\">Rolling Stone did some special anniversary coverage of <em>Sgt. Pepper<\/em><\/a>. My favorite stories are about two of the women behind the songs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/features\/beatles-remembering-real-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-w482064\" target=\"_blank\">The real &#8220;Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,&#8221;<\/a> who, sadly, died of lupus in 2009.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/features\/meet-the-runaway-who-inspired-beatles-shes-leaving-home-w482360\" target=\"_blank\">Melanie Coe was the teen runaway who inspired &#8220;She&#8217;s Leaving Home.&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are links to other recommended reading, including additional Rolling Stone stories.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/lists\/the-beatles-sgt-peppers-the-story-behind-every-song-w485196\" target=\"_blank\">Rolling Stone&#8217;s track-by-track guide to <em>Sgt. Pepper<\/em><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/features\/inside-the-making-of-the-beatles-sgt-pepper-w484129\" target=\"_blank\">Inside the Making of <em>Sgt. Pepper<\/em><\/a>.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/news\/charts-50-years-later-beatles-sgt-pepper-back-in-top-3-w485804\" target=\"_blank\">Sgt. Pepper, back in the Top 3<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/06\/09\/arts\/music\/popcast-beatles-sgt-pepper-anniversary.html\" target=\"_blank\">Why We&#8217;re Still Listening to the Beatles&#8217; <em>Sgt. Pepper<\/a><\/em>.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The first photo in this post proves Paul was early to the selfie game. It turns out he was a pre-digital-camera photobomber too.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Paul McCartney photobombing George Harrison, 1960s <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZNQsxpOV0g\">pic.twitter.com\/ZNQsxpOV0g<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Lost In History (@HistoryToLearn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HistoryToLearn\/status\/871035274448453632\">June 3, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center><\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re wondering why I call Paul McCartney &#8220;my almost-husband,&#8221; scroll to the end of <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2007\/11\/few-of-my-favorite-things\/\" target=\"_blank\">this 2007 blog post<\/a>. (I&#8217;ve got more Paul-related posts <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?s=paul+mccartney+\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.) Earlier today, I contemplated retiring the &#8220;almost-husband&#8221; endearment in favor of <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4822795\/paul-mccartney-beatles-birthday-75\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fab Macca Wacky <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2008\/08\/mrb-gets-his-kicks-on-route-66\/\" target=\"_blank\">Thumbs Aloft<\/a><\/a> (<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4822795\/paul-mccartney-beatles-birthday-75\/\" target=\"_blank\">courtesy of Time Magazine&#8217;s Kostya Kennedy&#8217;s birthday tribute<\/a>). But any variation of the word &#8220;retire&#8221; doesn&#8217;t belong in the same sentence as &#8220;Paul McCartney&#8221; &#8212; that man is still touring! I&#8217;ll be stalking him at one of his Madison Square Garden concerts this September. You can&#8217;t get away from me, Paul McCartney!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My almost-husband Paul McCartney turned 75 today! I like that number. #ThrowbackOfTheDay: @PaulMcCartney loved a selfie back in the &#39;60s pic.twitter.com\/KWDpn2WotS &mdash; NME (@NME) June 18, 2017 Sir Paul&#8217;s birthday reminds me that I&#8217;ve been meaning to write about the 50th anniversary of the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper&#8217;s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (The release date&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/happy-75th-to-my-almost-husband-paul-mccartney\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[726,36,42],"tags":[937],"class_list":{"0":"post-36760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-art-entertainment","7":"category-beatles","8":"category-music","9":"tag-paul-mccartney","10":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36760"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36777,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36760\/revisions\/36777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}