<p id=”par-1_48″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/paul-mccartney/”>Paul McCartney</a> knew how to write hit songs <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-said-the-beatles-over-met-yoko-ono.html/”>without The Beatles</a> — he just struggled to write good hit songs without The Beatles! Only one of his solo No. 1 singles is genuinely worthwhile. Let’s take a look at what makes one track stand out in Paul’s discography.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-most-of-paul-mccartney-s-big-songs-were-boring-or-terrible”>Most of Paul McCartney’s big songs were boring or terrible</h2>
<p id=”par-2_78″>After The Beatles broke up, Paul had nine No. 1 singles on the <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/artist/paul-mccartney/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard Hot 100</a>. They were <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/1-historical-figure-inspired-paul-mccartneys-uncle-albert-admiral-halsey.html/?swcfpc=1″>“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,”</a> “My Love,” “Band on the Run,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” “Silly Love Songs,” “With a Little Luck,” “Coming Up,” “Ebony and Ivory,” <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/say-say-say-led-michael-jackson-buy-neverland-ranch.html/”>and “Say Say Say.”</a> Some of those songs are passable radio filler, like “My Love” and “Listen to What the Man Said.” Others are bad, such as “Coming Up” and “Ebony and Ivory.”</p>
<p id=”par-3_68″>The only truly great song on the list is “Band on the Run.” Paul released other awesome songs without The Beatles, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-wrote-maybe-im-amazed-linda-mccartney-said-not-just-anymore.html/”>including “Maybe I’m Amazed,”</a> “Live and Let Die,” and “Jet.” However, those tracks didn’t reach No. 1. During the 1970s and 1980s, audiences in the United States were too obsessed with gutless, easy-listening music to give many of Paul’s good tracks a chance to top the charts.</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Paul McCartney & Wings ‘Band on the Run’ (Lyric Video)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/yDzhrO5K02c?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-why-the-song-hits-a-sweet-spot-in-paul-mccartney-s-discography”>Why the song hits a sweet spot in Paul McCartney’s discography</h2>
<p id=”par-4_44″>Part of why “Band on the Run” works is that it hit a sweet spot between being traditional and experimental. It has some good old-fashioned hooks while drawing some elements from progressive rock. This made it unique in Paul’s catalog of No. 1 singles.</p>
<p id=”par-5_52″>Tracks like “My Love” and “Ebony and Ivory” don’t have many surprises. Meanwhile, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” and “Coming Up” are so bonkers that it’s hard to know how to react to them. “Band on the Run” is the sort of song that regular pop listeners and serious music fans can both enjoy.</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey (Medley)” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Y8fDsU0hX8?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-said-song-the-beatles-white-album-1-best-melodies.html/”>
Paul McCartney Said a Song From The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ Has 1 of His Best Melodies </a>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-the-former-beatle-was-thinking-when-he-wrote-band-on-the-run”>What the former Beatle was thinking when he wrote ‘Band on the Run’</h2>
<p id=”par-6_114″>In a 2024 interview with <a href=”https://www.paulmccartney.com/news/you-gave-me-the-answer-celebrating-50-years-of-band-on-the-run” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>PaulMcCartney.com</a>, Paul was asked if he knew “Band on the Run” would become the title track of an album when he wrote it. “I don’t think so, no,” he replied. “Those kinds of things — album titles and artwork — normally come later on in the process. I just wrote a bunch of songs, which luckily I remembered, because the demos got stolen! ‘Band on the Run’ was always going to be the big, epic track on the album, but I didn’t necessarily know it was going to be the title. But it eventually comes to the surface, and I thought, ‘Well, that’s an obvious title. That’s the one.’” </p>
<p id=”par-7_94″>Paul discussed his use of the Moog synthesizer on the album <em>Band on the Run</em>. “I first used it all <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-put-word-pataphysical-the-beatles-abbey-road.html/”>on ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’</a> and it was very big, like computers in the old days were,” he said. “Then they brought out a thing called a mini-Moog, which was much more manageable. And that is the instrument that we used in Wings, and that Linda [McCartney] enjoyed playing. It’s just got such a great sound, and because it was new at the time nobody had really used it, so we loved trying it out.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_17″>“Band on the Run” was a milestone for Paul because of its commercial success and its quality.</p>