Sir Paul McCartney in Letterman

David Letterman interviewed Sir Paul McCartney in July 2009. I watched the show again when it was recently repeated. The interview was interesting, if a bit awkward at times. It started with Dave Letterman asking why this was the first time they could get Paul on the show, after trying to sign him for 25 years. Paul said that he didn’t like the show. This was probably a prepared gag. But it started to feel a little true after Paul asked Dave a couple of questions and Letterman just ignored them and went on to the next question he had prepared. McCartney also kindly criticized Letterman for not reading his cue cards correctly, when there was a running order mishap.

I’m not sure if Letterman’s stumbles were simply because he didn’t have a witty retort ready or because the little star caught his eye. That may sound ridiculous, since he meets famous people every night. But Paul McCartney is different; he’s an important part of his youth for people Letterman’s age. Paul has always struck me as the ultimate handler of the media, especially television. Which is not surprising considering that he was there in his childhood and was a very important part of his growth and development. I remember him being interviewed on UK television in the 1980s by a very experienced newsreader and presenter, Sue Lawley. She was a very cool lady, but she fluttered like a schoolgirl when she interviewed McCartney and he just sat there being cool and charming and witty. It was the first time he noticed that celebrities can be intimidated by other celebrities.

This show was 45 years after Paul first appeared at the Ed Sullivan Theater with The Beatles, on the show that broke ratings records on American television. Paul told the story of standing behind a curtain waiting to perform Yesterday, when the stage manager asked him if he was nervous, he said “No” and the stage manager replied “You should be, there are 73 million people watching.” Letterman told him that he wouldn’t have to worry about that tonight.

Paul played two songs, including Get Back, which we watched, on the theater marquee, to a huge crowd in the streets below. His voice has weakened in his old age, but it’s good to see that he still loves to rock out.

That being said about Paul’s voice, I recently discovered a clip of him playing Lady Madonna on Later with Jools Holland from around the same time. He had a fine voice and also played an excellent piano. I think Later with Jools Holland is the best music show on TV today and maybe that made him up his game, to show some of these young people that he still has it. If you haven’t seen the video, you can find it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPwLnGQzKEg Keep an eye out for Paul’s daughters Stella and Mary.