CBS has announced that Paul McCartney will appear in his first ever 60 Minutes profile this Sunday at 7:30pm ET (7:00pm PT). The former Beatle shares intimate details from his time in the band and his subsequent decades as one of the biggest stars in music. He even delves into his rivalry with John Lennon.
McCartney acknowledges that he and Lennon were quite competitive with each other, but their one-upmanship style of collaboration helped to create their biggest and most enduring hits. He also recalls that Lennon only complimented him once on his songwriting – for the song “Here, There and Everywhere” on the 1966 album Revolver.
Related: Watch Recently Revealed Footage of John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?”
“Once John gave me a compliment. It was only once the whole time,” McCartney tells correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. “John says just as it finishes, ‘That’s a really good song, lad. I love that song.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes! He likes it!’ The praise made a deep impression…I’ve remembered it to this day, It’s pathetic, really.”
In spite of their fierce rivalry McCartney says that he was a bit more generous with his praise for Lennon’s writing. “I would tell him his stuff was great. You’d normally have to be a little bit drunk. It helped.”
The interview was filmed over two days at McCartney’s recording studio in the south of England. During that time McCartney spoke nostalgically about the band’s famous last concert on top of the Apple Building in London in 1969. He also shared stories behind several Beatles photos, including the one on the cover Abbey Road and another one of him and Lennon that he calls, “Very special for me…We’re obviously just two mates.”
Click here to watch a preview of the interview.
McCartney’s new album Egypt Station was released September 7th on Capitol Records. You check out the music video for the album’s first single “Fuh You” here.
