The Surprising Chord That Made "Penny Lane" a Masterpiece
In February of 1967, The Beatles released a groundbreaking double A-side single. On one side was a Lennon song, “Strawberry Fields Forever,” that had been transformed in the studio thanks to the contributions of the other Beatles along with producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick. On the other side, was McCartney’s imaginary stroll down one of Liverpool’s main thoroughfares, “Penny Lane.”
When a Beatle Wrote with Elvis
In 1987, Paul McCartney acted on a suggestion by his then manager and invited Elvis Costello to be his songwriting partner. Their work together would produce a number of finely crafted songs, including Elvis’ biggest single in the U.S. and McCartney’s last top 40 hit.