Nearly 50 years have passed since The Beatles called it quits, but their legacy remains very much alive. The band pushed boundaries and helped define pop music in an era still coming to terms with the genre.
The Beatles have been hailed as one of the world's greatest rock 'n roll bands and continue to inspire countless artists. Despite all this, Paul McCartney does not see himself as a famous icon.
"I am still that little kid that grew up in Liverpool," he said on "The Late Show," revisiting The Beatles' golden years and sharing personal accounts with show host Stephen Colbert, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"I got really famous but I'm here. I'm still that little kid."
The "kid" that he referred to grew up surrounded by music. McCartney's family was passionate about music and this rubbed off on him.
"My family was very musical. We would have musical evenings," McCartney recalled. His childhood was predominantly a happy one but then at age 14, his mother died suddenly. McCartney found solace in music.
"To lose your mom at 14 is not easy," he said. "It was difficult for a few years just trying to come to terms with it but then I found music ... and John [Lennon]. John lost his mother too."
The two musicians went on to form a bond that many would later question. During the band’s later years, tension among the members began to mount, sparking rumors of an ongoing feud between Lennon and McCartney. It all came to a head when the band broke up in 1970 (Lennon signed paperwork to make the breakup official in 1974). McCartney said those latter years were a trying time for him.
"A lot of the talk was that I was the villain and that John and I didn't really get on well and I kind of bought into it," he said. Despite it all, McCartney said he and Lennon were friends and the death of his bandmate continues to haunt him today.
"I dream about him," he admitted. "When you've had a relationship like that for so long, such a deep relationship, I love when people revisit you in your dreams. I often have band dreams. I have a lot of dreams about John."
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