James McCartney
Encyclopedia
James Louis McCartney is a British musician and songwriter living in London
. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney
and Linda McCartney
. He has contributed to a number of solo albums by his parents, including Flaming Pie
(1997) and Driving Rain
(2001) by Paul McCartney and Wide Prairie
(1998) by Linda McCartney.
His first solo EP, Available Light
, was released in September 2010 to positive reviews. A second EP, Close at Hand, was released shortly after. The solo album The Complete EP Collection is slated for release November 2011.
on September 12, 1977
. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney
and Paul's first wife, Linda McCartney
. He was named after both his paternal grandfather Jim McCartney
and his father, whose full name is James Paul McCartney, as well as Linda's late mother, heiress Louise Linder Eastman
.
He spent the first two and a half years of his life on the road while his parents toured with their band Wings
. After the band broke up in 1980, the McCartney family settled in Rye, East Sussex
. He attended the local state secondary school, the Thomas Peacocke Community College.
He has stated his earliest inspiration to learn guitar was Michael J Fox in Back to the Future
. He began playing music when his father gave him a Fender Stratocaster
at age nine. The guitar had previously been owned by Carl Perkins
.
In 1989, McCartney, with his older sisters Mary McCartney
and Stella McCartney
, again joined Paul and Linda on a world tour. He continued his education with a tutor while on the road.
In 1993, at age 16, while surfing with friends, he was swept out to sea. Coast-guard was called and his family rushed to the site, but he emerged safe on his own forty minutes later. In 1995, James introduced his sister Mary to television producer Alistair Donald, whom she would later marry.
On 17 April 1998, in Tucson, Arizona
, James, along with his father and sisters, was at his mother's side when she died from breast cancer, which had been diagnosed in 1995. Later that year, McCartney graduated from Bexhill College
, near his home in East Sussex, where he pursued studies in A Level Art and sculpture.
, including Flaming Pie
(1997) and Driving Rain
(2001), as well as co-writing a few songs. On Flaming Pie he has an electric guitar solo on the track "Heaven on a Sunday." On Driving Rain, he co-wrote the songs "Spinning On An Axis" and "Back In The Sunshine Again" with his father, and played percussion on the former track and guitar on the latter.
He also plays lead guitar on his mother's posthumously released solo album, Wide Prairie
(1998), which included tracks recorded privately over the previous twenty years.
In 2004 he again left the McCartney family home and began living in a flat in Brighton
, where he waited tables while he attended college and worked on his music. In 2005, he accompanied Paul during his 'US' Tour
.
Around 2008, he began working with David Kahne
, his father, and a number of other musicians on recording his own music. He made his US performing debut with his own original solo material on November 14, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
, during the Fourth Annual David Lynch
Weekend for World Peace and Meditation in Fairfield, Iowa
. He performed under the pseudonym Light.
was McCartney's first official release as both a performer and songwriter. The EP included four original songs composed by James as well as a cover of Neil Young
’s classic "Old Man
". In addition to composing the songs and singing, he plays electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano and bass on the recordings. Produced by David Kahne
and Paul McCartney, the EP was recorded between Sussex, London and New York over the previous year, including Abbey Road Studios
.
He stated "The music was inspired by The Beatles
, Nirvana
, The Cure
, PJ Harvey
, Radiohead
— and all good music. It is basically rock n' roll, clean sounding and vocal. The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one's life, and many other things."
He previewed tracks from Available Light when he toured the UK for the first time in February and March 2010,
though he at first performed under a pseudonym. The album was released electronically September 2010 on Blake Morgan
's Engine Company Records
, to positive reviews.
Close at Hand, his second EP, was released in 2011.
called the opening track, "Angel," a "light and cheerful pop track."
AntiMusic dubbed the release "whimsical and reflective, sharp-witted and affectionate. Full of smart, engaging pop songwriting."
, James lives a relatively private life, unlike his sisters Stella
, a fashion designer, and Mary
, a photographer. James has a much younger half-sister, Beatrice Milly McCartney, born in 2003 to Paul and his second wife Heather Mills. James has six nephews and two nieces.
He is a professed vegan in honor of his mother, an animal rights
activist.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
. He has contributed to a number of solo albums by his parents, including Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie is an album by Paul McCartney, first released in 1997. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful The Beatles Anthology project. In Flaming Pies liner notes McCartney said: " reminded me of The Beatles'...
(1997) and Driving Rain
Driving Rain
Driving Rain is the twelfth studio album by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 2001 it has now sold 2 million copies globally. It is his first studio album since publicly announcing his relationship with former model and anti-land mines activist Heather Mills, whom McCartney would marry in 2002...
(2001) by Paul McCartney and Wide Prairie
Wide Prairie
Wide Prairie is a posthumous compilation by Linda McCartney. The album was compiled and released in 1998 by Paul McCartney after his wife's death, after a fan wrote in enquiring about "Seaside Woman"; a reggae beat type song which Wings had recorded in 1977, under the name Suzy and the Red...
(1998) by Linda McCartney.
His first solo EP, Available Light
Available Light (James McCartney EP)
Available Light is the debut EP by James McCartney, son of Paul and Linda McCartney. The EP was produced by David Kahne and Paul McCartney, and released on ....
, was released in September 2010 to positive reviews. A second EP, Close at Hand, was released shortly after. The solo album The Complete EP Collection is slated for release November 2011.
Early life
James Louis McCartney was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on September 12, 1977
1977 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....
. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Paul's first wife, Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
. He was named after both his paternal grandfather Jim McCartney
Jim and Mary McCartney
James "Jim" McCartney and Mary Patricia McCartney were the parents of musician, author and artist Paul McCartney of The Beatles and Wings, and photographer and musician Mike McCartney, who worked with The Scaffold.Like many families in Liverpool, the McCartney and Mohin families are of...
and his father, whose full name is James Paul McCartney, as well as Linda's late mother, heiress Louise Linder Eastman
Louise Linder
Louise Sara Lindner Eastman was the wife of entertainment lawyer Lee Eastman. She was the daughter of Stella and Max J. Lindner, the founder of the Lindner Company, a women's clothing store in Cleveland, Ohio...
.
He spent the first two and a half years of his life on the road while his parents toured with their band Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
. After the band broke up in 1980, the McCartney family settled in Rye, East Sussex
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
. He attended the local state secondary school, the Thomas Peacocke Community College.
He has stated his earliest inspiration to learn guitar was Michael J Fox in Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
. He began playing music when his father gave him a Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
at age nine. The guitar had previously been owned by Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
.
In 1989, McCartney, with his older sisters Mary McCartney
Mary McCartney
Mary Anna McCartney is a photographer. The first biological child of rock photographer Linda Eastman McCartney and Paul McCartney of The Beatles, Mary was named after her paternal grandmother, Mary McCartney....
and Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
, again joined Paul and Linda on a world tour. He continued his education with a tutor while on the road.
In 1993, at age 16, while surfing with friends, he was swept out to sea. Coast-guard was called and his family rushed to the site, but he emerged safe on his own forty minutes later. In 1995, James introduced his sister Mary to television producer Alistair Donald, whom she would later marry.
On 17 April 1998, in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, James, along with his father and sisters, was at his mother's side when she died from breast cancer, which had been diagnosed in 1995. Later that year, McCartney graduated from Bexhill College
Bexhill College
Bexhill College is a sixth form college with a long history of average post 16 education. In September 2004, the college moved into brand new buildings situated in Penland Road, Bexhill-On-Sea...
, near his home in East Sussex, where he pursued studies in A Level Art and sculpture.
Music career
James has played guitar and drums on some of his father's solo albumsPaul McCartney discography
This article presents the complete discography of Paul McCartney as a solo artist and as a member of Wings.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-Classical albums:-Soundtrack albums:-Other albums:-Promotional and limited release albums:...
, including Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie
Flaming Pie is an album by Paul McCartney, first released in 1997. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful The Beatles Anthology project. In Flaming Pies liner notes McCartney said: " reminded me of The Beatles'...
(1997) and Driving Rain
Driving Rain
Driving Rain is the twelfth studio album by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 2001 it has now sold 2 million copies globally. It is his first studio album since publicly announcing his relationship with former model and anti-land mines activist Heather Mills, whom McCartney would marry in 2002...
(2001), as well as co-writing a few songs. On Flaming Pie he has an electric guitar solo on the track "Heaven on a Sunday." On Driving Rain, he co-wrote the songs "Spinning On An Axis" and "Back In The Sunshine Again" with his father, and played percussion on the former track and guitar on the latter.
He also plays lead guitar on his mother's posthumously released solo album, Wide Prairie
Wide Prairie
Wide Prairie is a posthumous compilation by Linda McCartney. The album was compiled and released in 1998 by Paul McCartney after his wife's death, after a fan wrote in enquiring about "Seaside Woman"; a reggae beat type song which Wings had recorded in 1977, under the name Suzy and the Red...
(1998), which included tracks recorded privately over the previous twenty years.
In 2004 he again left the McCartney family home and began living in a flat in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, where he waited tables while he attended college and worked on his music. In 2005, he accompanied Paul during his 'US' Tour
The 'US' Tour
The US Tour was Paul McCartney's third North American concert tour of the 21st century. This was in promotion of 2005's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray, Paul "Wix" Wickens, and Abe Laboriel Jr. returned as the backing band, the first to fully remain intact for more...
.
Around 2008, he began working with David Kahne
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
, his father, and a number of other musicians on recording his own music. He made his US performing debut with his own original solo material on November 14, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
The Fairfield Arts & Convention Center is a performing arts, convention and meeting, visual arts, and arts education facility, located at Briggs and Main Streets in downtown Fairfield, Iowa...
, during the Fourth Annual David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
Weekend for World Peace and Meditation in Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...
. He performed under the pseudonym Light.
Solo EPs
Available LightAvailable Light (James McCartney EP)
Available Light is the debut EP by James McCartney, son of Paul and Linda McCartney. The EP was produced by David Kahne and Paul McCartney, and released on ....
was McCartney's first official release as both a performer and songwriter. The EP included four original songs composed by James as well as a cover of Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
’s classic "Old Man
Old Man (song)
"Old Man" is a song written and performed by Neil Young on his 1972 album Harvest.The song was written for the caretaker of the Northern California Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for $350,000 in 1970. The song compares a young man's life to an old man's and shows that the young man has,...
". In addition to composing the songs and singing, he plays electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano and bass on the recordings. Produced by David Kahne
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
and Paul McCartney, the EP was recorded between Sussex, London and New York over the previous year, including Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
.
He stated "The music was inspired by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
— and all good music. It is basically rock n' roll, clean sounding and vocal. The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one's life, and many other things."
He previewed tracks from Available Light when he toured the UK for the first time in February and March 2010,
though he at first performed under a pseudonym. The album was released electronically September 2010 on Blake Morgan
Blake Morgan
Blake Morgan is an American musician, singer-songwriter, music producer, and record label owner based in New York City. After releasing the alternative rock solo album Anger's Candy on Phil Ramone's N2K Sony/Red label, he began producing music independently and founded the label Engine Company...
's Engine Company Records
Engine Company Records
Engine Company Records is a nationally and internationally distributed record label based in New York City, founded by recording artist and producer Blake Morgan.- History :...
, to positive reviews.
Close at Hand, his second EP, was released in 2011.
The Complete EP Collection
McCartney's The Complete EP Collection is to be released on November 22, 2011. The album combines the previous two EPs along with five new original tracks and two newcovers. It is his first physical release, the two individual EPs being digital only. Like the EPs, it was produced by Paul McCartney and David Kahne, and is being released by Engine Company Records. Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the opening track, "Angel," a "light and cheerful pop track."
AntiMusic dubbed the release "whimsical and reflective, sharp-witted and affectionate. Full of smart, engaging pop songwriting."
Personal life
Like his older half-sister Heather McCartneyHeather McCartney
Heather Louise McCartney was born in Tucson, Arizona to Linda McCartney and Joseph Melville See Jr., an American geologist. She is the adopted daughter of Paul McCartney.-Biography:...
, James lives a relatively private life, unlike his sisters Stella
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
, a fashion designer, and Mary
Mary McCartney
Mary Anna McCartney is a photographer. The first biological child of rock photographer Linda Eastman McCartney and Paul McCartney of The Beatles, Mary was named after her paternal grandmother, Mary McCartney....
, a photographer. James has a much younger half-sister, Beatrice Milly McCartney, born in 2003 to Paul and his second wife Heather Mills. James has six nephews and two nieces.
He is a professed vegan in honor of his mother, an animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activist.
Collaborations
- 1997: Flaming PieFlaming PieFlaming Pie is an album by Paul McCartney, first released in 1997. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded following McCartney's involvement in the highly successful The Beatles Anthology project. In Flaming Pies liner notes McCartney said: " reminded me of The Beatles'...
by Paul McCartney - 1998: Wide PrairieWide PrairieWide Prairie is a posthumous compilation by Linda McCartney. The album was compiled and released in 1998 by Paul McCartney after his wife's death, after a fan wrote in enquiring about "Seaside Woman"; a reggae beat type song which Wings had recorded in 1977, under the name Suzy and the Red...
by Linda McCartney - lead guitar - 2001: Driving RainDriving RainDriving Rain is the twelfth studio album by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 2001 it has now sold 2 million copies globally. It is his first studio album since publicly announcing his relationship with former model and anti-land mines activist Heather Mills, whom McCartney would marry in 2002...
by Paul McCartney
Solo albums
- 2010: Available Light EPAvailable Light (James McCartney EP)Available Light is the debut EP by James McCartney, son of Paul and Linda McCartney. The EP was produced by David Kahne and Paul McCartney, and released on ....
- 2011: Close At Hand EP
- 2011: The Complete EP Collection
External links
- James McCartney at Engine Company RecordsEngine Company RecordsEngine Company Records is a nationally and internationally distributed record label based in New York City, founded by recording artist and producer Blake Morgan.- History :...
- Photographs of James McCartney
- Available Light Video Trailer