Paul. When you left the Oakland Arena on 5/8/22 in your bus. I was the guy holding up my guitar Hoping you could sign it. I saw you look at me and I knew that you couldn’t stop. But I had to try. You are my hero. I’m 64 years old and I will listen to your music since I was six years old. I love you buddy

Imagine sitting right next to Paul McCartney as he demonstrates and explains how he came up with a legendary Beatles song.

Always enlightening when an artist of this magnitude reveals some of the behind-the-scenes information about how their compositions came into being.

The Bach piece is Bourree in E minor from a lute suite. It was also covered by Jethro Tull on one of their early albums.

"I'm not prepared" *Proceeds to play flawlessly*

As a composer and musician, the world will be sad when this man passes. He is right up there with Mozart and Beethoven.

He has greatest bass lines of all time, piano lines, guitar lines, vocal lines. This guy were a miracle

"Blackbird" is clearly one of the greatest songs ever.

Just saw him the day before yesterday. Took my girlfriend and she cried and she is not a big Beatles fan like I am. She wasn't prepared to experience the life altering power of seeing a Beatle perform. I got a little teary preshow but I kept it together, not my first rodeo but it's always an ethereal experience.

Theres something so amazing about watching someone who is a master in their field, just do what they do. You can see the genius and true skill of what make them so great. Watching Paul with a guitar in his hand or at the piano is like watching Bob Ross paint a landscape.

imagine he accidentally gave him a right-handed guitar 😂

Musical genius confirmed

The success this man has enjoyed is almost immeasurable. I was just a 9-10 year old when I became aware of The Beatles, after watching them on “Scene at 6.30”. I was electrified from the word go…..nearly 60 years ago! My parents and grand parents grumbled about “who are these….Beatles?” and “they’ll be forgotten in a year”. Then slowly they became accepted as the loveable mop tops. Their incredible success in the USA was difficult for anyone to ignore, as British pop artists were always expected to flop there. Later in the 60s and the guys experimented with new sounds and a less loveable look/appearance, the press started to predict again their fall and demise. When Sgt Pepper was released they sort of became untouchable as a band. The sound and concept was so different! In school (where I was a known Beatlemaniac) so many boys approached proclaiming this incredible work in reverential terms. For many of my male schoolmates at the time it was cooler, in their minds to publicly proclaim the Stones as the best. Pepper produced a massive conversion across age, class and culture barriers. Even if they retained loyalty to others, acceptance of The Beatles as head and shoulders above the rest was widespread. In the last few years of the band John (Lennon) became a popular target of the press. They hunted him and Yoko as they did Diana many years later, but their treatment of him was so much more negative and disgusting! (Listen to “the ballad of John and Yoko). When they finally announced their split I always felt it was the right time. I’m glad they never reformed as a band (or a group as we called it then). Their body of work across 7-8 years was of such a high standard and so prolific, that it may never be matched. All these years later we still have Paul and Ringo touring and sharing insights from their phenomenally successful time together. I will continue to enjoy it, while we have them, or while I still can and reflect on that time when they were still regarded as a flash in the pan! Thank you John, Paul, George and Ringo.

I just saw him at Oakland arena too. My life is complete now. So glad I had that opportunity for my biggest hero in music to play in front of me. Legend

That's all that was needed. We have his recordings. We want to hear him talk.

As talented and famous as he is, it's wonderful to see him like this and how humble he actually is.

This perfectly illustrates exactly why Lennon & McCartney have been such prolific and great songwriters. Blackbird is a beautiful little tune.

When Paul & John get together they were magical in creating great songs. George of course was a genuis as well in putting out great songs. Miss both John & George.

Now we know, that song is a miracle inspired by Bach. One of the best songs ever written.

Paul plays flawlessly and sings accordingly too, still the musician in him says bro you ain't prepared you ain't worth shit 😂 what a curse to be an artist

I love how it's just an old dude strumming on some strings and then for a brief second while he is playing BB he starts singing and it's like magic, in an instant.

The piece he’s referring to is Bouree in E minor by Bach.

I love his honesty. We've all heard licks, riffs etc and adapted them into our own tunes. Subconsciously a lot of the time.

Nothing but love for this man. He has truly gifted me.

Paul McCartney may be the coolest guy on the planet.

Arguably our era's Mozart, in terms of the sheer genius of his melodies, harmonies, and instant and universal likeability of his compositions. A once-in-a-century (or more) talent...his music will be listened to centuries from now.

I always thought Blackbird had a classical music sound and it's wonderful here to see Paul allude to Bach as an inspiration for Blackbird. One of my favorite pianists says that to classical musicians, "Bach is the sun". And beyond the guitar playing and song construction, Paul's superior lyrical and vocal abilities make him a nonpareil rock musician.

I love Paul. He is such a down to Earth good guy. I get no hint of over blown ego.

Paul is one of the best singer -songwriters ever! Thank you for the music ! (Yes I am a ABBA fan too). Greetings from Sweden!

“You were only waiting for this moment to arrive” I always tell myself that I can’t wait for the day where I can sing those lyrics and actually mean it

And so was born one of the greatest most well known finger picking songs of all time x

I think he could say almost anything and the audience would applaud and cheer.

After watching The Beatles Disney flick, I'm convinced Paul was the the driving force behind their musical success. I can remember hearing them on diner jukeboxes in the early 60's.

Uno de los mejores músicos, intérpretes y compositores de la historia. Un genio

My uncle played this at a family gathering when I was young and since then it's been stuck with me. It's such a great tune

Look how just a portion of a song made everyone's day there. Thank you for taking the guitar, Paul.

What an artiste. I remember walking around a Christmas toy fair in Liverpool with "I wanna hold your hand" playing in 1965. I was 5 minutes by car from where Paul lived - I was 9 at the time.

.....Just three chords and this guy opens up a world. God Bless Him. Carus Alambra :-)

Hello 🤩 Paul..it's blessing see you again..plucking so beautiful ❤️ tune..wish you longivity n happy you always forever young n handsomely ever more with your ❤️ soul..........

this is awesome. I learned that little Bach song before learning Blackbird when I was like 12/13. I always thought they were very similar and got them mixed up lol so awesome to see that's how he came up with it.

Someone I know has worked as his bodyguard. He said you couldn’t meet a nicer, kinder more down to earth person. He seems to be a peace with who he is in the world and walks easily amongst us, thankful for all he has been able to do. Unlike other stars, who are constantly griping about their stardom. I would say the same about Ringo being at peace with who he is.

When Paul started playing Bach's Bouree in E Minor, I immediately remembered Jack Black singing over it.

Absolutely brilliant, and he even did that left handed. Imagine what he could do the right way round.

That was awesome and so Bach helped with Blackbird and as it goes with music- Blackbird and Paul helped legions of other songwriters who adapted Blackbird into countless other songs.

That band! Those guys! They have more talent in their nail clippings than most contain in their whole bodies. Would never get bored listening to them.

Just an absolute genius there is no other way to describe him

We were only waiting for this moment to arise. Good go!

I have played guitar mainly acoustic since I was 14 years old. I'm now 59 and have only just discovered Pauls guitar version or original chord progressions to some of the great songs from back then. Step inside Love, the tune they gave to Cilla Black is one that I love and learned to play. There is an audio of him playing it with Cilla singing it to him playing it on acoustic guitar on KZfaq. He did incorporate some jazzy chords in his stuff, so I wasn't surprised he medled with Bach as well.

Lindsey Buckingham plays great fingerstyle too. He is self-taught also.. has a very distinctive style. So go check him out, if you haven't already!

Rubber Soul was one of my first vinyl records. I listening to it over and over, along with The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Rollingstones and more. I started my own first band in 1979. Today, l am still making music. I owe a lot to all my early listening. Thank you Paul. 🎶❤️

Sir Paul's explanation of how he came up with one of his classic tunes is very entertaining.

Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix were two people I would use as examples when people would try to tell me to play right-handed!

Bach's music has inspired not only Beatles, but the whole 18th, 19th and 20th century music

He is the Mozart - or should I say Bach? - of our times. We're blessed to be living alongside him.

That classical was Bouree. A great song itself. Jethro Tull did a great version of it on their second album Stand Up.

Este hombre es leyenda. Un genio como pocos

Paul is Rock royalty and you know that anyone who is with him on any show and it could be anyone, must be in awe of him. A Beatle for Christs sakes! I so envy these people. He was my favorite Beatle for years until John surpassed him, but he is still just so mesmerizing as a person.

My only claim to fame : my brother and I stood next to him at the “June Show” in Campbeltown in ‘77 and he said hello lads. Goose bumps to this day.

My favourite Beatles song, and now I know its' background - thank you.

As someone else once said to him......."So it's actually Bach-Bird"

Paul is such a gem

Paul es un caso excepcional de artista, excelente músico, toca varios instrumentos y a gran nivel, tiene una voz preciosa, con amplios rangos vocales, escribe, compone, musicaliza e inmortaliza canciones que pasan de generación en generación, sencillamente un genio en toda la extensión de la palabra, difícil encontrar alguien que lo supere.

The most beautiful song ever made ❤️

Can't you see he's the man Let me hear you applaud He is more than a man He's a shiny golden god!

He's one of the rock stars that rock stars swoon over like the fans of rock stars.

What a dream it must be to make such music, he was meant to be a star

A random link sent me here and now I'm just crying.... We're here while HE'S here. What a miraculous thing that is.

Genius.....no need for more words

The piece he is referring to is Bourrée in E minor - Jethro Tull actually released an adaptation of the start of this piece (entitled Bourée)

Paul is brilliant. He's my favourite musician 👍🏻💯

We who were alive during the time that the Beatles were creating music for the first time are among the luckiest humans, musically. That such talent was available to us, to see created, for the first time in a multimedia way (albums, radio, TV), was remarkable. We are all the better for the Beatles.

Paul has always gotten flak for his "granny music" tendencies, but he persevered long enough for us to eventually recognise that he just has an appreciation and aptitude to absorb and incorporate everything he's heard in his life. He transcends cool.

From the few tens of thousands of us who play that on guitar, we thank you

Love this. The coolest thing is I taught myself to play BOTH Bourrée in E minor AND Blackbird in the same month :)

Can't you see he's the man, Let me hear you applaud, He is more than a man He's a shiny golden god

The greatest overall musician and songwriter to ever walk the face of the earth

You can tell as soon as his head starts bobbing when he plays blackbird he's thinking. "I'm a fucking genius"

I will always love that song

Wow as a classical trained guitarist, I had no idea that Blackbird came from Bouree 😱

Blackbird is an excellent example of a Beatles song that slowly increased in popularity . It was not considered in the Beatles top 5 greatest songs but it is hard to find any ranking of their best songs that does not include it . I consider myself a amateur Beatles historian and have ready probably 50 books or more about the Beatles or an individual recording artists. Regarding Blackbird , Paul regularly talks about it as a protest song or a song about black rights--while this may be true…I can not find any reference in all of those books I have read. While that doe snot mean that Paul made it up, I have only heard him reference this on interviews he has done in the last 10-15 years. If anyone has a better memory or can cite an earlier reference, please share it. I have hear many people discuss how many artists (including Macca) have a tendency to document their history, origins of music and then the play it back again and again Ana again during interviews. Would not surprise me if this was. anew revelation that was added to the rotation

Thank you Maestro!!

Blackbird is such a beautiful song ❤️

Makes sense that the Bouree in E Minor by Bach would prove an inspiration to those guys. Jethro Tull also drew on it nicely, as did Tenacious D. How about that? I just went from the sublime to the ridiculous! But, all in good fun.

It’s ironic how he says it’s a fingerpicking style that he’s not very good at, yet most guitar players have a really hard time playing Blackbird correctly 😅 oh Paul… so modest

This song always brings tears to my eyes. Love it.

So informative ❤

I love How incredible ‘not brilliant’ the Beatles were, until they put it all together and made magic!

One of the most talented musicians ever🎸🎶🎹🎤🎼

Wow. How he just breaks into that Bach bit is amazing

Omygooodness 😢one of my favorite of all songs

I dont think I could stop from passing out if he sat next to me and played Blackbird !!!!

What a legend.

How he derived the 'bridge' or B section to this is even more amazing; with that G drone throughout it, leave alone throughout A section,..and how it all resolves to G Maj. so well...

I saw the Beatles at the Chicago Amphitheator in 1967. Great seats, like 20th row in front of the stage. I was only 13 but still remember Paul stepping up alone and singing "Yesterday" in the spotlight. They were wearing purple suits and my Mother gave me a fork that Ringo ate with (gross) at the ??? Restaurant (on the tip of my tongue?) next door before the concert. Top that one Pilgrims!

Best composer ever. Face it.

A true genius in our time...

Man, what a treat that was.

My Pauly, always makes the audience to fall in love with him, generation after generation

What a remarkable talent Paul McCartney possesses.

Can't you see he's the man? Let me hear you applaud! He is more than a man, he's a shiny golden god!