Paul McCartney during his "Got Back" tour on June 16, 2022, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. AP
East Rutherford, NJ: Hard to think of a better way for Paul McCartney to celebrate his 80th birthday than by singing "Glory Days” onstage with Bruce Springsteen or being serenaded by some 60,000 well-wishers.
That's right, the "cute Beatle” turns 80 on Saturday, June 18. It's one of those cultural milestones that bring a sharp intake of breath - has it been THAT long? - along with an appreciation of what he still has to offer.
For it has been more than a half-century now since the Beatles broke up, a realization that hits you like that 1970s-era joke about young people saying, "Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?”
Another 1960s icon, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is scheduled to play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City on his 80th birthday.
"He has a youthful exuberance that is ageless,” said Bob Spitz, a Beatles biographer. "There's still some of that 21-year-old boy that shines through in all of his performances.”
It would be a cliché - and wrong - to suggest time hasn't taken a toll. The fragility in his voice was evident while singing "Blackbird” on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief U.S. tour.
He struggled for the high notes in "Here Today,” his love letter to John Lennon, who was robbed of a long life by an assassin's bullet.
The skill of a sympathetic band, along with the imagination and voices in the audience, patches over the rough spots.
"Yeah, yeah, right, I've got a birthday coming up,” McCartney said, scanning signs in the audience that reminded him. "I'm not trying to ignore it, but...”
The crowd offered a spontaneous "Happy Birthday” serenade, even before Jersey guy Jon Bon Jovi brought out a fistful of balloons during the encore to lead them in another verse.
That other Jersey guy, Springsteen, joined McCartney for the duet on "Glory Days” and a version of "I Wanna Be Your Man.” He later popped up to join the guitar duel from "Abbey Road.”
For most artists, the appearance of such local royalty would be a hard-to-top moment. Most artists can't immediately whip out "Let it Be” and "Hey Jude” to follow it.
On Friday, McCartney's team announced that it was packaging "McCartney II” with his other DIY albums, "McCartney” of 1970 and 2020's "McCartney III," into a boxed set that will go on sale in August.
