James Infirmary Blues” during the Prohibition “funeral” scene), one of the film’s most pivotal scenes was defined by a Muzak version of McCartney’s stone-cold ode to lost love, “Yesterday”. But original score aside (and notwithstanding the sublime use of “St. It’s no secret that Once Upon a Time in America featured Sergio Leone buddying up with his long-time musical go-to Ennio Morricone for one of their more iconic collaborations. “Yesterday” – Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Thanks in no small part to what McCartney himself would later call the song’s “rooty-tooty variety style,” a bittersweet tone is established, only to be recalled by the untimely murder of Williams’ Garp many years from then. As the credits roll and a beaming baby Garp is playfully flung into the air by his mother, played by Glenn Close, the singular vaudevillian jaunt of McCartney’s “When I’m Sixty-Four” takes center stage. Renowned at the time for his cutting-edge credits for late-’70s big-hitters like Superman and Alien, Oscar-nominated title designer and motion-graphics pioneer Richard Alan Greenberg opted for a decidedly breezier approach for the opening to The World According to Garp, George Roy Hill’s 1982 comedy-drama featuring Robin Williams in the title role. But there are plenty of moments in cinema where his music truly elevated the work, joining hand-in-hand with the story to provide insight into a character, depth to a story, or precision to a montage. Sure, most inclusions of McCartney’s music is haphazard, just thrown about in order to grab some attention for a struggling moment in desperate need of assistance. But when used in the right context, it can enhance a piece of cinema past our wildest imaginations, making an iconic song even more indelible and letting a memorable scene become an instant classic.įrom The Beatles to Wings, Ram to his newest work, Egypt Station, Hollywood has enough material to last a century of filmmaking, and judging by McCartney’s soundtrack contributions from the ’60s till now, it seems like they’re completely up to the challenge. Songs as evocative and pictorial as his can often take the attention away from what a director or screenwriter might intend. In that sense, it can be hard to fit his music into film. His music is iconic by itself, able to project its own scenes and stories into your head without any prompting whatsoever. The most successful and influential songwriter in modern music history. Vocally, Macca rings every inch of emotion out of the pleading lyric and Jimmy McCullough wades in with a quite majestic solo.Paul McCartney. Taken from the triple live album Wings Over America set that chronicled the 1976 US tour, this is a stately in concert delivery of the stand out track from the 1970 McCartney debut solo album. Incidentally, Jet was the name of one of the McCartney’s dogs. The chorus repeats the title in a chant like manner set against a clever synth pattern. This hypnotic track was a something of a homage to his ex songwriting partner – the stark echo drenched arrangement tipping the hat to the sound of John Lennon’s own Plastic Ono Band.Īnother Band On The Run winner – this straight ahead rocker bustles with drive and exuberance – aided by an impassioned McCartney vocal performance and uplifting orchestration. Recorded under difficult circumstances as a three piece with wife Linda and Denny Laine, Macca turned adversity into triumph with the Band On The Run album.
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