I was an original Beatles fan and I saw the group at concerts in Detroit in 1964 and 1966. As I've said in the introduction to my blog, my girlfriends and I KNEW that the voice on Penny Lane was NOT Paul's. We started seeing photos of "Paul" that we KNEW were NOT Paul. So when the 1969 "Paul is dead" rumors surfaced, many "old" Beatles fans took it as a possibility that his death may have been the reason for the change in appearance and voice.
Christopher Glenn, who was a radio personality in New York and later worked for CBS, appeared on The Mike Douglas Show in October, 1969 to discuss the rumor. Mike Douglas also had Paul McCartney's brother, Mike, in the audience. The relevant portion of the segment can be seen on the Youtube video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCYh1pcrR4U .
Glenn outlined some of the clues on Beatle albums and then Douglas asked Mike McCartney if Paul was alive. McCartney began to talk naturally then adopted an upper-class British accent at 0:24-0:30 in the video with, "I find it very embarrassing that that you were just saying . . ."
At 1:47-1:48 in the video, McCartney talks about A Beatle being dead. (As I've tried to point out in several posts, somewhere along the line, The Beatles ceased to be persons in the eyes of many of those interested in exploiting their popularity and, instead, were seen as disposable, interchangeable parts of a worldwide phenomenon.) McCartney had to be aware of several members of the group being replaced.
At 3:05-3:15 Douglas and McCartney had this exchange:
Douglas: When was the last time you saw your brother?
McCartney: The last time? [He swallows and looks slightly to the right and down. He was grappling with his feelings, stalling for time. When a person looks down and to the right it usually indicates the person is self-questioning his or her feelings about something.] Was his funeral, I think.
(Laughter)
Douglas: No, really. When was the last time.
McCartney: I don't know.
Douglas: You don't know?
McCartney: Yeah, I mean, before I came, you know.
McCartney spent his time on the attack, ridiculing Glenn. But in the end, ladies and gentlemen, the original Beatles fans will tell you to trust your own senses. The Paul of 1969 (1968, 1967, the latter part of 1966, and 1970-on) is NOT the Paul we knew and loved as fans of The Beatles. The only questions that remain are what happened to Paul and who was behind it.
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There are people who believe Paul McCartney was permanently replaced in 1966. I'm one of them. What happened to him? That's what this blog will explore.
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- paulumbo
- For original Beatles fans, 1966 was a strange year. The "Butcher" cover and John's "more popular than Jesus" comment signaled that something was wrong with The Beatles. By 1967, we heard a different voice than Paul's on Penny Lane and we saw a different face in photos. Most of us abandoned Beatle fandom. In 1969, the "Paul is Dead" clues surfaced and were so strong and consistent, that many people wondered if that was the answer to the puzzling changes in Paul's voice and looks. People have been looking into that possibility from 1969-on but have not been able to document what happened to Paul. My generation deserves to know the truths about the group that we loved and made famous. So the search is on . . .
1 comment:
One thing I noticed from watching the Beatles is Paul’s stance when playing guitar. Early Paul usually stands on his right leg. His right leg is straight and his left leg is bent at the knee. This could be because he had LLD or ‘leg length discrepancy’. I have this, which is why I noticed it. It is quite common, and it is where one leg is slightly longer than the other and when standing, especially for any length of time, it is more comfortable to place the body weight on the shorter leg and relax the longer one, hence the playing stance you see with early Paul. I have photos of me standing in the same way!
The photos of post-1966 Paul don’t show him standing like this, or at least I haven’t seen it. He usually has either both legs equally bent or both straight when playing guitar. LLD doesn’t usually resolve itself with a sudden growth spurt in one leg, so there must be another reason for his change in stance when playing guitar.
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