Keen for his son to follow his interest in music, Jim McCartney bought his son Paul a trumpet for his 14th birthday.
My dad bought me a trumpet for my birthday, at Rushworth & Draper’s (the other music store in town), and I loved it. There was a big hero-thing at the time. There had been Harry James – The Man With The Golden Trumpet – and now, in the Fifties, it was Eddie Calvert, a big British star who played ‘Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White’ – all those gimmicky trumpet records. There were a lot of them around back then, so we all wanted to be trumpeters.I persevered with the trumpet for a while. I learnt ‘The Saints’, which I can still play in C. I learnt my C scale, and a couple of things. Then I realised that I wasn’t going to be able to sing with this thing stuck in my mouth, so I asked my dad if he’d mind if I swapped it for a guitar, which also fascinated me. He didn’t, and I traded my trumpet in for an acoustic guitar, a Zenith, which I still have.
Paul McCartney
Anthology
Anthology
Last updated: 26 May 2020
Also on this day...
- 2022: Tributes paid to Paul McCartney on his 80th birthday
- 2016: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
- 2014: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Beacon Theatre, New York City
- 2011: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
- 2010: John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for A Day In The Life sell for $1.2m
- 2009: Ringo Starr to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star
- 2001: Sir Paul McCartney’s coat of arms is granted
- 1995: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Osaka-jō Hall, Osaka
- 1976: Wings live: Tucson Community Center, Tucson
- 1973: US single release: Live And Let Die by Wings
- 1968: Première of the In His Own Write stage play
- 1968: George Harrison and Ringo Starr return to England from America
- 1968: Paul McCartney celebrates his 26th birthday at Apple
- 1965: Television: Tonight
- 1965: Radio: BBC European Service
- 1965: Mixing: I’ve Just Seen A Face, I’m Down, It’s Only Love, Act Naturally, Wait, Help!, Yesterday
- 1964: The Beatles live: Sydney Stadium, Sydney
- 1963: John Lennon beats up Cavern DJ Bob Wooler at Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday party
- 1961: The Beatles live: Top Ten Club, Hamburg
- 1960: The Silver Beetles live: Grosvenor Ballroom, Wallasey
- 1942: Paul McCartney is born
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I rember John Lennon beating up poor cavern dj Bob wooler in a house in huyton suburb of liverpool Dinahs lane. B*****d. Bob was a timid man with not a violent bone in his body. But said the wrong thing.