The 5 Most Successful Paul McCartney Solo Songs

Paul McCartney’s most influential music came with The Beatles, but he never stopped writing songs. His ex-wife Heather Mills foolishly trolled Paul for working with Rihanna and Kanye West and totally missed the mark. His work beyond The Beatles has been nearly as successful. Let’s look at the five most successful Paul solo songs.

Note: We ranked Paul’s solo songs based on weeks atop the Billboard singles chart, not total weeks on the chart. Wings’ songs appear as Macca was the primary songwriter on those hits.

1. ‘Ebony and Ivory’

Macca’s 1982 collaboration with Stevie Wonder got banned in South Africa but became a rousing success in the United States. The tune spent seven weeks at No. 1 during its 19-week stay on the singles chart.

Paul’s solo tune about racial harmony nabbed three Grammy nominations for song of the year, record of the year, and best pop performance by a duo or group. “Ebony and Ivory” also achieved gold status from the Recording Industry Association of America.

2. ‘Say Say Say’

A year after striking RIAA gold with Stevie Wonder, Paul collaborated with Michael Jackson on a pair of songs. “Say Say Say,” the song credited to Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (in order), hit No. 1 for six weeks in 1983. It spent 22 weeks on the Billboard singles chart, a personal best for Paul.

“The Girls Is Mine” — the other song they made, credited to Jackson and Paul — brought a Grammy nomination for best pop performance by a duo or group. It achieved RIAA gold status in six weeks. The RIAA certified both of Paul’s solo songs with MJ as platinum singles.

Paul’s solo song with Jackson was No. 1, but the King of Pop had to settle for No. 2 for “The Girl Is Mine.”

3. ‘Silly Love Songs’

We’re in Wings territory the rest of the way as we look at the most successful Paul solo songs.

In addition to being one of Paul’s biggest hits, “Silly Love Songs” displays his adaptability. The bass-forward song with brass blasts and strings borrowed elements from disco music and applied them to Paul’s pop songwriting. And it works. 

We wouldn’t be surprised if John Lennon considered “Silly Love Songs” more of Paul’s granny music, but fans didn’t care at all. The centerpiece of the Wings at the Speed of Sound album hitt No. 1 for five of its 18 weeks on the singles chart.

4. ‘My Love’

“Silly Love Songs” was an upbeat Paul song that proclaimed his love for his wife, Linda, and his love of writing love songs. The second song from Wings’ 1973 album, Red Rose Speedway, is a ballad inspired by Linda.

The song doesn’t show much lyrical diversity — there are a lot of “whoa-whoa-whoas” and perhaps a Guinness record for the most uses of the word love in a four-minute song — but that didn’t bother Wings fans. 

“My Love” spent four weeks at No. 1 during its 18-week run on the charts and was another of Paul’s songs to receive an RIAA gold record.

5. ‘Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)’

We said we entered Wings territory on our list with “Silly Love Song,” and that’s technically true. The studio cut of “Coming Up,” which inspired John to make music again, appeared on Paul’s 1980 solo album and belonged to Macca alone. Wings played the live version that lasted for three weeks at No. 1 during a 21-week stint on the charts in early 1980.

The studio version wasn’t meant to be played on the radio, so John was lucky to hear it. The record company pushed for the live cut to be the single, believing it to be more listenable. Both versions incorporate funk guitar, disco beats, and horns that help set the melodic hook, but the live cut comes across as a bit smoother. 

Four more of Paul McCartney’s solo songs hit No. 1

Paul sent another four songs to the top of the Billboard charts during his post-Beatles career.

• The Wings’ song “With a Little Luck” was a No. 1 song for two weeks in 1978.
• “Band on the Run,” which might be one of Paul’s most notable songs after the Fab Four, spent a week at No. 1 in 1974.
• “Listen to What the Man Said,” from the Wings’ album Venus and Mars, climbed to the top of the chart in 1975.
• Paul and Linda co-wrote the 1971 song “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” a tune off his Ram album that was the No. 1 song for a week in 1971.

As for the collaboration with Rihanna and Ye that for which Mills trolled Paul? It went to No. 4 during a 20-week stay on the charts in 2015.

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