How Paul McCartney Came Up With the Title for ‘Ebony and Ivory’

“Ebony and Ivory” might not be one of Paul McCartney’s most praised songs, but it is one of his No. 1 hits. The track is a duet with Stevie Wonder and promotes a message of peace and unity between people of different races. McCartney based the song’s title on a lesson he learned about playing the piano.

Paul McCartney has been an activist for racial equality

Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder attend the 30th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2015 — Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder | Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

McCartney has never been afraid to express his political beliefs in his music but has often kept his messaging subtle. For example, The Beatles were set to perform at a Florida venue but almost backed out when they discovered the venue was segregated. The venue changed its policies and it became Florida’s first non-segregated concert.

McCartney also expressed his support for the U.S. civil rights movement in “Blackbird.” In an interview with Barnes & Nobles, the British singer-songwriter shared that he was inspired to write the song after witnessing the Little Rock nine footage.

“It was in the era of civil rights, and I was watching the Little Rock episode where the kids were being booed and shouted at and as the black kids as they were going into the school,” McCartney shared. “And so this idea of ‘Blackbird’ became black girl in my mind.”

Paul McCartney named ‘Ebony and Ivory’ after the keys on a piano

The title “Ebony and Ivory” represents black and white people and the idea that the two should be united. In archival footage shared on his YouTube page, Paul McCartney said the idea for the track was based on the lesson that a piano cannot work without white and black notes.

“On a piano, you have black notes and you have white notes,” McCartney explained. “It’s no good just having all the black notes because you need the white notes. It’s no good having just all the white notes. You need the two together because then you get a harmony. Two together is perfect on a keyboard, and so my song says, ‘Why don’t we do it like that?’”

The “Let it Be” singer said he wanted to get Stevie Wonder on the song to be the “Ebony” while he would be the “Ivory.” It’s a bit on the nose, but McCartney still wanted to explain his reasoning.

“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll be the ivory, so I need an ebony,’” he added. “So I thought the best choice would be Stevie Wonder – if I could get him. So I telephoned Stevie and said, ‘Do you like the idea of doing this?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’”

McCartney wasn’t sure if the song was necessary at the time

While “Ebony and Ivory” peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for seven weeks, it hasn’t aged gracefully. Many critics state that the song is too obvious in its messaging and doesn’t do enough to challenge the problem it’s tackling. Paul McCartney said that he initially wasn’t sure if “Ebony and Ivory” was necessary but later found it essential as racial tensions continued to be an issue.

“When I wrote the song, I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to keep talking about black and white. Maybe the problem is solved,’” he stated. “‘Maybe I’ve missed the boat; maybe it should have been written in the ‘60s.’ But after I’d written it and we recorded it, you look around and there’s still tension.”