Sometimes, when Paul McCartney sings, he pretends to be Fred Astaire to get that “little” voice. The former Beatle has loved the actor and singer for a long time.
Paul McCartney says Fred Astaire is an inspiration to him
In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote that he’s always liked the quote from the screen test for Fred Astaire: “Can’t sing. Can’t act. Balding. Can dance a little.”
Astaire is an inspiration to Paul. The singer-songwriter enjoyed everything and anything that was old Hollywood. Paul’s father engrained Astaire and other entertainers of that era, including Cole Porter and Ella Fitzgerald, into Paul as a child.
Jim McCartney used to play their songs on the family’s piano. Paul can still remember standing in his kitchen at his childhood home on Forthlin Road and hearing “When I Fall in Love” by Nat King Cole. “I was reaching for an HP sauce bottle at the time and thinking, ‘My God, this is good,’” Paul remembered.
So, it’s only natural that Astaire and other early performers came out in Paul’s songs and performances.
Paul said he used to pretend to be Astaire to get a ‘little’ voice
In The Lyrics, Paul revealed that sometimes when he’s singing, he pretends to be Astaire to get that “little” voice. “It helps me reach a very particular place. Sometimes I’ll be Fats Waller, and that helps me reach a place too,” Paul wrote.
If Paul had to choose anyone, he’d be very happy to be thought of as a channeller of Nat King Cole, Waller, or Astaire. “I don’t think there’s any denying the idea of being a medium,” he added. “I definitely dreamt ‘Yesterday,’ so I’m sure I’ve channelled many other songs.”
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Paul channeled Astaire and other singers from that era on many songs.
The Beatle channeled Astaire on ‘Honey Pie’ and ‘Kisses on the Bottom’
Astaire didn’t just come through in Paul’s singing. He made his way onto Beatles songs and even some of Paul’s later solo work. Paul was “definitely” thinking of Astaire and “the whole world of the silver screen” when he was writing The Beatles’ “Honey Pie.”
Paul said The White Album track is a throwback to the 1930s and 1920s, “the flapper era and Hollywood.” It’s obvious in lyrics like “You became a legend of the silver screen.”
The singer and dancer also popped up in The Beatles’ film Magical Mystery Tour, during the scene where they sing “Your Mother Should Know.” They’re paying homage to 1930s musicals, wearing crisp tuxedos.
“I remember in the 60s when we were making ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ I used to say I really like Fred Astaire,” Paul told Huff Post. “Fred’s jackets are cut very close, with very slim sleeves, so I wanted one — those kinds of stylistic things came from people like him.”
Astaire’s rendition of Cole Porter’s “Cheek to Cheek” inspired Paul on “Here, There and Everywhere.” Later, the love song inspired Paul on his 2012 album Kisses on the Bottom. Paul said he was “channeling Fred Astaire” throughout the making of the album (per the Guardian).
So, without Astaire, fans wouldn’t have gotten some of Paul’s best songs.
