Paul McCartney was joined by The Eagles on a version of ‘Let It Be’ at a tribute concert for the late Jimmy Buffett at the Hollywood Bowl this week.
The singer-songwriter, known for his tropical rock sound, died at the age of 76 last September after a four-year battle with skin cancer.
The concert, titled ‘Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett’ took place at the Los Angeles venue on Thursday (April 11), including appearances from Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Zac Brown, Jon Bon Jovi and Buffett’s band The Coral Reefer Band.
Dave Grohl introduced McCartney to the stage, and the Beatle spoke about his relationship with Buffett. “I had the great pleasure of knowing Jimmy, and like everyone else on the bill tonight has said, this is one great man,” he said.
“He was generous, he was funny, he’d done just about everything in his life. I was on holiday with him and I forgot to bring my guitar, so he had his own guitar strung left-handed for me. And then the next time I saw him he’d had one custom made left-handed for me.”
McCartney then took to a grand piano and performed ‘Let It Be’, backed by The Eagles. Watch the footage below, including Grohl’s introduction and McCartney’s speech to the crowd:
A posthumous album, ‘Equal Strain On All Parts’, that Buffett had been working on before his death was released in November, and featured the McCartney collaboration ‘My Gummie Just Kicked In’.
In a social media tribute to Buffett following his death, McCartney announced his involvement in the album, writing: “I was very happy to have played on one of his latest songs called ‘My Gummie Just Kicked In’. We had a real fun session and he played me some of his new songs.
“One [new track], in particular, I loved was the song ‘Bubbles Up’. And I told him that not only was the song great but the vocal was probably the best I’ve heard him sing ever. He turned a diving phrase that is used to train people underwater into a metaphor for life when you’re confused and don’t know where you are just follow the bubbles – they’ll take you up to the surface and straighten you out right away.”
In other McCartney news, he recently shared an embarrassing story from one of The Beatles’ earliest live performances.
“We had this gig and it was the first thing I ever played, and I was lead guitar player,” he explained. “John [Lennon] was rhythm. I had a solo and I totally froze. Could not move my fingers.”
“It was just so embarrassing. My lead guitar playing career melted at that moment and I said, ‘Well, I’m not doing this again. I’m not cut out for this. I’m no good.’”
Last week, Macca commented on Beyoncé’s cover of his song ‘Blackbird’, commending her for using it to “ease racial tension”.
Queen Bey included her version of the track on her new record ‘Cowboy Carter’, which was released on March 29. The song was originally released on The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 album, commonly referred to as ‘The White Album’.
“I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird’,” he wrote on social media. “I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.”
It was also confirmed that Beyoncé used The Beatles’ original ‘Blackbird’ backing track in her cover of the song.
Last month, an artwork that was banned for being “too unflattering” in its depiction of him is heading to auction.