By Zephyr
The 60s is arguably one of the most iconic decades in terms of arts & culture, with novelties such as Woodstock 69’, the emergence of counter-culture, and Beatlemania in 1964.
Before Beatlemania, Rock n’ Roll declined in US mainstream music during the 50s. This was due to a plane crash that killed famous artists such as Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson. Additionally, when the ’60s began, major Rock n’ Roll musicians such as Chuck Berry began to drop off the music charts. Hence, it was eventually phased out in favor of surfer music, girl groups, and so on.
But in 1964, The Beatles arrived in the US, with thousands of zealous fans awaiting the sight of their idols. Only adding more fuel to the Beatlemania bonfire (Beatlemania pertains to fanaticism surrounding The Beatles). They went through all sorts of events in the mid & the late 60s, such as starting a riot on the basis that they are more popular than Jesus Christ and an urban legend on the death of one of the band’s members, Paul McCartney, who is replaced with a doppelgänger. But why do people believe that Paul McCartney is dead?
Who Were the Beatles?
The Beatles were a famous rock n’ roll band formed in Liverpool in 1960 and was composed of John Lennon (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, bass), Ringo Starr (drums, vocals), and George Harrison (guitar, bass). Known for their classic hits such as Yellow Submarine, Hey Jude, I am the Walrus, and many more, they truly are an iconic band in pop culture.
They disbanded on December 31st, 1970 due to a variety of factors such as Lennon’s heroin use and relationship with Yoko Ono and the exhaustion of Beatlemania.
Photo: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.
After parting ways, each member became a solo artist. John Lennon continued the ‘Plastic Ono Band’ project with his wife, Yoko Ono, and was assassinated in 1980. After surviving an assassination attempt in 1999, George Harrison passed away of lung cancer in 2001. As for Paul McCartney, he started a new band, ‘Paul McCartney and The Wings’, and would later disband it. Finally, Ringo Starr is alive to this day and still creating music.
The Urban Legend
“Paul is dead” began circulating in early 1967 in London.
The theory outlined that McCartney was gruesomely decapitated in a traffic accident on the M1 Motorway after an argument with his fellow bandmates on November 9th, 1966. To prevent the public from the grief and horror that the death would ensue, the remaining Beatles held a contest to see who can replace McCartney.
Given the Beatles’ recent retirement from performing live and their upcoming album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ that would have made a new image for the Beatles, this would have been easy to effectuate.
It’s said that the winner was a Scottish orphan named William Campbell, though sometimes referred to as Billy Shears. After the contest, the doppelgänger was instigated by the MI5 to prevent any distress from fans. Out of guilt for not telling the truth, the remaining Beatles left dozens of clues for the audience to find.
The Clues
Several of the clues came from lyric interpretations. In Come Together, multiple clues were found such as “shoot me” in the intro and interlude, “he [says] ‘one and one and one is three” in the 4th verse, and “he got hair down to his knees” in the 1st verse.
Starting with the intro and interlude, the line is interpreted to be the fake McCartney asking to be shot. However, it was also suggested to allude to Lennon and Ono’s heroin use.
For “one and one and one is three”, many people interpreted it as the three original Beatles left. However, Lennon was actually referring to the holy trinity, which is used to reference Christian evangelists in the first verse.
The verse “he got hair down to his knees” was interpreted as the urban legend that states that that hair continues to grow after a person dies. However, this is referring to the Beatles members growing out their hair after Beatlemania.
Additionally, Come Together was originally made to be used as a campaign song. Specifically for LSD aficionado Timothy Leary, who was running for Governor of California at the time. Lennon himself admitted that “[i]t’s gobbledygook;” Come Together was originally a phrase coined by Leary for the campaign. Lennon had difficulty writing the lyrics and it ended up being a song with nonsensical lyrics.
For further justification, Beatle zealots analyzed the album cover of Abbey Road.
On the album cover, the “remaining” Beatles are meant to represent the heavenly figure (Lennon dressed in white) the undertaker (Starr dressed in black) and the grave digger (Harrison dressed in denim). “McCartney” represents the corpse as he is barefooted, out of step, and holding a cigarette on his left hand.
Additionally, the Volkswagen beetle’s license plate is “LMW 28IF”. LMW stands for “Linda McCartney (his wife at the time) weeps/, widow” and 28IF as “28 if McCartney was alive”. However, McCartney was 27 at the time of the album’s release.
The Aftermath
The theory was debunked by McCartney, who parodied the urban legend in his 1993 album Paul is Live. He was very understanding of the theory, explaining that he only does interviews once a week to ensure that he is in the news or else he may suffer the cruel and harsh winters of post-spotlight.
Sales of Abbey Road increased, which can be ascribed to the myth. Additionally, Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour re-entered the Billboard 200, both of which were off-chart before their sudden popularity.
The myth has been satirized several times in different media, including tv shows, comics, etc. Even Time Magazine called this urban legend one of the top 10 most enduring legends.
I think that this urban legend is true and false. Part of me says it is false as all the clues are purely coincidental. However, the other part of me believes that it is true and that the remaining Beatles did not tell their audience to simultaneously prevent distress and to make themselves more famous, but who knows? Maybe he is alive, maybe he is dead.