Paul McCartney wrote and sang lead vocals on about half of The Beatles songs (”Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Helter Skelter,” “Yesterday,” & “Eleanor Rigby” to name just five of the many classics he wrote & sang lead on.) McCartney was also the bassist for the band and in my opinion he wrote (and played) some of the best bass lines in pop/rock history as a member of The Beatles.

Most Beatles fans know that much, but what some may not know is that he also played the drums (in place of Ringo Starr) and the lead guitar (in place of George Harrison) on a number of songs.

Paul On Drums:

“Back In The USSR,” “Dear Prudence,” “The Ballad Of John & Yoko,” “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?,” & “Wild Honey Pie.” Four of those songs are from The White Album, Ringo left the band for a short period of time during the recording of The White Album and Paul took over the drums while he was gone.

Paul also often gave instruction to Ringo on how to play the drum parts. A good example of that is the drum part in “Ticket To Ride.”

Paul On Lead Guitar

“Taxman,” “Good Morning Good Morning,” “Another Girl,” & “And Your Bird Can Sing” (Lennon played the other lead part.)

“The End” - George, John, & Paul all took turns playing the lead part.

I’m not actually sure if this is a complete listing of songs Paul played the drums and lead guitar on. Leave a comment if you know of any others I have missed.

Not Paul, But Eric

And then there’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” which Eric Clapton actually played lead on (Clapton was a friend of George’s and was invited to play the lead part on the song - which was written by Harrison.)

The Beatles, 60s, Paul McCartney

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