McCartney: Yesterday ... and Today

by Ray Coleman

Based on candid interviews with the singer-songwriter of the Beatles, a biography concentrates on one of his most famous songs, "Yesterday," tracing its evolution, its era, and the story of its creator

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

194 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Shaw Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit disjointed, going from the conception, writing, and recording of the song ‘Yesterday’, to the copyrights of the Lennon-McCartney catalogue and Michael Jackson’s acquisition of that catalogue, to McCartney’s personal contentment in the 1990s.

That being said, I enjoyed reading it for the most part, as I would expect from the majority of Beatles-related books. The focus on Paul McCartney himself was especially enticing to me.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a very strange combination of topics. It is primarily about the song "Yesterday," the writing of the song and its history. However, this book is also part musical history, biography, and tale of how Paul McCartney and John Lennon lost the rights to their songs. It discusses McCartney's relationship with many people, including Lennon, Brian Epstein, George Martin, and Michael Jackson.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Beatle biographies. One thing I like about this one is the author's discussion of the idea that many of Paul's famous songs are (largely subconsciously) about his mother (who died when he was fourteen). Paul apparently thought that he was right. Not just the obvious "Let It Be" but also "And I Love Her" and "Yesterday" and more were allusions or even responses to this loss.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Probably the worst book on the Beatles I've ever read (which is surprising in light of Coleman's highly enjoyable biography of John Lennon). A complete waste of time. Don't bother.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m astounded it took me so long to complete such a brief book, even more brief because of the large type face. It’s always difficult to find time to read before Christmas and this was nearly entirely completed during breaks at work. This is a sort of frivolous book if you ask me, not much insight into the man – Paul McCartney really rather more an exercise by the author to showcase his collection of trivial knowledge of the Beatles. The book is all about the song ‘Yesterday’, where it was written, who heard it when, who covered it (or rather the more notable covers), and the most interesting part of the book covers the way ‘Yesterday’ and all the other Lennon-McCartney compositions left their control and how they now are part of Sony Music via Michael Jackson. The only real insight into the man is his avoidance of talking about his real feelings when he loses someone. This is an essay, or a trivia exercise, not a book.

[Rob Hermanowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coleman is a very good biographer. This bio is almost as well-written as the one he did on John Lennon.

[Alyssa]

Overall the book wasn't too shabby; I just thought that the glorification of the song "Yesterday" was a tad over the top.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing to write home about...except the "Fuck Day" story....and how him Jane Asher used to get very petty with each other...like one would open the window and the other would slam it shut..