Notes on Paul McCartney Turning 64

Notes on Paul McCartney Turning 64

He's 64: Aidin Vaziri | We hate to kick the guy while he's down but this seems as good a time as any to remind everyone that tomorrow Paul McCartney turns 64. Just like he said he would on "When I’m Sixty-Four," the worst song from the Beatles' best album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Let's have a look at his state of affairs on this momentous occasion.

1. McCartney opens the song with the lines, "When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now/ Will you still be sending me a Valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?" Let's see, if by "birthday greetings" and "bottle of wine" he actually means "divorce papers" and "pornographic photos of my estranged wife Heather Mills-McCartney in the tabloids," then the answer would be affirmative.

2. "Will you still need me, will you still feed me/ When I'm 64?" McCartney appears on the cover of last month's AARP magazine. When reading the article, try not to get distracted by the web exclusive, Tofu: The True Diplomat.

3. "Doing the garden, digging the weeds, who could ask for more?" No qualms there. McCartney's post-Beatles band Wings essentially broke up on January 16, 1980, when McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana as the group arrived at Tokyo's Narita International Airport for a Japanese tour. He served nine days in jail and the tour was cancelled.

4. "When I'm Sixty-Four" was reportedly written as a gift for his father on his 64th birthday.

5. "Hmm, mmm, mmmh." Reviewing McCartney's latest album, last year's "Chaos and Creation In The Backyard," which was produced by Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, Britain's New Musical Express said, "By teaming up with Godrich, McCartney has come out of his safety zone and challenged himself in a way not seen since his first solo album way back in 1970. But the feeling remains that the one person who could really inspire him to write one final classic record was tragically murdered in 1980."

6. "Send me a postcard, drop me a line stating point of view." Even though he received an obligatory writing credit, John Lennon said in a 1980 Playboy interview, "I would never even dream of writing a song like that." He was shot and killed later that year at 40.

7. Ringo Starr was the first Beatle to turn 64. That was in 2004.

8. George Harrison died of throat cancer at 58.

9. "Indicate precisely what you mean to say, yours sincerely wasting away." Actually, recent scientific studies show 64 is the new 44. Since 1967, the average life expectancy in the United States has risen from 70.5 to 77.9 years. Scientists, what do they know?

10. That's it. Have a good one, Paul.