Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin Geek Out Over ‘Penny Lane’
Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin can be seen geeking out over the trumpet solo on the Beatles classic “Penny Lane” in a clip from their documentary series McCartney 3, 2, 1 (via Rolling Stone).
In the brief excerpt, the artist tells the producer how session musician Dave Mason had said the proposed passage was “officially out of the range of the piccolo trumpet.” After McCartney had given him a look that said, “Yeah … you can do it!” he went ahead and played. “And it haunted him for the rest of his life!” he added.
The six-part series came about after Rubin selected the songs he wanted to discuss, resulting in a one-on-one conversation that spans many of McCartney’s most creative moments.
“Rick’s boyish love of the Beatles and Paul’s ability to recall specific decisions made along the way and the stories behind questions like ‘Why did you play this style of bass vs. another?’ or ‘Where did this sound come from?’ really peels back the curtain on some of these songs that are so legendary, we could never imagine how they were created,” director Zachary Heinzerling told Rolling Stone.
“How do you create ‘Eleanor Rigby’? It’s such an iconic song that has such a mystique and magic. The point of the series is to try to demystify some of that and understand the actual process behind creating what we are considering magic.”
Heinzerling added of the “Penny Lane” chat: “It sparked a reaction in Paul, and the result is this kind of storytelling as if it’s the first time. There’s a newness and freshness to the story that Paul tells. It’s not a story that’s been told a million times. It feels as though it’s being told for the first time because the song hasn’t been played in the same way.”
McCartney 3, 2, 1 premieres on Hulu today.