In 1963, Paul McCartney Struck Gold With a Songwriting Technique He’s “Hardly Ever Used Since”
Paul McCartney wrote The Beatles’ 1963 hit “All My Loving” by starting with the lyrics, reversing his usual songwriting process of creating music first. The article presents the song as an early example of how changing a creative habit can produce a successful result, during the band’s rapid rise to international fame.
McCartney said he wrote the words on a tour bus while imagining a country-and-western-style song, then completed it on a piano backstage at a Moss Empire theatre. “All My Loving” topped charts in Canada, Australia and parts of Europe, and received substantial airplay in Britain and the United States despite not being issued there as a single; John Lennon reportedly regarded it as one of McCartney’s major songs.
- McCartney wrote “All My Loving” lyrics before its music.
- The unusual approach produced a major 1963 Beatles hit.
- He said he rarely used the technique again.