# Billy Joel reveals the one Paul McCartney song he wishes he’d written: “He can’t do anything wrong”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/billy-joel-reveals-the-one-paul-mccartney-song-he-wishes-hed-written-he-cant-do-anything-wrong/
- Published: 2026-10-30T17:50:16+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T18:52:10+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/billy-joel-reveals-the-paul-mccartney-song-he-wishes-hed-written/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Billy Joel praised Paul McCartney’s songwriting.
- He singled out “Yesterday” as especially affecting.
- The song’s change in tone shaped his view of The Beatles.

## Summary

Billy Joel said he would have liked to write any of Paul McCartney’s songs, praising his gift for melody, but singled out “Yesterday” as the one that affected him most. His account shows how McCartney’s songwriting shaped Joel’s view of The Beatles and their emotional range.

Joel recalled that McCartney had once praised his 1977 ballad “Just the Way You Are” and that they exchanged emails about the compliment. He said “Yesterday”, released on the 1965 album *Help!*, stood apart from earlier upbeat Beatles hits because it dealt with heartache, sadness and disappointment.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.