Everyone knows a lot about Paul McCartney, but here are the essentials: born in Liverpool on June 18, 1942, McCartney learned his first instrument about 14 years later – a trumpet bought for him by his dad. He soon moved on to guitar, re-stringing it to be left-handed.
Shortly after the Beatles formed, in 1960, Paul switched to piano, while the band was performing in Hamburg, Germany. In 1961, on a second tour of Hamburg, original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe informed the others that he was leaving to pursue his art career. By default, McCartney inherited the bass guitar chair; he purchased his first Höfner ‘violin bass’ for the equivalent of $45.
