Paul McCartney has just posted a new 12-song Spotify playlist on his official PaulMcCartney.com site. Every month McCartney posts a new tracklisting with a specific theme — with June spotlighting some of his favorite “party” songs in celebration of his 78th birthday on June 18th.
One of the highlights on the set is “Macca's” 1973 Band On The Run Wings classic, “Picasso's Last Words” — a tune inspired by none other than actor Dustin Hoffman. While the McCartney's were on vacation in Jamaica's Montego Bay, Hoffman and his wife were on location while he was filming Papillon and the pair got friendly: “Got to know 'em. Did some dinner's each and stuff, 'cause, y'know, we liked each other's work. And, yeah, he happened to say — I was playing guitar around his house after dinner– and he happened to say, 'Could you write a song about anything?' And I said, 'I don't know, maybe?' Y'know, 'Try me'-kind of thing. And he pulled out this article on Picasso, who'd just died, and it said, 'Picasso's last words were (sings) 'drink to me, drink to my health' — got my guitar and just made something up.”
Another standout track on the set, is McCartney's team-up with maestro jazz bassist Stanley Clarke on the Pipes Of Peace instrumental, “Hey Hey.” We recently caught up with Clarke who shed blight on how the songwriting credit came as a surprise to him: “I think the tune we wrote together, I came up with a bassline. And what was really funny was I actually didn't even expect to be even considered as a writer — I just went in there. “Cause normally, sometimes, with artists like that, you sign a release — which we had to do when you go in the door — and it's basically whatever happens in the studio –– that artist owns it. But, what was really nice is he sent me something saying, 'I''m gonna give you this percentage on this tune.' Because, you can hear (laughs) it was, like one of my basslines, y'know? It was cool. It was cool. He's a cool guy.”
