Paul McCartney was saddened when John Lennon compared him to another popular singer. However, the comparison doesn’t work at all. Notably, this comparison came from John’s era of edgy trash-talking.
Paul McCartney hated John Lennon comparing him to Engelbert Humperdinck
In the 1970s, John was as known for his digs as he was for his music. For example, in the 1971 book Lennon Remembers, John criticizes all the other Beatles, Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, Frank Zappa, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, and so many others.
During a 1974 interview with Rolling Stone, Paul said he didn’t like everything John did, however, he kept his mouth shut. “I mean, he came out with all stuff like I’m like Engelbert Humperdinck,” Paul recalled. “I know he doesn’t really think that.”
Paul was asked what he thought about John’s comments. “Oh, I hated it,” he recalled. “You can imagine, I sat down and pored over every little paragraph, every little sentence. ‘Does he really think that of me?’ I thought. And at the time, I thought, ‘It’s me. I am. That’s just what I’m like. He’s captured me so well; I’m a turd, you know.’ I sat down and really thought, ‘I’m just nothin’.’”
John Lennon’s comment was off by a country mile
Paul revealed how he snapped out of his negative mindset. “But then, well, kind of people who dug me like Linda said, ‘Now you know that’s not true, you’re joking. He’s got a grudge, man; the guy’s trying to polish you off,’” Paul recalled. “Gradually I started to think, ‘Great, that’s not true. I’m not really like Engelbert; I don’t just write ballads.’ And that kept me kind of hanging on; but at the time, I tell you, it hurt me. Whew. Deep.”
While Paul is known for writing sensitive ballads such as “Yesterday,” “My Love,” and “The Long and Winding Road,” that’s not his only style. By the time he gave that interview in 1974, the cute Beatle had also given us rock ‘n’ roll tunes like “Jet,” experimental songs like “Wild Honey Pie,” and vaudeville numbers such as “Your Mother Should Know.” Meanwhile, Humperdinck is still mostly known for his ballads and easy-listening tracks.
How Paul McCartney and Engelbert Humperdinck performed on the charts
One way in which Paul was categorically different from Humperdinck was the way audiences reacted to them. Humperdinck only had two top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Those tunes were “Release Me (And Let Me Love Again),” which hit No. 4, and “After the Lovin’,” which reached No. 8. With all due respect, Humperdinck was not a particularly successful pop star.
On the other hand, Paul was a hit machine. Of his post-Beatles tunes, 23 reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Nine of those songs topped the chart: “Say Say Say,” “Coming Up,” “Ebony and Ivory,” “Silly Love Songs,” “With a Little Luck,” “Band on the Run,” “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” and “My Love.” Combine that with his work with The Beatles and other artists such as Mary Hopkin and Peter and Gordon, and you have one of the most successful artists in the history of recorded music.
John compared Paul to Humperdinck but the comparison doesn’t quite hold.
