In an extraordinary, historic moment, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder performed “Ebony and Ivory” at the White House together for President Barack Obama. Paul revealed what it was like to sing that song for the president. He also revealed what he thought of Obama as a human being.
Paul McCartney loved singing ‘Ebony and Ivory’ for President Obama
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In 2010, Obama awarded the “Silly Love Songs” singer the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an award that is usually reserved for American musicians. During a 2010 interview with The Repository, Paul discussed performing at the White House when he received the award. “One of the highs was singing ‘Ebony and Ivory’ with Stevie because we’d never done it live together, so that was great,” he said.
“To sing it live together for the very first time with the first Black president there, it suddenly gave a great significance to the song,” Paul continued. While the song has a noble anti-racist sentiment, many critics have decried it as cheesy and beneath the talents of Paul and Wonder. Paul performing the song at the White House must have felt like a moment of validation!
Why Paul McCartney felt President Obama was upstanding
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Paul put “Ebony and Ivory” in the context of American race relations. “Sometimes you write a song in a certain era and it’s got a certain kind of significance,” he said. “I don’t think I would have imagined then that it would be quite so soon that America would elect a Black president. It wasn’t that soon, but it was a relatively short period of time. To sing it with Stevie in front of President Obama was very emotional.”
Paul gave fans insight into what he thought of the then-president in person. “At the very end, President Obama leaves the stage and he shook hands with my longtime associate, my guitar roadie John Hammel,” Paul recalled. “John was quite taken aback. The president said, ‘That was fun, wasn’t it? Thank you.’” The “Band on the Run” star was impressed that Obama reached out to the crew. Paul felt that was a testament to the president’s character. In addition, the singer noted that many people he had met would not have been willing to do that.
How ‘Ebony and Ivory’ performed
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“Ebony and Ivory” was a huge hit when it came out in the 1980s. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping seven weeks. It topped the chart longer than any of Paul’s other songs. Perhaps the combined star power of Paul and Wonder made audiences more interested in the song. Notably, Paul has collaborated with many huge celebrities over the course of his solo career, including Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Elvis Costello.
“Ebony and Ivory” appeared on the album Tug of War. That’s pretty ironic considering that the tune is an ode to racial harmony. Tug of War climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three weeks. It stayed on the chart for a total of 30 weeks.
“Ebony and Ivory” is a song about different races getting along and Paul felt that it took on a new relevance during the Obama presidency.
