There are certain names that crop up on almost every list of the greatest singers of all time. Freddie Mercury, for the unparalleled power and range of his voice. Ella Fitzgerald, for her careful cadence and knowing tone. Aretha Franklin, for her soulful emotion. And usually, somewhere in between, Paul McCartney, for lending his voice to some of the greatest songs of all time and for bending to the needs of each piece at will.
McCartney didn’t necessarily have the vocal power of a singer like Mercury or the smooth jazz tones of a great like Fitzgerald, but his voice would endear itself to the masses nonetheless. As he penned hits for The Beatles and brought them to life behind the microphone, he quickly became one of the most famous and familiar voices in music history.
McCartney seemed to bend his vocal style to the emotion of every track. He knew exactly what each composition required, perhaps because he had penned most of them. The singer afforded ‘Yesterday’ all of the disorienting melancholy it deserved, imbued ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ with the influence of Marianne Faithfull, and matched the loneliness in ‘Eleanor Rigby’.
He also took inspiration from other singers he admired, perhaps most notably Elvis and Little Richard. During an interview with Creedence Clearwater Revival singer John Fogerty, Audio Magazine quoted McCartney as using Elvis as a reference for his slower songs and Little Richard for the “rockers”, leading Fogerty to share his own opinions on McCartney’s vocal style.
Fogerty admitted that “as rock ‘n’ roll as [McCartney] really is,” he would have loved to see the Beatle taking even more inspiration from Little Richard. “But on his ballads,” he continued, “He’s developed a really nice dry sound.” While McCartney may have been borrowing from Elvis, Fogerty observed that he omitted the vibrato from his sound, resulting in that “dry” descriptor.
According to Fogerty, this enhanced the closeness of his vocals. “The thing I’ve noticed about Paul,” he explained, “Particularly in ‘Yesterday’, is that the dry sound is so great because it sounds like he’s right in your ear. That’s a tendency of his I’ve noticed over the years, his remarkable lack of vibrato – that’s his sound.”
McCartney’s vocals, particularly on aching tracks like ‘Yesterday’, certainly come across as dry and raw. This could reduce the emotion of the piece, but somehow, McCartney maintains it. As his lack of vibrato closes the gap between the recording and the listener, the dry vocals sit between detachment and raw emotion in a style that is uniquely McCartney’s.
This also distinguished his sound from the singers he was imitating. Elvis’s influence may be there in McCartney’s approach to ballads, but the difference in vibrato levels sets their styles apart.
“I’ve often thought when I’m singing along with him, ‘Oh, too much vibrato, John,’” Fogerty joked, “‘They’ll think you’re Elvis.’”
Beyond the distinctively dry sound of his vocals, of course, McCartney’s vocals have become so well-known and well-loved as a result of his talent for songwriting and lyricism. His words and melodies have resonated with generations of listeners, and so, too, has the voice that delivers them.
