Paul McCartney’s Guitarists (After George)

During the filming of Let it Be, cameras captured a tense exchange between George Harrison and Paul McCartney: “I’ll play whatever you want me to play or I won’t play at all if you don’t want me to play. Whatever it is that will please you, I’ll do it.” Paul admitted in The Beatles Anthology documentary that he can be “a bossy git.” His guitarists, post-Harrison, might agree.

In Denny Laine’s case, the Wings guitarist’s discontent was in the marijuana that Tokyo Airport’s customs agents sniffed out in Paul’s suitcase in 1980.  Paul refused to compensate his band for the canceled tour’s lost wages, money that Denny desperately needed to pay for a costly divorce.  Paul offered to bail out his pal only for the proud Denny to refuse his “charity.”  Instead, Laine sold to Paul the copyrights of six songs he co-wrote with him, including the hit “Mull of Kintyre.”

The two weren’t on speaking terms for over twenty years until they ran into each other in 2007 at a UB40 concert.  It didn’t help that Denny sniped in a 1984 interview that Paul’s “a mummy’s boy who didn’t have a mummy after his mother died when he was 14. He would be lost without Linda now. He won’t pay for my lyrics.  I’d be rich if Paul wasn’t stingy.”

Paul found a more compatible co-writer in ex-10cc guitarist Eric Stewart, who helped compose six of the ten tunes on McCartney’s 1986 Press to Play album.  Paul later had a four-year, non-writing working relationship with Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) and ex-Pretender Robbie McIntosh but in 1987, got back to co-writing songs with Elvis Costello. Costello joked in his 2015 memoir Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink, “I was almost certain that I shouldn’t turn up in my short trousers with my Beatles Fan Club Card in the top pocket.”

These days, Paul’s guitarists know their place: to play and leave the writing to their boss. Paul is currently in two long-term relationships, with guitarist Rusty Anderson (since 2002) and guitarist/bassist Brian Ray (since 2001).  Like their band leader, both guitarists have had long careers in the music business and met some colorful characters. None are more colorful than Brian’s pal, Phil Kaufman, the only tour manager to burn a rock star’s body (Gram Parsons) in his coffin at Joshua Tree.

Brian encountered Kaufman at a fundraising benefit to pay the fines for Phil’s coffin theft. The benefit, called “Kaufman’s Koffin Kaper Koncert” featured beer bottles adorned with Parsons’ face along with the inscription, “Gram Pilsner: A stiff drink for what ales you.” In between sipping brews, Brian made such a favorable impression on Phil that he introduced the then-18-year-old musician to Etta James who said, “I like that little white boy.”  She hired Brian to be her musical director and guitarist, a gig that lasted for fifteen years.

While making the musical rounds, Brian met producer David Kahne who put most of Paul’s current touring band together. Brian noted in a 2018 interview, “David called me in early 2002 after Abe Jr. [current McCartney band drummer Abraham Laboriel] recommended me to play with Paul for the pre-game show at the 2002 Super Bowl. As we were all saying goodnight that evening at our hotel in New Orleans after that first brief audition and performance, Paul turned to me and said, ‘Welcome aboard, Brian!’ And I just couldn’t believe it. I turned to Abe who was standing next to me and asked, ‘Did he just say what I think he said?’ And Abe said, ‘Yeah, dude!’ We’ve been together for over 16 years and there’s no sign of slowing down.”

Kahne, who produced the Bangles’ “Walk like an Egyptian” with Rusty Anderson on the track, was also the guitarist’s point-person with Paul.  In a recent Guitar World interview, Rusty remembered, “David said, ‘It looks like I’ll be producing the new Paul McCartney record.’ Then he said, ‘I may need some guitar playing.’  Then, a couple of months later, I found myself at Henson Studios (in Hollywood) with Paul.  After chatting a little, we jumped into recording Paul’s new batch of songs. I was still sort of in shock for the first few days. I never thought I’d meet a Beatle, much less play with one!”

-Mark Daponte

Photo: Denny Laine, 1976 (Jim Summaria via Wikimedia Commons)