# 8: Paul is Dead
53 Points (On 3 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#1 by Compound)
The Story:Man, why can't there be more bands like the Beatles?
No, I don't mean there should be more bands that self-destruct at the height of their careers. I mean quality wise. It's a shame that only Ringo's left. He's not really the one to be carrying on their banner, quality-wise.
No, I didn't forget about McCartney. Paul's dead. He was the first one to die.
Look, you ever notice how many Beatles songs revolve around death, and funerals and how references to car crashes keep popping up? There's a reason.
See, back in 1966, the Beatles were pretty damn big, but they were starting to have problems.. And one night at a recording session, McCartney got fed up and stormed out of the session. He hopped in his car and, well, car crash. Now, when the word got back to the rest of the band, they were concerned that millions of people all across the world would freak out if they discovered that Paul had died, so they hired a Paul McCartney look alike to fill in for him. But John kept leaving little clues that Paul wasn't around.
Look at "A Day in the Life." He blew his mind out in a car. He didn't notice that the light had changed. A crowd of people stood and stared. They'd seen his face before. It's a direct reference to the accident. Look at the cover to Abbey Road. John's dressed in white, symbolizing the priest. Ringo's in black, symbolizing a mourner. Harrison is dressed casually like a grave digger.. And Paul is barefoot, like a corpse on a morgue table. Plus he's out of step with the rest of the band, since he's dead. And at the end of Strawberry Fields Lennon mumbles "I buried Paul."
Still not convinced? The backmasking in Revolution Number Nine. who do you think the dead man is? And the conspiracy continued even after the breakup of the band. One of McCartney's early albums was titled "The Other Me" a reference to the real Paul. Another example- in the 70s, Paul got named in a paternity suit. A DNA test was done and there was no match. But if the Paul in 1966 and the Paul in 1978 weren't the same person then yes, there wouldn't be a match anyway.
And there's another piece to the puzzle. The CIA and FBI never were comfortable with the popularity of the band. There are strong suspicions that they purposefully sabotaged McCartney's car in an effort to destroy the band. But Lennon found out and arranged for the impersonator to spite the CIA, and then kept leaving these clues as a way to stick his thumb in the CIA's collective eye.
Make's you think huh? So next time you hear of old Billy Preston, hoist a drink in memory of the late Paul McCartney.
Well, Is It True?No. Well, probably not at least.
While practically every song and images from the Beatles' last few albums allegedly contain a clue relating to Paul's death, the Beatles themselves strongly denied it throughout their lives. Lennon referred to it as "barmy." Paul himself took to Life magazine to deny the rumors in 1969. In later years, members of the band seemed to play along with the references. Paul, for example, named one of his albums "Paul is Alive" and parodied the Abbey road image. And given that "Free as a Bird" had some backmasking on it just so that the folks obsessed with that topic would be happy, it's certainly possible that the Beatles just began to play along with the idea as the rumors spread.
But it's probably not true.
However, I will note a second possible theory. There's a theory that Paul is merely a stand-in. He's the real Paul McCartney, but the references to Paul's death actually refer to a bassist who Lennon knew who died in a car wreck. Since no one would understand reference to his death, Lennon wrote lyrics placing Paul in the place of his dead friend.
Random Notes There is a modern version of this tale as well. There's allegedly a modern artist who has been replaced by someone who doesn't quite look like he's the same person or possibly never even existed in the first place. I'd quote more but the site that hosted most of this theory, Gawker, is currently underwater in New York.
That person, BTW? Party fan and brony, Andrew W.K.
Up Next All I have to say is one word.
Topic: LoC 65: Top 50 Urban Legends (Read 32854 times)
