| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The legendary singer and songwriter Paul McCartney |
|
|
has been a working musician since 1957, and since 1963, he has been |
|
|
one of t |
|
|
he most famous musicians in the world, first as a member of |
|
|
the Beatles and then as a successful solo artist; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born in Liverpool, England, in 1942, James Paul |
|
|
McCartney was the son of a midwife and a trumpet player; when he was |
|
|
12, he met a schoolmate named George Harrison on a bus, and the two |
|
|
became friends; then, in one of the most fateful encounters in the |
|
|
history of pop culture, he met John Lennon at a church fete in 1957, |
|
|
and Mr. Lennon invited Mr. McCartney to join his skiffle group, the |
|
|
Quarrymen; Mr. Harrison joined them in 1958, and by 1960, the group |
|
|
had evolved into the Beatles; with the later addition of drummer |
|
|
Ringo Starr, the four lads from Liverpool became at first merely |
|
|
internationally famous, and then went on to become the most |
|
|
influential band in the history of rock and roll; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Half of one of the greatest songwriting partnerships |
|
|
in history, Mr. McCartney, sometimes working with John Lennon and |
|
|
sometimes on his own, wrote songs that have become the enduring |
|
|
soundtrack of a generation, including "I Want to Hold Your Hand," |
|
|
"Eleanor Rigby," "Penny Lane," "Get Back," and "Let It Be," among |
|
|
many others; his work encompasses everything from raucous rockers |
|
|
like "Helter Skelter" to tender songs of heartbreak such as |
|
|
"Yesterday" to old-fashioned music hall tunes such as "When I'm |
|
|
Sixty-Four"; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the 10 years of the Beatles era, |
|
|
Mr. McCartney's skills as a songwriter, musician, and producer |
|
|
blossomed; the Beatles' concept album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts |
|
|
Club Band revolutionized pop music, and on the second side of Abbey |
|
|
Road, the final album the Beatles recorded, Mr. McCartney worked |
|
|
with producer George Martin to craft a sort of pop symphony, with |
|
|
one song leading into the next and building to a crescendo; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, After the breakup of the band in 1970, Mr. McCartney |
|
|
went on to have perhaps the most successful solo career of all the |
|
|
Beatles, first with his band Wings from 1970 until 1980, and since |
|
|
then in an impressive series of solo albums, performing with such |
|
|
musical giants as Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, and Diana Krall; |
|
|
he has been a frequent guest musician on other artists' albums as |
|
|
well, working with performers as diverse as Peggy Lee, Michael |
|
|
Jackson, and Johnny Cash; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This dynamic artist has since branched out into |
|
|
other musical realms, writing and singing a hit theme song for a |
|
|
James Bond movie, crafting the music for his own film, and even |
|
|
composing a number of classical works, such as the oratorio Ecce Cor |
|
|
Meum (Behold My Heart); during his incomparable career as a |
|
|
performer, he has appeared in countless charity concerts, he has |
|
|
sung "Back in the USSR" in Red Square, and he closed the opening |
|
|
ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics with "Hey Jude"; in 1997 he |
|
|
was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and he has received the Gershwin |
|
|
Prize for songwriting along with the Legion d'Honneur from the |
|
|
president of France; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The wonderful paradox of this iconic pop star is |
|
|
that he can command the devotion of multitudes and yet sound as if |
|
|
he is addressing each listener in his or her most private moments, |
|
|
and throughout his extraordinary career, from his earliest days as |
|
|
the "cute Beatle" to his current role as the preeminent elder |
|
|
statesman of rock and roll, no one has mastered that unlikely |
|
|
combination of the epic and the intimate as magnificently as Paul |
|
|
McCartney; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the extraordinary life and career of |
|
|
Paul McCartney and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued |
|
|
success and happiness; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. McCartney as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |
| |
|
|
Raymond |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 1593 was adopted by the House on May |
|
|
1, 2013, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |