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