Paul McCartney

Of all the Beatles, Paul McCartney was by far the most successful as a solo act. While many (including John Lennon) dismissed his post-Beatles output as lightweight pap, Paul's extraordinary popularity spoke for itself. "Mull of Kintyre" was for a time the most successful single ever. In the 1990s, McCartney (now a knight of the British Empire) tried his hand at classical composition and movies, while collaborating with admirers like Elvis Costello. Meanwhile, he continued to produce the kind of rock & roll he helped create, though without the kind of chart-topping success that he enjoyed in previous decades.

• rock
• pop