The Paul McCartney Song That Was a Total Flop
Paul McCartney makes the shortlist for the most successful songwriter ever. Between the chart-topping tunes he wrote with The Beatles and his successful solo songs, he’s reached the apex dozens of times in his career. Still, one Paul song turned into a total flop when another artist recorded it while the Fab Four were at their peak.
English jazz musician Chris Barber found himself in an enviable position in July 1967. Paul McCartney had a song to give away and wanted to hand it to Barber. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse. Barber took Macca’s “Catswalk” tune, which he wrote nearly a decade earlier, rechristened it “Catcall,” and recorded a pop-jazz take on the song.
It was one of the rare Paul songs that flopped completely when the single hit shelves in October 1967.
Barber scored several hits in England, but “Catcall” wasn’t one of them. He had three top-10 tunes and another two top-50 songs, per Official Charts Company. One might think having McCartney’s name attached would create a ripple effect of success. That wasn’t the case. In an era where nearly every song Paul and the Beatles performed found instant acclaim, “Catcall” never reached the charts.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
