Paul McCartney is a big fan of Beyoncé's take on the classic Beatles track "Blackbird."
The cover, which directly samples the original, was included on the pop star's hit new album Cowboy Carter. The record came out last week, but it took longer for the credits to trickle out.
John Lennon and McCartney are listed as songwriters while the surviving Beatle also has a production credit.
McCartney and John Lennon both have writing credits on the track.
"I am so happy with (Beyoncé's) version of my song 'Blackbird,'" McCartney said in an Instagram post on Thursday, April 4.
"I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place," he added.
"When I saw the footage on the television in the early '60s of the Black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can’t believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now. Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud."
He encouraged fans to check out Beyoncé's version of the song and noted that the pair connected over the phone recently.
"I spoke to her on FaceTime and she thanked me for writing it and letting her do it," McCartney said. "I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song."
Cowboy Carter is expected to make it to the top spot on the Billboard 200. More than 350,000 equivalent album units of the record will likely be sold in the week following its release, Hits Daily Double reported.
The LP is also expected to rack up between 250 and 300 million streams. That includes a record-setting 76 million Spotify streams on the day of the album's release. No other LP released on the platform this year has performed that well.
Never miss a story — sign up for the Q newsletter for the latest music news on all your favorite artists, all in one place.
'Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing,' McCartney alum said.
Beyoncé explored country on Cowboy Carter, which is why the record includes features from artists like Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus.
That's why the singer has sent flowers and thank you notes to other Black female country artists who she feels blazed a path for her including K Michelle and Mickey Guyton.
"You’re killing it!" the pop star wrote in her letter to Michelle. "I love what you’ve been doing and I know it’s not easy to enter a new space. Sending you positivity and respect. I hope to meet you one day."
'Cowboy Carter' is expected to make it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The success of Cowboy Carter will also likely put Beyoncé in the running for Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammys.
During the previous ceremony earlier this year, Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z slammed the Recording Academy for never presenting her the honor.
"I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won Album of the Year," he said while gesturing toward Beyoncé. "So even by your own metrics that doesn't work."
The rapper was on the stage with his and Beyoncé's 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter at the time. He went on to lodge a broader critique against the Grammys.
"Some of you are gonna go home tonight and feel like you've been robbed," he told the other artists gathered at the Crypto.com Arena. "Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don't belong in the category... I tell the truth."
Powered by RedCircle
