Paul McCartney knighted 1997
On this day in 1997, Paul McCartney, a former member of the
most successful rock band in history, The Beatles, was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II for his “services to music.” The 54-year-old lad from
Liverpool became Sir Paul in a centuries-old ceremony of pomp and
solemnity at Buckingham Palace in central London. Fans waited outside in
a scene reminiscent of Beatlemania of the 1960s. Crowds screamed as
McCartney swept through the gates in his chauffeur-driven limousine and
he answered with a thumbs-up.
McCartney’s wife, Linda, who was fighting breast cancer, did not
accompany him, but three of their four children were at the palace. “I
would have loved the whole family to be here, but when we heard there
were only three tickets, we had to draw straws,” McCartney said. Linda
McCartney would succumb to cancer 13 months later on April 17, 1998.
As for the surviving Beatles, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, Sir
Paul said that since they learned that he would be knighted, “They call
me ‘Your Holiness.'” McCartney dedicated his knighthood to fellow
Beatles George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon and the people of
the northwestern port of Liverpool. In October 1965, McCartney, along
with fellow band members John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr,
collected MBE (Member of the British Empire) medals, much to the shock
of the British establishment. Lennon, who returned his MBE in 1969 as a
war protest, was assassinated in New York in 1980. Harrison would also
succumb to cancer, passing away on November 29, 2001.
McCartney admitted he was very nervous before the ceremony but said
it had been a great experience. “Proud to be British, wonderful day and
it’s a long way from a little terrace (street) in Liverpool,” he told
reporters. Aides said he won’t be calling himself “Sir Paul,” the title
conferred when the queen tapped him on each shoulder with a naked sword
as he knelt on the investiture stool. McCartney’s knighthood was
considered long overdue even by the conservative standards used in
Britain, which sees most such honors going to judges, scientists and
politicians.
McCartney formed the group Wings after the Beatles split up in 1970,
and made records with stars like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder
before trying his hand at composing classical music. “The first time I
really ever felt a tingle up my spine was when I saw Bill Haley and The
Comets on the telly,” McCartney once said. “Then I went to see them
live. The ticket was 24 shillings, and I was the only one of my mates
who could go as no one else had been able to save up that amount. But I
was single-minded about it. I knew there was something going on here.”
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Automotive
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Civil War
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Cold War
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Crime
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Disaster
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General Interest
- 1861 Confederate constitution adopted
- 1941 FDR signs Lend-Lease
- 1942 MacArthur leaves Corregidor
- 1990 Lithuania proclaims its independence
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Hollywood
- 1989 COPS debuts on Fox
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Literary
- 1818 Frankenstein published
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Music
- 1903 Lawrence Welk is born
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Old West
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Presidential
- 1947 Truman thanks Herbert Hoover for aiding post-WWII reconstruction
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Sports
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Vietnam War
- 1967 Heavy battle rages during Operation Junction City
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World War I
- 1918 First cases reported in deadly influenza epidemic
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World War II
- 1942 MacArthur leaves the Philippines
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