18 Days of McCartney Day 16- Children, Children

Children, children, where are you?

Hiding in the forest, playing in the rain

I hope you're not too far away for me to see again

Heather;

Paul, Heather, Linda

Prior to Linda's marriage with Paul McCartney in 1969, she was engaged in a relationship with American geologist, Joseph Melville See Jr, whom she met at the University of Arizona and married on 18 June, 1962. Heather Louise See was born on 31 December, 1962 to the couple in Tuscon, Arizona. When she was six years old her mother and father had separated leaving Linda and Heather to go to New York where Linda pursued her career as a photographer. In 1967 Linda had met Paul McCartney and was soon invited to live with the musician in his St. John's Wood estate. Two years later on 12 March, 1969 Paul and Linda were married and Paul took over as Heather's adoptive father, where you can find her appearances in The Beatles film, Let It Be.

Heather McCartney

Just like her mother and now her adoptive father, Heather was interested in the arts, taking up photography where she won the Young Black and White Printer of the Year Award in Llford for a piece she called "Waterfall".  She went on to pursue her love for art throughout college where she took up pottery and design. 

In the early 1980s Heather was hospitalized after suffering from emotional disorders. On her release she decided to travel through Mexico where she became part of the Huichol and Tarahumara tribes. She moved around a few years later to live with her biological father, Joseph See in Arizona, but after her fathers sudden death on 19 March, 2000, after being found with a self inflicted gunshot wound, Heather moved to England and became a potter. In 1999 she launched her own house-ware products called Heather McCartney Houseware Collection.

 Mary;

Paul and Mary

Mary Anna McCartney was born on 28 August, 1969 in London becoming Paul's first child, in fact she was named after Paul's mother (read about her here).  When Mary was a few years old her parents had formed a group called Wings (read about Wings History here and Wings Tours here) where she would travel with the band as they played various gigs. She would grow up in the McCartney's Sussex estate as well as High Park Farm in Scotland. With her mother being a photographer, Mary is featured in many pictures of Paul on the road or photographic while growing up. Her most famous photograph is featured on McCartney's first solo album, McCartney, where she is seen tucked in her fathers jacket.

Traveling with Wings

Just as her mother she became a photographer and photo editor for Omnibus Press, a music book publisher; In 1992 she then became a professional photographer. Some of Mary's earliest work can be seen at the first official photo of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair with his family, after she had became close friends with Cherie Blair while campaigning for breast cancer awareness, in which Mary is a part of. Since then Mary has photographed Sam Taylor-Wood, Jude Law, Ralph Fienes, her young sister Stella, Paul McCartney, and much more.

In 1995 Mary met television producer and director, Alistair Donald, after being introduced by Mary's younger brother, James. The two dated for three years and arranged to be married for May 1998, due to the sudden death of Linda McCartney the wedding was postponed til 25 September, 1998. The following year on 3 April, 1999 and n the 1 August, 2002 the couple gave birth to Elliot Donald. The family would resign in Lauderdale Mansions South in Maida Vale, London. Unfortunately, in 2005 the couple separated with no public confirmation of divorce but the separation seemed to be permanent in 2007 when she began going back to Mary McCartney instead of Mary McCartney-Donald.

That same year she released her first exhibition with her work of offstage pictures of The Royal Ballet, London capturing the hard everyday lives of the performers calling the exhibit, Off Pointe: A Photographic Study of the Royal Ballet After in Brighton. Following this exhibit shes had several more solo;

Self portrait

1. Off Pointe; A Photographic Study of the Royal Ballet After- 2004, 2005, 2007
2. Playing Dress Up- 2007
3. Backup - 2007
4. British Style Observed - 2008
5. Collective  Works - 2009
6. From Where I Stand - 2010, 2011, 2012
7. Developing - 2013

She went on to have four group shows;

1. Schweppes Photographic Portrait Show- 1995
2. 31 Studio EXPOSED, Platinum Prints - 2004
3. Strength and Beauty Embodied by Avant- Garde Women - 2007
4. Gay Icons - 2009

Mary

After separating from her first husband Mary had begun seeing Simon Aboud, a director whom she would have her third child, Sam Aboud, on 11 August , 2008. The couple had a private ceremony on 12 June, 2010 in London at the Marylebone Register Office. 3 September, 2011 The Aboud family grew bigger with their last addition, Sid.

Mary is active in campaigns to spread cancer awareness, Smile Train ( where she was asked to take photos of four children from Volgograd and Bejing) and she is an animal activist taking a great part in the McCartney's Meat Free Monday. In 2012 she released her own vegan cook book, Food. 

 Stella;
 

Traveling with Wings

Stella Nina McCartney became Paul and Linda's second child on 13 September, 1971 in Lambeth, London being named after Linda McCartney's grandmother. Just like Mary and Heather, Stella became part of the Wings traveling, in fact the name Wings came while Paul was praying while Linda was rushed in to the emergency caesarean section while giving birth to Stella. Paul had sat outside the operating room and prayed for the safety of his wife and child where he prayed for her to be born "on the wings of an angel." with an image of wings in his mind.

With all the riches, Paul wanted his children to lead as normal as a life as they could leading to Stella and her siblings to attend local state schools in East Sussex, where Stella was a victim of bullying. By age thirteen she had designed her first jacket. It was only three years later she became an intern for Christian Lacroix where she began  working on his first fashion design collection. She later studied at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, fashion design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and graduated from Central St Martins in 1995 where supermodel and friends Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon, and Kate Moss modeled Stella's graduation collection for free.  The collection became a hit making front- page and being sold in a London boutique called Tokio and would be licensed to Browns, Josephs, Bergdorf Goodman, and even Neiman Marcus. After school  she began her passion for style and fashion starting her first collection. By 1997 she was working as a Creative Director of Chloe in Paris. In 1998 she designed her sister's wedding dress  for Mary's wedding to Alistair Donald.

In 2001 she launched her own fashion house with Gucci Group (now Kering) where she shared her first collection in Paris. Since then she now owns seventeen stores in London Mayfair, Manhattan's Soho, Paris' Palais Royal, LA's West Hollywood, Barcelon's Passeig de Garcia, Milan, Rome, and Miami. Her collections are being sold over fifty countries.

photographed by Linda

Two years later Stella launched her own perfume line calling it Stella. In 2004 her design was shown through a summer tour for Madonna's Re-Invention Tour and Annie Lennonx's tour. She also worked for the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow for Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law's costumes. Some of her most recent works were when she began working with Adidas having a long-term partnership with the athletic line in September 2004. Adidas by Stella McCartney can be seen in 2010 when she was appointed by Great Britain's Creative Director for the 2012 Olympics, the first time a leading fashion designer has designed clothes for both the Olympic games and Paralympic Games. 2005 she became releasing her products for H&M in hopes of  selling more affordable options to her fans; when the her line with H&M was released  in November 2005 it was sold out immediately. She then launched CARE a 100% organic skincare line in January 2007. In March of the same year she began working in one hundred target stores, primarily in Australia. In 2010 McCartney began working with Disney to create jewlry inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Her work has also been seen in New York City Ballet's Ocean's Kingdom, which is based on an album by her father from 2011.

Stella and British publisher Alasdhair Wills were married at Mount Stuart House on Isle of Bute on 30 August, 2003. The dress she wore was an updated version of her mother's dress worn in 1969. The couple has since had four children, James (2005), Bailey Linda Olwyn (2006), Beckett Robert Lee (2008), and Reiley Dilys Stella (2010).

Stella McCartney

Paul McCartney presented Stella with the Designer of the Year Award by VH1/Vogue in 2000. Three years later she recived the Woman of Courage Award, for her work against cancer.  Best designer of the Year Glamour Award and the Star Honoree at the Fashion Group International Night of the Stars were presented to her in 2004. In 2005 she recieved the Organic Style Woman of the Year Award. The Elle Style Award for Best Designer of the Year and the Best Designer of the Year at the British Style Awards became part of her award collection in 2007. She recieved an Elle Award for Best Designer of the Year in Spain in 2008, that same year she recieved the Green Designer of the year at the ACE Awards. The following year she was honored by NRDC, Glamour magazine Woman of the Year, and featured in the Time100. 2011 she was had recieved the Red Carpet Award by the British Fashion Council. On New Years Honours for service to fashion 2013 she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). As of February 2013 she became one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

As an animal activist like her parents, her clothing represents that, for example one of her designs for Adidas says "Suitable for sport vegetarians".

James:

photographed by Linda

12 September, 1977 the third McCartney child was born, James Louis named after Paul's father (read about him here) and Linda's Mother, Louise. As said with his older sisters, James would be on the road traveling with The Band on The Run, Wings. While on the road on McCartney's 1989 World Tour, James would have a tutor and would later attend Thomas Peacocke Communite College but started his love for music, surprisingly not because of his father but after seeing Michael J Fox perform in the film Back to the Future, James would later play Paul's Fender Stratocaster, previously owned by the great Carl Perkins, at age nine. The McCartney's had a scare when James was sixteen years old he was surfing with friends and was swept out to sea. The family was called and immediately arrived at the scene where they waited forty minutes for James, who returned on his own.

He would follow his love for music appearing on his fathers 1997 album, Flaming Pie, where he played guitar and drums on a few songs. In 1998 Linda released her own album, Wild Prairie, where James played lead guitar. He is also listed in Paul's 2001 album, Driving Rain as co-writer on certain tracks like "Spinning On An Axis" and "Back In The Sunshine Again".  In 2005 he joined his father on his US Tour.

Jame began recording his own music in 2008 with his father, David Kahne, and various other musicians.  He made his first US debut on 14 November, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center where he performed his own solo material. He released his first EP on 21 September, 2010 with the name Avaliable Light.

James

"The music was inspired by The Beatles, Nirvana, The Cure, PJ Harvey, Radiohead - and all good music. It is basically rock 'n' roll, clean sounding and vocal. The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one's life, and many other things."- James McCartney

 Since then he has toured the UK in February and March 2010 and the US in April, 2013, released his first solo album, Me.

Beatrice;

Beatrice

Beatrice McCartney was born on 28 October, 2003 by McCartney's second wife, Heather Mills. In great respect and trying to keep the innocence of a young girl, Paul has kept Beatrice out of the star light as much as possible.

Deliver your children to the good, good life

Give 'em peace and shelter and a fork and knife

18 Days of McCartney Day 14- Meat Free Monday

Macca's on a mission to save the world and he wants you to get involved!

"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty."- Paul McCartney

Meat Free Monday is a campaign started by Paul McCartney and his two daughters, Mary and Stella. The organization started on 15 June, 2009 after being participates in Meatless Monday.

Meatless Monday is an international program that encourages people to give up one day a week, Monday, to not eat meat. By not eating meat it can significantly help improve ones health and the health of the world. The organization was part of The Monday Campaigns Inc. founded in 2003 by Sid Lerner.  But the story of Meat free meals came long before that.

Paul McCartney;The Meat Free Monday Cookbook

It was during World War I when President Wilson promoted citizens to give up meat of Tuesdays and for one meat free meal a day. The Untied States Food Administration (USFA), which was run by Herbert Hoover at the time as well as the American Relief Association,  would advertise recipe books, menus, and magazines to support Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays.  Not too long afterwards, World War II broke out which called for this campaign to start all over again. Meat, along with sugar and gasoline. Although, it began with Wilson's  thinking to ship meat off to the U.S troops and feed Europe populations suffering during this era instead of saving the animals, with the slogan;

"Food Will Win the War"

 After meeting his first wife, Linda, Paul McCartney had became an animal activist and full vegetarian. It's no surprise though after his love of animals shown through his farm in Kintyre, Scotland, and for those who followed The Beatles must know about his love for his sheepdog, Martha. Paul had taken part in the UK's version of Meatless Monday called Meat-free Mondays, which was gaining big support from organizations like Goodlife Food and as an environmental campaign itself. Ghent, Belgium became the first city to have an official weekly vegetarian days, with Veggie Thursday (Donderdag Veggiedag) which was created by an organization funded by the Flemish government, the Ethical Vegetarian Alternative.  Paul and his daughters began the campaign on 15 June, 2009, from there Meatless Monday took off in Israel where they announced their Meatless Monday, Israel restaurant even started to create their own meals for Meatless Monday. Sao Paulo having a huge success being supported by the Brazilian Vegetarian Society. That same year in December, the campaign was launched in Australia.On 6 April, 2010, the first US city to officially become part of Meat-Free Monday, calling it Vegetarian Day, was San Fransisco. The Minitry of Environmental and Nature Protection of Croatia began their support for the project in March of 2012.

On 15 July, 2009 The McCartney's launched their own website, MeatFreeMondays.com, where they state;

"You don't have to join or become a member - or do anything else other than have one meat-free day each week - but by registering your support, you'll help show the world the power and positivity of the Meat Free Monday message"

To register and save lives of animals, your health, and the planet, simply go to MeatFreeMondays.com and click "Get Involved" to sign up for free where you will receive an email saying;

"Thanks for registering you support of Meat Free Monday!

Stella,Paul,and Mary;The Meat Free Monday Cookbook

Please encourage your friends and family to join in too and please continue to visit www.meatfreemondays.com for all the latest meat-free news, events and delicious recipes!

Warm regards,

The Meat Free Monday team

One day a week can make a world of difference.

Together we can have a huge impact!"

In 2011, Paul, Stella, and Mary McCartney released the Gourmand World Cookbook Award, The Meat Free Monday Cookbook, with recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert for every Monday in a year. That's right 52 weeks worth of Meat-free recipes from the McCartney household, Twiggy, Pink, Skye Gyngell, Giorgio Locatelli, Mario Batali, Tom Aikens, and many more other celebrities who care and support Meat-Free Monday. Books are being sold at The Meat-Free Monday website, order your copy today.

"The vast majority of people are conscientious and would want to do something in their own lives to help secure a happier future for the generations that follow. While many suggestions offered can be quite difficult to put into practise, the idea of one meat-free day per week is something that many people find doable and something that, with the help of this book, can be achieved relatively easily."- Paul, Stella, and Mary McCartney, The Meat Free Monday Cookbook.

 I'd continue to write more about the organization itself but if I did that then you wouldn't visit the website! So while your sitting down, or standing, or what ever position you are in while reading this silly little post, click here, and became part of Meat-Free Monday today to change the world.

The following video is Paul McCartney's "Meat-Free Monday" song;

18 Days of McCartney Day 2- Early Childhood

 Before reading this you may find it to your benefit to read about Paul's parents; Jim and Mary by clicking here. 

 It's hard to deny or get mad at a big hazel eyed, chubby cheeked child that Paul McCartney was. Everyone adored him for his chipmunk cheeks and innocence which, if he played his cards right, would get him out of some trouble. His brother, Michael on the other hand, didn't have Paul's fortune and was known more of the trouble one of the two,

"He was the one you felt you wanted to love and protect. With Paul, you loved him, but you knew you'd never have to protect him."- Olive Johnson on Michael, Shout by  Philip Norman

As a child Paul remembers his father being ‘a great crossword – puzzle man’ telling his kids to practice and keep the mind sharp, “it would improve our word power”. After leaving school at age fourteen his father had to educate himself, which wasn’t bad at all,

 “He taught me words that no one else knew and I was the only kid in my class who could spell ‘phlegm’.” - Paul McCartney, Anthology

Michael and Paul

His mother was a midwife and nurse, very kind and proper woman, trying to teach her kids to grow up using the Queen’s English instead of the Liverpool dialect of Scouse. One and a half years after Paul was born he received a baby brother, Peter Michael, who would be known as Michael or Mike. In The Beatles Anthology Paul describes his childhood as secure, being brought up as what he called “a pioneer family”, due to them always moving to fit with his mother’s job,

 “No sooner would we be established in one house than we would be moved to a new one, on the outskirts of Speke, say, where they hadn’t built the roads yet. We’d live there for a while and then it would be ‘whipcrack away’, and we were moving again.” 

The family lived from, 10 Sunbury Road, Liverpool but not shortly after they lived at 92 Broadway, Wallasey, this home was only temporarily, the family were given a home at 3 Roach Avenue, Knowsley due to Jim’s new job as a  Napier’s inspector, which was to be considered as war work. They then lived at a ground-floor flat in Sir Thomas White Gardens, Everton. In 1946 the family moved again to Speke staying at 72 Western Avenue and two years later they moved down the road to the new Liverpool estates, 12 Adwick Road where Jim would become secretary of Speke. Finally, the family settled down in 1955 at a three bedroom home 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton.

Liverpool suffered during World War II due to the docks and the ports that surrounded it, 

“we played on bomb-sites a lot and I grew up thinking the word ‘bomb-site’ meant ‘playground’. I never connected it with bombing. ‘Where are you going to play’? –‘I’m going down the bombie’”. - Paul McCartney, Anthology

As children they’d grow up speaking terms like shell shock and never know what it meant, it was the innocence of a child. Paul spent his days at the bombie’s and the docks, saying he had a very romantic feeling about the docks, at St John’s market- prior to it turning into a parking lot, or at the beach walking down Dungeon Lane. McCartney remembers the winters in Liverpool being freezing, “They were like being in Siberia…” getting chapped knees and  rashes.

Mary being a Catholic, Jim being a Protestant had decided to baptize their sons as Roman Catholics. The two boys didn’t do much with religion; they did how ever go to Sunday school, sing hymns at the Catholic schools they attended in their early childhood. Some of Paul’s earliest music came from churches and hymns, saying that he grew to like the sounds of them. He also auditioned to join church choirs in the Liverpool area, unfortunately at around age eleven he didn’t pass the audition at the Liverpool Cathedral.  

 “I was exposed to many religious arguments on the pierhead, and I came to the conclusion that ‘God’ is just the word ‘good’ with the ‘o’ taken out, and ‘Devil’ is the word ‘evil’ with a ‘D’ added. Really, all that people have done throughout history is to personify the two forces of Good and Evil. And although they’ve given them many names – like Jehovah or Allah – I’ve got a feeling that it’s all the same.”- Paul McCartney, Anthology

“A lot of people don’t like school. I didn’t like it very much, but I didn’t dislike it; and I quite enjoyed bits of it. I enjoyed English literature because we had a good master. What I didn’t like was being told what to do.”- Paul McCartney, Anthology

Paul at Joseph Williams

 Paul attended Wood Road Primary School from 1947 until 1949. Later on he transferred to Joseph Williams Junior School. Due to Paul passing the Eleven-Plus (an exam given to children around the ages eleven to twelve which will help schools decide on which secondary school would fit best with the student) he was admitted into the Liverpool Institute where he would become friends with Ivan Vaughan. Paul describes the school as dark, dank, and gloomy. He was always a promising student having report cards that read, “A very intelligent boy…” followed by “Very good work”.  One year his school decided to put on the play St. Joan, Paul would audition for the part of Warwick but like his choir auditions at the Liverpool Cathedral he didn't pass the audition and was given a small role as an inquisitor. Growing up Michael and Paul had believed that they would grow up to be doctors, since their mother was in the medical field. Unfortunately, Mary had suffered from cancer when Paul was fourteen years old, and passed away at age forty-seven on 31 October, 1956; she was laid to rest on 3 November at Yew Tree Cemetery.

 “My mother’s death broke my dad up. That was the worst thing for me, hearing my dad cry.”- Paul McCartney, Anthology

 It was during this time that Paul had learned to “put a shell on”.  With his mother gone and his father distraught and working, Paul and Michael had taken up little house chores with help from his aunts and uncles, 

“Auntie Milly and Auntie Jinny came on Tuesday, and that was  a golden day in my week because I could come home and not have to do anything.”

Jimmy Mac Jazz Band

Music was in Paul’s blood, his father played trumpet and his Uncle Jack played Trombone in a jazz band called Jimmy Mac Jazz Band. Not only did Jim play trumpet but he also knew clarinet and a self-taught pianist, he’d always play the piano which lead to Paul’s infatuation for the instrument. His father would tell his sons to learn the piano; it’s a great way to get invited to parties. Paul and Michael would ask their dad to teach them but he refused to, saying that they must learn properly and not self-trained like himself, 

“In the end, I learnt to play be ear, just like him, making it all up.” 

Paul did eventually take lessons from an elder woman at her home; he hated it. Going to her home made him uncomfortable, he didn’t like the smell, “it smelt of old people” and in the end he gave up on it due to the homework being a bit challenging, but for what it’s worth he did enjoy something’s she showed him but he never learned how to read or write sheet music. With more practice he’d be playing at parties, with help from his Uncle Ron who would always know the right time for anything. 

“I had a lovely Uncle Ron, who would come up and say, ‘All right son. Now, you know “Carolina Moon”?’ and I’d say, Yeah.’ He’d say, ‘Well, don’t play it yet, wait till I tell you. I’ll give you the OK.’ I’d wait and everyone would get steamed up, you could feel the party rise and the atmosphere building, and at about eleven he’d come up to me and tap me on the shoulder – ‘All right, son, go for it.’” 

These family parties would always take place on New Year’s Eve; Paul describes them as some of his favorite parties. Having the family together, as kids he’d work behind the bar, Uncle Jack telling jokes, and the atmosphere. 

 The Following video is Paul McCartney's "That Was Me" from his Memory Almost Full album;

But Paul's early music will be saved for 18 Days of McCartney Day 3, where Paul's idols, trumpet days, and the beginning of a new artist will be shared.

18 Days of McCartney Day 1- Jim and Mary McCartney

It's June and you know what that means; Paul McCartney's birthday month! To honor the worlds "Most Successful Composer and Recording Artist of All Time" (Says the Guinness World Records) I will post facts about Sir Paul's life until his 72nd Birthday on 18 June, as done with previous posts like 9 Days of Lennon and 25 Days of Harrison (7 Days of Starr will be coming in July). So I recommend all you Maccalcoholic's to Get Back  as we become a  Backwards Traveler down The Long and Winding Road through Sir James Paul McCartney's Yesterday s. So relax and let's Appreciate because 18 Days of McCartney is Coming Up.

Our story begins on 18 June, 1942 in Walton, Liverpool where Mary and Jim McCartney gave birth to their first son, James Paul McCartney.

 "My mother was a nurse and came from Fazakerley, Liverpool."- Paul McCartney, Anthology

There's not much written about young Mary Patricia Mohan, who was born on 29 September, 1909. Her mother was Mary Theresa Danher, born  from Toxeth Park and her father was born in Tullynamalrow, Ireland in 1880 as Owen Mohan but would change the spelling of his last name to Mohin during his school years so he wouldn't be mistaken with other students last names. Owen moved to Liverpool when he was older were he worked as a coalman. Mary and Owen were married on 24 April, 1905 at St. Charles Roman Catholic Church. The couple gave birth to their daughter, Mary,named after her mother, at 2 Third Avenue, Fazakerley, Liverpool. At age two her parents had divorced and her father had met and married his new love, Rose. The couple met while Owen was on a trip to Monaghan, Ireland and soon found love and started lives together as Rose brought her two children from her previous marriage into the picture. Mary Patricia soon realised that her new step-mother didn't care to take care of her new husband's daughter and decided she wanted to live with her aunts. By age fourteen Mary started working at Smithdown Road Hospital as a nurse trainee which would lead her to then take a three year training course at Walton Road Hospital on Rice Lane where she was given title as a state registered nurse. It was in June, when Mary was about thirty one years old she was brought into shelter during an air raid on Liverpool where she met thirty eight year old Jim McCartney.

"My dad was born in Everton and was a cotton salesman who'd left school when he was fourteen."- Paul McCartney, Anthology

Jim McCartney was born on 7 July, 1902 becoming the third out of seven children. His mother was Florence "Florrie" Clegg, who was born 2 June, 1866 and Joseph "Joe" McCartney was his father, born 23 November, 1866 who worked as a tobacco- cutter. Florrie and Joe were wed on 17 May, 1896 in Christ Church Kensington, Liverpool. The two were very seldom people, Joe who was always in bed by 10 o'clock, never drank, and the worst thing he would every say was Jaysus, while Florrie was nicknamed "Granny Mac" and was always willing to help and was usually called to help during other families issues. Jim was born at 8 Fishguard Street, Everton, Liverpool and would soon become the fifth piece of a nine piece family, his six other siblings being; John (Jack), Edith, Ann, Millie, Jane (Jin), and Joe- who was named after Jim's other brother who died as a baby. After Jim's birth the family moved to 3 Solva Street in Everton, just three miles away from Liverpool City centre where Jim would attend the Steers Street Primary School. At age ten Jim had fallen off a wall where he suffered from loosing his hearing in his left ear. Just like his future wife, Jim started working at age fourteen, his first job paying six shillings a week as a cotton sample boy at A. Hanney & Co five days a week for ten hours a day.  It wasn't a big shock that his future son would became a great musician, Jim,  music lover, led his own Jazz band, Jimmy Mac's Jazz Band where he would play trumpet and the piano- which he learned how to play by ear. Jimmy Mac's Jazz Band would play at socials, cinemas, and even dances; their biggest achievement was when they were given the opportunity to provide the music for a silent Hollywood film, The Queen of Sheba. As time went on World War II had started and Jim was now too old to be drafted and disqualified anyways due to him only being able to hear through the right ear. The cotton exchange was closed during the war which lead to Jim now working at Napier's engineering works, where he made shell cases; if that wasn't enough he was also a volunteer firefighter. Jim went through his life as a bachelor and was very content in his ways of life until he met Mary Mohan who he married the following year on 15 April, 1941.

Michael, Jim, Mary, and Paul

Mary's job now required her to be a domiciliary health visitor and midwife leading her to take off on bicycle during the day or night to homes where she was needed which lead her away from her home most of the time, where she felt guilty about not being around as much as she'd like to for her two sons, James Paul and his brother, younger by two years, Michael.  Her gentleness and kindness was known throughout those around the McCartney's, showing their support and love towards the family the McCartney's would sometimes have surprises like ornaments or sugar placed on their back door or on their steps. But Mary's busy twenty-four hour job came to a halt when she picked up a job as a school nurse in the Walton and Allerton district.

Mary had been suffering from pains in her breast but didn't think too much of it and avoiding the doctors as much as possible, even though a small lump appeared on the breast, in the fear that she might be diagnosed with nurse's hypochondria. Olive Johnson, daughter of Mary's friend Bella and Paul and Micheal's babysitter, recalls one night,

"When she got home, she went straight to bed," Olive says, "I went up later and found her crying. 'Oh, Olive,' she said to me, 'I don't want to leave the boys just yet.'" - From Shout by Philip Norman

 After a few days the pain was so severe Mary was admitted to a hospital where she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was put into surgery for mastectomy, which did little success; the cancer had already spread too far.

"That was the worst thing for me, hearing my dad cry. I'd never heard him cry before. It was a terrible blow to the family. You grow up real quick, because you never expect to hear you parents crying." -Paul McCartney, Anthology

Michael, Mary, and Paul

It was Wednesday 31 October, 1956 that Mary McCartney, age forty-seven, had passed away after loosing her abrupt battle of cancer. Paul was fourteen years old and Michael twelve. It's told that before her operation she laid school clothes out for her sons and told her sister-in-law, Dill Mohin, "Now everything's ready for them  in case I don't come back." and how she would of loved to watch the boys grow up. She was buried on 3 November at  Yew Tree Cemetery, Finch Lane, Liverpool.
 Mary is honored by both sons, Michael having an album called Women in 1972 with a picture of his beloved mother, and Paul McCartney being inspired by a dream he had of his mother telling him that everything was going to be alright, Let it be. 

Mother Mary come's to me, 

Speaking words of wisdom; 

Let It Be.

The following video is Michael McCartney (McGear) 's "Woman"  ;

Jim, with help from Bella, Olive, and his sisters all took help in raising the two boys. It was almost a decade later that Jim had fallen in love with Angie Lucia, a Liverpool widow born in 1929. After three meetings Jim and Angie had decided to get married, Jim being sixty-two years old and Angie being thirty-four the two were wed on 24 November, 1964. Angie had brought her daughter Ruth, whom she had with her previous husband, Eddie. Jim legally adopted Ruth, who was four years old at the time she was brought into the McCartney family, making Ruth legally Paul and Micheal's step-sister. Ruth was very musical, playing piano, guitar, and singing; this would become a bond with Jim and her, also with Paul- in fact The Beatles "Golden Slumbers", came from a sheet of piano music Ruth had out with the same title.

Paul, Jim, Angie, and Ruth

Jim had passed away on 18 March, 1976 at age seventy-two from bronchial pneumonia just two days after his son launched his Wings Over Europe tour. Paul had come back to attend his father's funeral who was cremated four days later. Angie on the other hand is now eighty-five years old and helps run McCartney Multimedia with her daughter Ruth and Ruth's husband Martin Nethercutt. In her late seventies Angie also starts her own brand of organic tea.

The following video is The Beatles "Let It Be";

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of 18 Days of McCartney with Paul McCartney's early childhood