Beyoncé FACETIMED Paul McCartney To Thank Him For Writing Blackbird E- News

Transcript

00:00 Blackbird singing in the dead of night

00:04 Paul McCartney praises Beyonce's cover of his iconic Beatles song.

00:09 The Beatles star pays tribute to his fellow music icon following the release of Cowboy

00:14 Carter, Beyonce's eighth studio album, which includes a cover of the Beatles song Blackbird.

00:21 In a new Instagram post, Paul writes, "I am so happy with Beyonce's version of my song

00:26 Blackbird.

00:27 I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message

00:32 that inspired me to write the song in the first place."

00:35 He continues, "I think Beyonce has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has

00:40 not heard it yet to check it out.

00:42 You are going to love it."

00:44 Paul also gives some insight into the remaking of the 1968 song, revealing he spoke to the

00:50 singer on FaceTime and she thanked him for writing it and letting her do it.

00:54 The 81-year-old says, "I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a

00:58 killer version of the song.

01:00 When I saw the footage on the television in the early 60s of the black girls being turned

01:05 away from school, I found it shocking and I can't believe that still in these days there

01:10 are places where this kind of thing is happening right now."

01:14 Paul ends his post, "Anything my song and Beyonce's fabulous version can do to ease

01:19 racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud."

01:23 The rock star has been open about his inspiration for the song, which originally appeared on

01:27 the Beatles' double album known as the White Album.

01:30 Over the years, he's talked about being inspired to write the track by the Little Rock Nine,

01:34 the nine black students who challenged racial segregation in public schools in 1957 by enrolling

01:41 at an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

01:44 The rock and roll legend even met two of the former students, Thelma Mothershed Ware and

01:49 Elizabeth Eckford, when he performed in Arkansas in 2016, at the time posting a picture with

01:55 the women whom he called "pioneers of the civil rights movement" and inspiration for

01:59 Blackbird.

02:00 Beyonce's cover also holds special meaning for another member of the Little Rock Nine,

02:05 Melba Beals, who tells NPR, "People ignored the song's meaning for a long time, but when

02:10 the Queen Bee speaks, people will listen.

02:13 And when people listen, they may open their minds to compassion about differences."

02:18 (music)

02:23 (upbeat music)

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