OH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU
ARE HERE FOR A VERY SPECIAL
NIGHT.
VERY SPECIAL NIGHT HERE IN THE
ED SULLIVAN THEATER.
I JUST CANNOT WAIT, JON.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
HERE WE GO.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU KNOW
MY FIRST GUEST TONIGHT BECAUSE
HE'S PAUL McCARTNEY!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( BAND PLAYING )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( BAND PLAYING )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: PAUL, WE'VE GOT TO
TAKE A COMMERCIAL BREAK.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.
( LAUGHTER )
WELCOME BACK TO THE ED SULLIVAN
THEATER.
>> THANK YOU!
GREAT TO BE BACK.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: I MEAN, THE FIRST
QUESTION, OBVIOUSLY, IS WHERE
DID YOU GUYS PERFORM THE FIRST
TIME YOU WERE HERE?
WAS IT UP THERE?
I ALWAYS GUESSED IT WAS RIGHT UP
THERE, RIGHT ABOVE THE
PRECENIUM.
>> I DON'T KNOW.
>> Stephen: IF YOU DON'T KNOW,
WHWHO KNOWS.
>> IT'S CHANGED SO MUCH.
>> Stephen: IS THAT WHAT IT
LOOKED LIKE BACK THEN?
>> KIND OF THE SAME.
IT WAS SIMILAR.
OH, MAN, IT'S SO LONG AGO, AND
WE WERE SO NERVOUS.
>> Stephen: WERE YOU REALLY?
YEAH.
IT DOESN'T SHOW TOO MUCH.
WHEN I LOOK AT IT NOW, I THINK
WE DON'T LOOK NERVOUS AT ALL.
>> Stephen: YOU LOOK PRETTY
HAPPY.
>> YEAH, BUT WE WERE NERVOUS.
>> Stephen: AS A PERSONAL
QUESTION, AS A PROFESSIONAL, ON
BEHALF OF ANYBODY WHO'S TRIED TO
WRITE ANYTHING, WHO HOWE DO YOU
DO IT?
HOW DO YOU EVER GO LOOK BACK AT
YOUR OWN CATALOG AND SAY HOW DO
I DO THAT?
>> THAT'S TRUE, BECAUSE WHEN I
DO THEM IN THE SHOWS, I'M
SINGING, LIKE, ELEANOR RIGBY OR
SOMETHING, I'M THINKING, WHOEVER
WROTE THIS WAS PRETTY GOOD.
( LAUGHTER )
YOU KNOW, IT'S --
>> Stephen: SURE, SURE.
YEAH.
BUT WHERE DO YOU THINK IT COMES
FROM?
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT A MUSE OR
SOMEONE WHO IS SORT OF TOUCHED
BY GRACE.
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE BECOME PAUL
McCARTNEY AND OTHER PEOPLE
BECOME STEPHEN COLBERT?
( LAUGHTER )
>> SERIOUSLY?
>> Stephen: SERIOUSLY.
YOU KNOW WHAT?
MY DAD WAS VERY MUSICAL, AND I
USED TO LISTEN TO A LOT OF WHAT
HE DID, SO A LOT OF MUSIC WENT
IN, YOU KNOW, I LISTENED TO THE
RECORDS AND WATCHED FILMS AND
STUFF.
SO I ALWAYS THINK OF IT LIKE MY
COMPUTER GOT LOADED WITH A LOT
OF DATA FROM ALL THE SONGS I
HEARD, ALL THE OLD SONGS.
SO WHEN I FINALLY CAME TO WRITE,
I KIND OF PRINTED IT ALL OUT.
SO I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF
INFORMATION IN MY BRAIN --
>> Stephen: SO YOU HAD A LOT
OF REFERENCE.
>> A LOT OF STUFF, YEAH.
AND MY FAMILY WAS VERY MUSICAL.
WE WOULD HAVE MUSICAL EVENINGS,
ALL THE OLD LADIES, ALL THE OLD
AUNTIES WOULD BE SINGING ALL THE
SONGS AND GETTING GRADUALLY MORE
AND MORE DRUNK.
( LAUGHTER )
>> Stephen: IT'S A GOOD CROWD,
ACTUALLY.
( LAUGHTER )
>> MY DAD WAS THE PIANIST FOR
THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT WAS ALL THE OLD
SONGS.
AND THEN, EVENTUALLY, HE GOT
ARTHRITIS, SO I BECAME THE
PIANIST FOR THAT.
>> Stephen: OKAY.
O, YOU KNOW --
( SINGING )
>> SO I KNOW ALL THAT STUFF.
AND WHEN I FINALLY CAME TO
WRITE, I THINK I HAD A LOT OF
CLUES AS TO HOW TO WRITE.
PLUS I'M A GENIUS.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( PIANO RIFF )
>> Stephen: THAT'S CALLED
BURYING THE LEAD.
SO YOU'RE RECOMMENDING TO YOUNG
PEOPLE, JUST BE A GENIUS.
>> WELL, YEAH, WHY NOT.
>> Stephen: WHAT WAS THE FIRST
TOUR LIKE IN THE UNITED STATES
IN 1964?
>> PRETTY COOL.
>> Stephen: YEAH?
IT WAS, IT WAS MAGICAL
BECAUSE WE LOVED AMERICAN MUSIC,
STILL DO.
EVERYTHING WE WERE SINGING,
EXCEPT THE STUFF WE WROTE
OURSELVES, WAS AMERICAN.
SO TO COME TO AMERICA FOR THE
FIRST TIME, COME TO NEW YORK AS
KIDS WHO KIND OF MADE IT OVER IN
ENGLAND, SO WE WERE COCKY LITTLE
GITS, SO WE FELT LIKE, HEY, THIS
IS COOL, GET THE CIGARETTES OUT.
SO IT WAS MAGICAL.
IT WAS LIKE EVERYTHING WE
EXPECTED AND MORE.
AND WE WERE ON THE RADIO.
>> Stephen: THAT'S BIG TIME.
TUNING IN, YEAH, TUNING IN TO
LITTLE STATIONS AND WE WOULD BE
ON THE RADIO, WE WERE SO
EXCITED.
>> Stephen: YOU DID A LOT OF
COVERS.
WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST TO
COVER?
WHAT COVER DID YOU MOST ENJOY
DOING?
>> I THINK "TWIST AND SHOUT" WAS
A GREAT COVER.
>> Stephen: PEOPLE FORGET THAT
WAS A COVER.
>> YEAH.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
PEOPLE THINK WE WROTE THAT.
>> Stephen: RIGHT.
WE HAVE TO SAY, NO, NO, THAT
WAS THE EISLEY BROTHERS.
I USED TO LIKE DOING
"KANSAS CITY," LI LITTLE RICHARD
>> Stephen: A LOT OF PEOPLE
HAVE COVERED YOUR MUSIC AS WELL.
I THINK YESTERDAY IS THE MOST
COVERED SONG OR ALL TIME OR THE
MOST RECORDED SONG OF ALL TIME
BY VARIOUS ARTISTS.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE COVER OF
A BEATLES SONG?
AND KEEP IN MIND THERE'S A
CORRECT ANSWER.
( LAUGHTER )
>> YEAH, I HEARD IT WAS RECORDED
3,000 TIMES OR SOMETHING.
>> Stephen: YESTERDAY, YEAH.
O I SAID TO ONE OF OUR GUYS,
I SAID, WELL, GET ME THE TOP
TEN, JUST WHAT YOU THINK ARE THE
BEST TEN.
SO HE DID, AND IT WAS LIKE
SINATRA, ELVIS, RAY CHARLES,
MARVIN GAYE -- I THINK I LIKE
MARVIN'S BEST.
>> Stephen: UH-HUH.
BUT THE FUNNY THING ABOUT
SINATRA, MARVIN AND ELVIS, THEY
CHANGED THE WORDS IN THE MIDDLE.
I GO -- I SAID SOMETHING WRONG,
NOW I LONG FOR YESTERDAY --
WELL, ALL OF THEM SAID, I MUST
HAVE SAID SOMETHING WRONG -- BUT
THEY'RE NOT OWNING UP.
I MUST HAVE -- I DON'T KNOW.
( LAUGHTER )
( APPLAUSE )
SEARCH ME.
>> Stephen: THAT'S LIKE THOSE
APOLOGIES THAT ARE LIKE, IF
ANYONE WAS OFFENDED.
( LAUGHTER )
>> I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING
WRONG.
>> Stephen: THE CORRECT ANSWER
IS STEVIE WONDER'S "WE CAN WORK
IT OUT."
WE CHECKED WITH THE JUDGES, AND
THAT'S THE ORIGINAL ONE.
NOW, ARE YOU EVER STUNNED BY THE
REACH OF YOUR WORK, HOW MANY
DIFFERENT CULTURES HAVE EMBRACED
IT?
BECAUSE WE HAD ON -- DO YOU KNOW
THE KOREAN POP BAND B.T.S.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: THEY'RE THE
BIGGEST THING ON THE PLANET
RIGHT NOW.
>> SO I'VE HEARD.
>> Stephen: WHEN WE HAD THEM
ON, I ASKED THIS QUESTION --
JIM?
>> Stephen: YOU ARE THE FIRST
GROUP AS I SAID BEFORE TO EARN
THREE NUMBER ONE ALBUMS IN A ROW
SINCE THE BEATLES.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE A FAVORITE
BEATLES SONG?
>> StephenSONG? --
♪ NAH, NAH, NAH,
NAH-NAH-NAH-NAH ♪
♪ NAH-NAH-NAH-NAH ♪
♪ HEY JUDE ♪
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> THAT'S IT.
>> Stephen: WHAT DO YOU THINK
IT IS ABOUT YOUR MUSIC THAT
TRANSCENDS GEOGRAPHIC AND
LANGUAGE BARRIERS SO THAT THOSE
SEVEN GUYS WOULD JUST JUMP UP
AND START THE NAH-NAH-NAHS?
>> EASY LYRICS.
>> Stephen: THAT'S TRUE.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
WELL, WE HAVE TO TAKE A LITTLE
BREAK BUT DON'T GO ANYWHERE...
