Paul McCartney made a rare talk show appearance yesterday, serving as the special guest on The Colbert Report for a segment titled “Better Know a Beatle.” In the intro to his interview with McCartney, host Stephen Colbert broke down the history of the Fab Four, discussing important biographical details like, “As a teenager, he joined the band the Quarrymen, which was composed of George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Brian Wilson, David Bowie, Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, Phil Spector, George Gershwin, Led Zeppelin and the Vienna Boys’ Choir.” Even better: “After the Beatles broke up, McCartney formed Wings, who were known for their smash hit ‘Stop Requesting “Strawberry Fields,” That Was John,’ ” Colbert jokes.
Things get even LOLier in the actual interview, with McCartney at first awkwardly blindsided by the whole Colbert character. Colbert’s questions range from “Who is your favorite Beatle?” to “Your new album is called Electric Arguments. I understand you did 13 songs in 13 days. Why so long? It only takes 40 minutes to listen to.” (Amusing, yes, but we’ve got McCartney talking about how the Fireman’s album was really recorded right here.) Other highlights: Macca quipping “In an emergency, maybe the Dalai Lama would eat me” and Colbert and Paul engaging in a touching duet of “Ebony & Ivory.” The pair riff off each other perfectly, but bonus points go to Paul, as the “Fightin’ Walrus” hasn’t made us laugh this much since we saw Help! back in junior high school. Check out “Better Know a Beatle” in the video above.
Related Stories:
• Album Review: The Fireman’s Electric Arguments
• Cover Story: Sir Paul Rides Again
• Paul McCartney Photo Gallery

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