We grew up together, we did our careers together and he was a lovely, lovely man. No one knew he was ill for a while.
We were just praying for some kind of miracle; it wasn’t to be. But I understand from his wife Livvy that he went peacefully, which is a great blessing. It was a very peaceful, golden moment, apparently. So I’ll just miss him. But rather than just dwell on the sadness, I’m just tending towards remembering the silly little stories – where we went, all the things we did, the laughs we had together. He was a very lovely man”. (Paul McCartney)
Paul cited “We Can Work It Out” as an example of Martin’s spontaneity. “He’d say, ‘What if I put a harmonium here?'” Paul recalled. “Now that’s a wacky idea, let’s try it.” For context, a harmonium is a type of organ.
Paul compared this style of songwriting to comedy. “So you just tried everything on the spot and, like you say, we did that again with Wings and it’s always been my favorite way of working,” he revealed. “It’s like improv, y’know, for a comedian. There’s something workshoppy about it that’s kind of exciting.” (Cheatsheet)
“But, you know, you get that thing when something is just so successful… people often don’t want to do ‘the big one’ that everyone wants them to do. They kind of shy away from it,” continued McCartney. “‘Here, There and Everywhere’ with ‘Yesterday’ as a close second.
“We Can Work It Out” became a huge hit for The Beatles. For three of its 12 weeks on the chart, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100. The song appeared on the compilation album 1. The compilation was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. It stayed on the chart for 520 weeks in total. (Hotpress)
According to The Official Charts Company, “We Can Work It Out” was also prominent in the United Kingdom. “We Can Work It Out “was No. 1 for five of its 12 weeks on the U.K. chart. Meanwhile, 1 was No. 1 for nine of its 367 weeks on the chart.
Many artists covered “We Can Work It Out.” Stevie Wonder, Johnny Mathis, Deep Purple, and Big Time Rush each recorded it. Paul thought “We Can Work It Out” was a bit wacky and the public thought it sounded like a hit.
