I've always thought that Paul McCartney was the lead musician (and lyricist) while the Beatles were still together. This was hard to prove, because when McCartney founded the group Wings, his music went down the tubes. And Lennon never wrote anything significant after the Beatles split.
In fact, I think that the reason Lennon got shot was due to a disappointed fan. After the brilliance of the Beatles, it is hard to come to terms with Lennon's grandiosity. Probably Lennon's shooter also blamed Lennon (via his untalented, ungracious wife, Yoko Ono) for the band's demise.
So, whatever happened with McCartney in Wings? Again, I say blame it on the spouse. The vegetarian Linda McCartney never left Paul's side throughout, even becoming part of his band. I suspect she had a lot of influence on McCartney's creations.
I recently came across McCartney’s 2005 album "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard." Many of his songs have that haunting Beatles quality to them, although they don't quite reach those heights. Still, it shows McCartney still has it in him to pull off those unexpected melody shifts, clever, even ingenious lyrics, and a certain charming optimism despite some of the dark moods of his songs.
Although my search goes on, I still think it was Paul who was behind the Beatles.
Listen to 30 second samples of "Chaos and Creation" here at Amazon.com.
For a complete Jenny Wren", go here to YouTube. Another hit on the album is "A Certain Softness", and here is the charming "English Tea."
