Paul McCartney recalls frustration over delayed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
Sir Paul McCartney has claimed he was promised induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame four years before he eventually was.
Sir Paul McCartney was frustrated that he was not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when he was promised.
The Beatles legend, 83, claimed he was promised a solo induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 — only for the pledge to be quietly dropped by Rock Hall co‑founder Jann Wenner.
McCartney was finally inducted as a solo artist in 1999, four years after Wenner allegedly assured him he would be honoured the following year, and five years after John Lennon entered the Hall.
McCartney’s daughter Stella attended the 1999 ceremony wearing a white T‑shirt reading ABOUT F****** TIME!, a message she later said “speaks for itself.”
In a 2015 interview newly published by Vanity Fair, McCartney admitted he was irritated by Wenner’s broken promise, especially because he had agreed to induct Lennon at Wenner’s request.
He recalled: “We had a thing which didn’t endear me to him later on. He asked me, ‘Would I induct John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?’ And I said, Yeah, sure. Then I put the phone down. I thought, Well, what about me? I’m not inducted. Now John’s going to go in.”
McCartney said the imbalance between how he and Lennon were being portrayed after Lennon’s death contributed to his frustration.
He said: “The thing about John Lennon and McCartney was we were always equal.
“But, of course, once John got murdered, he became the martyr — the Buddy Holly, the James Dean character — because of the atrocity. So a revisionism started to go on. And Yoko certainly helped it. Jann was a big part of that... Now John was it. He was it in the Beatles. He was the force behind the Beatles. He’d done it all. I ‘just booked the studios.’ It wasn’t true.”
McCartney said Wenner reassured him his own induction would follow swiftly.
He went on: “Anyway, so I said, Well, what about me? [Wenner] said, ‘Next year. We’ll do you next year.’ I said, Okay. And I bought the deal. Next year came around… Crickets.”
He added that while he was eventually inducted, the delay still stung.
Macca added: “Eventually I did creep in there, and my daughter Stella wore a T‑shirt [that said], ‘About F****** Time’... So as far as Jann is concerned — they did induct me. It was ‘about f****** time’ and all that. But it was later, and it wasn’t when I was promised it. A verbal contract was not worth the paper it was written on.”
Vanity Fair notes that Wenner has said he does not recall making any such promise to McCartney.
