How Dylan influenced McCartney
The Beatles' record sales dwarfed those of Bob Dylan. In terms of musical influence the relationship was inverse. Paul McCartney has descrbeded the guru master relationship:
“He was our idol... I could feel myself climbing a spiral walkway as I was talking to Dylan. I felt like I was figuring it all out, the meaning of life.”
Despite this adulation, Paul was clear-sighted about incorporating elements of Dylan's approach into his own songwriting. These included
- expanding the guitar band template.
- the invention of different personas to narrate songs (e.g Sergeant Pepper, She's Leaving Hom)
- combining musical styles (country rock etc)
- ambiguous narration (Hey Jude, She's Leaving Home)
- inventing new folk tales (Eleanor Rigby, Penny Lane)
- expanding the range of vocabulary
McCartney did not, however, abandon his general adherence to the American songbook AABA format. Nor did he adopt the more acerbic tone associated with songs like Positively Fourth Street, as Lennon does for I'm a Loser.
Tellingly, Paul never sounds like Bob even when using similar techniques - see I'll Follow the Sun, for example
