One Plus One

1961 Liverpool is filled with young bands obsessed with a new style of music called rock ’n’ roll. But only one has two talented lead singers who also want to write their own songs: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And they are determined to be the best. In the first episode of our six part series on the creative partnership between Lennon and McCartney, we look at the beginning of a collaboration that was fueled by equal parts love and competition. Whether onstage or hunched over notebooks full of lyrics, each constantly tries to impress — and outshine — the other. Though still in their teens, John and Paul have already begun writing some of the greatest songs in pop history.

Long before they meet, John Lennon and Paul McCartney become obsessed with the same music: Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard. And soon after Paul joins John’s first band, the Quarry Men, they bond over something more tragic: the sudden loss of a parent. That shared experience brings them closer together as bandmates and songwriters, and lays the foundation for what will become the Beatles.

From 1962 to 1964, the Beatles go from unknown Liverpool upstarts to the most successful band in the world. And they do it on the strength of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s songwriting partnership. Writing together on tour buses and in hotel rooms, they churn out an unprecedented string of hits: “From Me to You,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” But while Paul is energized by the Beatles’ whirlwind success, John seems exhausted by it. Can their partnership survive the pressures of Beatlemania?

At the height of their popularity, the Beatles discover a new source of inspiration: LSD. As John Lennon becomes increasingly engrossed in his acid trips, Paul McCartney steps up and begins to take greater control of the band — which John, when he comes back down to earth, isn’t too happy about. But no matter where their heads are at, the two longtime partners come together to push their band’s sound in ever more experimental directions, leading to their twin masterpieces: Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

John Lennon is sick of being a Beatle. He’s more interested in pursuing his romance and creative partnership with his new girlfriend, Yoko Ono. But somehow, his old partner Paul McCartney always manages to lure John back for one more album. For Paul, being a Beatle is his entire identity. What will he do when John finally announces that he’s quitting once and for all?

It’s 1970 and the Beatles have broken up for good. But the battle over their legacy is just beginning, especially between longtime songwriting partners John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They argue, sometimes bitterly, over who really wrote their chart-topping songs. It’s a debate that becomes even more complicated when John is gunned down outside his home in 1980 — making him a rock ’n’ roll martyr, and leaving behind a void Paul will struggle for decades to fill.

The solo genius is a myth. Rico talks to Joshua Wolf Shenk about why our society fails to recognize the power of collaborations, the different forms partnerships can take, and how rivalry can spark creativity. Plus, Shenk explores the legends and lessons of the Lennon and McCartney split. To learn more about creative partnerships, we recommend Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity by Joshua Wolf Shenk.