64 things you should know about Paul McCartney

via The Detroit News. Here's the first 10...

1. Before they were famous, the Beatles performed "When I'm Sixty-Four" at clubs during crowd fights and power blackouts.

2. In order to satisfy Paul's request to "sound younger -- and be a teenager again," producer George Martin sped up the vocals on "Sixty-Four" when it was recorded.

3. Subject of one of rock's most famous myths: that McCartney died in an auto accident in 1966 and was replaced by look-alike Billy Shears.

4. Credited as Paul Ramon, he played drums and sang harmony on the track "My Dark Hour" from the Steve Miller Band's "Brave New World" album in 1969.

5. Indirectly named the Ramones. Prior to Beatles fame, McCartney used the stage name Paul Ramon -- a rock tidbit that inspired the Ramones to add an "e" and drop the fourth chord.

6. More Ramones -- "Haven't We Met Somewhere Before?" penned by Paul for the film "Heaven Can Wait" but rejected, was used as the opening number of the Ramones' "Rock 'n' Roll High School" -- performed by the Ramones.

7. Was involved in the fastest-released single in history when his July 2, 2005, performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 was issued 45 minutes after the performance took place.

8. Clunker "Ebony and Ivory," sung by Paul and Stevie Wonder, was voted 10th-worst song ever by Blender magazine a couple of years ago. Hey, they can't all be "Eleanor Rigby," OK?

9. Even his old shoes are worth a fortune -- a pair of Paul's used slippers (size 10 1/2) recently grossed more than $3,500 at auction.

10. Reads about himself and gets mad. A half-dozen recent messages from Paul on his Web site (paulmccartney.com) rail against tabloid stories about his breakup with Heather.