Paul McCartney Praises Beyoncé’s ‘Blackbird’: ‘It Reinforces the Civil Rights Message’

Beatles alum Paul McCartney officially approves of Beyoncé’s cover of the band’s “Blackbird” (spelled “BlackbIIrd”) on her newest album “Cowboy Carter.”

McCartney plugged the cover of the acoustic tune, which also features vocals from Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts. He praised how the cover boosts his original inspiration for the song.

“I am so happy with @beyoncé’s version of my song ‘Blackbird’. I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place,” he wrote on Instagram, captioning an older photo of the pair together along with the “Cowboy Carter” album cover. “I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!”

McCartney, whose guitar playing and foot-tapping from the Beatles’ original master recording of the song in 1968 were used in the cover, spoke to Beyoncé on Facetime. She thanked him for writing the song and “letting her do it.”

“I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song,” McCartney continued. “When I saw the footage on the television in the early ’60s of the black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can’t believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now. Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud.”

Released March 29, “Cowboy Carter” contains 27 songs, and it also features a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” with slightly rewritten lyrics. Parton features on the “Dolly P” intro to the “Jolene” cover when the two songs are played consecutively in album order. Other voices featured on the album in its ode to country include Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Shaboozey, Rumi Carter and Willie Jones.

Cyrus thanked Beyoncé in an Instagram post about the album for the opportunity to collaborate on “II Most Wanted.”

“I’ve loved Beyoncé since long before I had the opportunity to meet & work with her,” Cyrus wrote. “My admiration runs so much deeper now that I’ve created alongside of her. Thank you Beyoncé. You’re everything & more.”

Nancy Sinatra celebrated the sample of her 1965 song”These Boots Were Made for Walkin'” on “Ya Ya” with a tweet.

“To have a little piece of one of my records in a@Beyonce song is very meaningful to me because I love her,” Sinatra wrote. “She represents what is great about today’s music and I’m delighted to be a tiny part of it. This may be the best sample of ‘Boots’ yet! And the beat goes on… #Beyonce“

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