Following the tragic death of John Lennon, Paul McCartney was deep into working on his third solo album, Tug of War.
Lennon’s passing had left a lasting impact on McCartney, but it was another unexpected rock legend who helped bring out the emotion during this difficult time.
While recording the album alongside his wife Linda McCartney, in 1981, he decided to call on guitarist Carl Perkins for help with his song “Get It.” What started as a simple collaboration quickly became a pivotal moment in McCartney’s healing journey.
When Perkins arrived, he shared a song he had been working on called “My Old Friend.” One particular lyric struck a nerve with McCartney, “Think about me every now and then, old friend.”
As Perkins sang the line, McCartney broke down in tears and stepped out of the room, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
“Paul was crying, tears rolling down his pretty cheeks,” Perkins recalled in a 1996 interview with Goldmine, unsure why his song had such an impact.
Linda reassured him, saying, “Carl, thank you so much.” When Perkins apologized for making McCartney cry, she explained, “But he’s crying, and he needed to. He hasn’t been able to really break down since that happened to John.”
What made the lyric especially powerful was that, according to Linda, “Think about me every now and then, old friend,” were actually the last words Lennon spoke to McCartney.
Perkins remembered that the couple had visited Lennon at his Dakota apartment. When saying goodbye, Lennon patted McCartney on the back and said those exact words.
Linda told Perkins, “There’s two people in the world that know what John Lennon said to Paul, the last thing he said to him. Me and Paul are the only two who know that, but now there’s three … you know it.”
Lennon was tragically killed on December 8, 1980, outside his New York City home. Shortly after the news, McCartney opened up about his grief in a 1984 Playboy interview.
“We just went home. We just looked at all the news on the telly, and we sat there with all the kids, just crying all evening.”
Lennon’s death profoundly affected McCartney and remains a difficult subject for him. In response, McCartney reportedly wrote the song “Here Today” as a heartfelt tribute to his friendship and bond with Lennon.
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