Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder – “Ebony and Ivory” Music Video
We Learn To Live, We Learn To Give
“Ebony and Ivory” was written by Paul McCartney which he recorded along with Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29, 1982 as a single from McCartney’s third solo studio album “Tug of War.” The song may have used the metaphor of piano keys but on a deeper level, it deals with racial harmony.
- US Billboard Hot 100’s 69th Biggest Hit of All Time
- Number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary and UK Singles Chart
The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say “black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!”. The figure is much older. It was popularised by James Aggrey in the 1920s, inspiring the title of the pan-African journal The Keys, but was in use from at least the 1840s.
It was such a huge hit that it dominated the US Charts for seven weeks. Though McCartney and Wonder recorded it together in the West Indies, they had to film separately for the music videos due to conflicts with their schedules.
McCartney said in to Mojo magazine March 2009: “It was like, ‘Why can’t we get it together- our piano can.'”
Beautiful message with a beautiful melody. Always expect the best from Paul McCartney!
