Beyoncé‘s cover of The Beatles’ single “Blackbird” has garnered praise from the song’s original songwriter: Paul McCartney. The 81-year-old singer-songwriter penned an open note to the Cowboy Carter artist, 42. In it, Paul revealed that Bey called to thank him for letting her cover his song.
“I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird,’” Paul captioned an Instagram post on Thursday, April 4. “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. 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!”
The British musician then described the moment when Bey called him up after she recorded her cover of his song.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Paul McCartney (@paulmccartney)
“I spoke to her on FaceTime, and she thanked me for writing it and letting her do it,” Paul continued. “I told her the pleasure was all mine, and I thought she had done a killer version of the song.”
The “Here Comes the Sun” artist then recalled witnessing the civil rights movement in the 1960s in addition to the racism sweeping America, primarily across the South at the time.
“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,” Paul added. “Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud.”
Beyoncé released her country-themed album on March 29. Cowboy Carter includes multiple duets with other artists, such as Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus. Despite the message that Bey explained her album conveys, she has faced backlash for the new music. Azealia Banks previously called the album “little Bey on the prairie” in a social media rant.
During Bey’s iHeartRadio Music Awards acceptance speech for the Innovator Award, she seemingly referred to the criticism she’s faced over hew new music.
“Being an innovator is seeing what everyone believes is impossible,” she said. “Being an innovator often means being criticized, which often will test your mental strength.”
