Paul McCartney Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia

A Paul McCartney quiz turns on attribution: the question is rarely what the song is, but which of his four catalogs made it. Guess the Paul McCartney song from the signatures 'Band on the Run', 'Live and Let Die' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed', then test your trivia when the melodic fingerprint reads Wings on 'Jet', solo on 'Coming Up', or a duet on 'Ebony and Ivory' with Stevie Wonder. See how well you really know Paul McCartney when the Beatles of 'Hey Jude', Wings and solo credits all sound like him.

Main genreRock (pop, rock)

ActiveSince the 1960s (1970s and 1980s solo peak, still recording in the 2020s)

Best-known songs to guessBand on the Run, Live and Let Die, Maybe I'm Amazed, Jet, Silly Love Songs

Deep cuts fans missComing Up, With a Little Luck, Mull of Kintyre, Temporary Secretary, The Girl Is Mine

Eras in the quiz60s Beatles, 70s Wings, early-80s duets, 2020s solo returns

Real nameSir James Paul McCartney

BandsFounding member of the Beatles and Wings

Related artistsThe Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson

Quiz difficultyEasy on the hits, hard on the Beatles-Wings-solo attribution

Start your solo quiz

Name as many tracks as you can from short audio clips. The faster you answer, the more you score.

10 questions4 answers each

Guess the Paul McCartney Song

Three McCartney signatures are unmistakable from a short clip: the Wings anthem 'Band on the Run', the Bond theme 'Live and Let Die' and the solo ballad 'Maybe I'm Amazed'. Most players place these at once.

Band on the Run

Live and Let Die

Maybe I'm Amazed

Jet

Silly Love Songs

My Love

Mull of Kintyre

Coming Up

Paul McCartney Trivia: Behind Six Decades of Hits

Behind the songs sit the facts a quiz loves: the most covered tune in popular music, a chart-topping Bond theme, and a debut album McCartney played almost single-handed. Small credits separate the sharpest players.

✦'Yesterday' is the most covered song in popular music, with well over two thousand recorded versions, and McCartney wrote it for the Beatles in 1965.

✦On his 1970 solo debut McCartney he played nearly every instrument himself, and he did the same on McCartney III fifty years later in 2020.

✦'Live and Let Die' was written for the 1973 James Bond film and performed by Wings, the band McCartney formed with his wife Linda and Denny Laine.

✦His 1980s number-one duets pair him with two very different stars: 'Ebony and Ivory' with Stevie Wonder and 'Say Say Say' with Michael Jackson.

✦McCartney was knighted in 1997 and is one of the few artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once with the Beatles and once on his own.

How Well Do You Know Paul McCartney's Catalogs?

The trick with McCartney is which project a song came from. His four catalogs, Beatles, Wings, solo and duets, share one voice, so the sections below sort them by the credit that trips players up.

The instant signatures

Some McCartney songs land at once: the Wings anthem 'Band on the Run', the Bond theme 'Live and Let Die', the solo ballad 'Maybe I'm Amazed' and the Beatles singalong 'Hey Jude'. Nearly everyone knows these on sight, so they are the gimmes early in the round.

Beatle, Wing, or solo? The attribution trap

Here is the real game. The same voice and melodic touch run through four catalogs, so the question is rarely what the song is, it is which project it belongs to. 'Penny Lane' is the Beatles, 'Jet' is Wings, 'Coming Up' is solo, and telling them apart is what a McCartney quiz really tests.

The one-man records (he plays it all)

On the 1970 album McCartney and again on McCartney III in 2020, he played nearly every instrument himself. These home-made solo records sound different from the full-band Wings tracks, and hearing that thinner, hand-built arrangement is a shortcut to placing a solo cut.

The big-name duets

Away from his own bands, McCartney sang with the era's biggest stars: 'Ebony and Ivory' with Stevie Wonder, 'Say Say Say' and 'The Girl Is Mine' with Michael Jackson. Catching who sings alongside him is the difference at the very top.

Paul McCartney Quiz FAQ

How hard is the Paul McCartney quiz?

The hits are easy, but McCartney wrote across four catalogs with the same voice, so the real challenge is attribution. Telling a Wings track from a solo record or a Beatles song is what separates the scores.

Which Paul McCartney songs are in the quiz?

Expect his signatures, 'Band on the Run', 'Live and Let Die', 'Maybe I'm Amazed', 'Jet' and 'Silly Love Songs', plus duets like 'Ebony and Ivory' and deeper cuts that decide the top scores.

How do you tell a Wings song from a McCartney solo song?

Wings tracks are full-band and often built around Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, while his solo records, like the 1970 debut, are hand-made with McCartney on nearly every instrument. The arrangement is the tell.

Does the quiz include Beatles songs?

Yes. McCartney's Beatles work like 'Hey Jude' and 'Yesterday' sits alongside his Wings and solo material, which is exactly why placing each song in the right era is the real test.

What is Paul McCartney's full name and where is he from?

His full name is Sir James Paul McCartney, born in Liverpool, England, in 1942. He co-founded the Beatles, later led Wings, and was knighted in 1997.

Is the Paul McCartney quiz free to play?

Yes. Every Paul McCartney quiz on Songtrivia is free, with no signup and no Spotify account needed. Pick one and play.

📚 Sources & methodology

Sources consulted

Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.

Our methodology

Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.