Paul McCartney, Ebony and Ivory | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

In the 7^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, “Ebony and Ivory” by Paul McCartney. 

“Ebony and ivory / Live together in perfect harmony / Side by side on my piano keyboard / Oh Lord, why don’t we?” Bring on the controversy! Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 7^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “Ebony and Ivory” by 🎙 Paul McCartney.

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On the piano 🎹, you have both white and black keys.  Starting with the black keys there are five different notes (Note: I won’t bore you with enharmonic spelling).  Play them alone, and you have a five-note scale – the pentatonic scale.  Still, who wants to just play five notes all the time? The thing is, there are more white keys, but even though a C major scale, a minor scale, and various modes are available sans the black keys, it leaves you desiring accidentals – more harmonic and melodic possibilities. The point is, white and black keys need each, something that 🎙 Paul McCartney wanted to highlight on his song, 🎵 “Ebony and Ivory”, where he duets with 🎙 Stevie Wonder.  The piano serves as a springboard, with the bigger picture being racial harmony – whites and blacks living harmoniously, etc.  Obviously, McCartney is ivory, while Wonder is, you guessed it, ebony.

Lyrically, “Ebony and Ivory” is simple.  Honestly, there is probably more depth in my description of the piano geography and music theory than these lyrics.  “We all know that people are the same where ever you are,” McCartney sings in the verse, joined by Wonder adding, “And we learn to live, we learn to give each other / What we need to survive together alive.” Basically, unity despite our racial differences… We’ve heard this many times, though not necessarily using the piano as the guide! Honestly, that’s the size of the lyrics, which require no analysis. Martin Kielty of Ultimate Classic Rock says it best: ‘It seems incredible that McCartney would feel the need to explain the lyrics to “Ebony and Ivory” because they are that simple.’  “Ebony and Ivory” earned both artists a huge no. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 – seven weeks.

So, a massively successful no. 1 hit ✅.  A critical success for Paul McCartney ✅.  More accolades for Stevie Wonder ✅.  So, what’s the problem?  The problem is, songs like “Ebony and Ivory,” even with the best intentions, draw the ire of critics for various reasons.  One huge problem for this hit from 💿 Tug Of War is its simplicity – its overly simple.  I like to believe it comes from a good place, but, even tackling racial harmony, there is little nuance or a bigger conversation with more range.  That’s a strike ❌ against it.  The Paul McCartney Project expounds on the critical failure of this song, despite its commercial success:

The song was derided as “saccharine” and was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine. In October 2007, it was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.  … “Ebony and Ivory” was banned in South Africa by the South African Broadcasting Corporation during the Apartheid era, making it the only song McCartney released in his solo career to receive such a ban. The official reason for the song’s ban was because Stevie Wonder accepted his 1984 Academy Award for Best Original Song “in the name of Nelson Mandela.” […]

Wow! Ultimately, as previously stated, the intentions seemed to be in the right place for 🎵 “Ebony and Ivory”. Still, in order for “Ebony and Ivory” to have been truly effective, it needed much more substance.  The good news? There are far worse, more controversial songs out there.

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🎙 Paul McCartney • 💿 Tug Of War • 🏷 MPL Communications. Inc/Ltd • 🗓 1982

Paul McCartney, “Ebony and Ivory”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 7 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; MPL Communications. Inc/Ltd; Anand Kulkarni, Aykut Bingül, Luân Phan, mohammadreza merhvand via Pexels; Anna, Gordon Taylor, harshahars from Pixabay; christian buehner on Unsplash]