Paul McCartney Reflects on Delayed Rock Hall of Fame Induction in Newly Published Interview

Paul McCartney was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1999, but a previously unpublished 2015 interview reveals he was disappointed it took so long.

Journalist Joe Hagan spoke with McCartney for more than an hour in March 2015 while researching "Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine," a biography of the Rolling Stone founder released in 2017. Only a small portion of their conversation appeared in the book, but Vanity Fair recently published the full interview online.

McCartney's Frustration with the Rock Hall

The Beatles were inducted into the Rock Hall in 1988, and McCartney frequently attended induction ceremonies in the early years. He also took part in Ringo Starr's induction in 2015 and gave the speech for the Foo Fighters in 2021.

In the interview, McCartney recalled being surprised when Jann Wenner, the Rolling Stone co-founder and former Rock Hall chairman, called to ask if he would induct John Lennon. McCartney initially accepted but reconsidered when he realized he was not being inducted himself that year for his solo work.

"I got back to him and said, 'Well, wait a minute. What about me? Maybe I'll do John, and then maybe I should go in,'" McCartney told Hagan. "And it was like, 'Oh no, we can't do that.' In all my dealings with him, it's never up to Jann. It's up to these other people down the corridor somewhere. He happens to have 'owner-editor' on his door, but they're responsible for things?"

McCartney said Wenner promised he would be inducted as a solo artist in 1995. "I said, 'Okay.' And I bought the deal. Next year came around [and nothing happened]," McCartney said. "So it was like, 'Can you ring Jann? What's going on? I don't appear to be in it.'"

A Complicated Relationship with Wenner

Wenner has said he did not recall making such a promise to McCartney. McCartney described his relationship with Wenner as complicated, saying he always sensed Wenner favored Lennon.

"The thing about John Lennon and McCartney was we were always equal. But, of course, once John got murdered, he became the martyr - the Buddy Holly, the James Dean character - because of the atrocity," McCartney said. "So a revisionism started to go on. And Yoko [Ono] certainly helped it. Jann was a big part of that. So that naturally colored my thinking."

McCartney added, "So none of these things endeared me to him. And it was always, 'It's not me.' Eventually I did creep in there, and my daughter Stella wore a T-shirt [that said], 'About time.'"

Wenner's role with the Hall has diminished in recent years. In 2023, he was removed from the organization's board after making controversial comments about female and Black artists.

McCartney's Recent Projects

McCartney remains active with a range of projects. Most recently, he has been the subject of "Man on the Run," a documentary directed by Morgan Neville that focuses on his post-Beatles career in the 1970s, the formation of Wings, and his ongoing work as a musician.

After touring extensively between 2022 and 2025 with his "Got Back" tour, McCartney appears to be taking a break from touring this year. Fans can catch the new documentary on Amazon Prime.

McCartney also released "Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run," a book about his time with Wings, and the first anthology of the band. Both were published in November 2023.