Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942), born in Liverpool, UK, is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music. McCartney is a multiple Grammy Award- and Academy Award-winning English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record producer, film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. He gained worldwide fame as a member of The Beatles, alongsie John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.