Perhaps inspired by all the albums his good friend Taylor Swift had been releasing in 2020, Sir Paul McCartney let fans know back in October he’d be releasing a quarantine album of his own, McCartney III, just a few days before Christmas. The December 18th release helped McCartney usher in a Billboard record that spans over six decades. As numbers of the album’s first week sales come in after the holiday weekend, the former Beatle has reportedly become the first and only musical act to have a new record reach at least the top two slots for Billboard 200 chart’s album sales in each of the last six decades.
.@PaulMcCartney is the first act to have a new album reach the top two on the Billboard 200 in each of the last six decades.
— chart data (@chartdata) December 27, 2020
Chart Data reported the record-breaking feat on Sunday, cementing the news that McCartney III was likely coming in at No. 2 on the charts this week, behind Taylor Swift’s still churning Evermore. McCartney let fans know he was aware Swift’s second surprise album was coming, and seems more than happy to be sharing the spotlight with her. Though his most famous contributions to music certainly came as a member of The Beatles, that iconic British band broke up in 1970, and McCartney kept on plugging away anyway. Looks like his diligent, consistent work has paid off in a big way. Congratulations, Sir Paul.