Home News Classic Rock News Paul McCartney Meets Two of the Little Rock Nine, Who Inspired “Blackbird”

Paul McCartney Meets Two of the Little Rock Nine, Who Inspired “Blackbird”

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Mat Hayward/Getty ImagesPaul McCartney came face-to-face with a part of his past at his concert stop at Little Rock, Arkansas’ Verizon Arena on Saturday.

McCartney met Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, two members of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine black students who struggled against segregation, enrolling in the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their bravery inspired the lyrics to “Blackbird,” which appeared on The Beatles‘ White Album.

The Verizon Arena posted a picture of the 73-year-old rock legend posing with the ladies backstage before the concert on its Facebook page.

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