After 60 Years, is Paul McCartney Still Dead?

2026 marks 60 years that Paul McCartney “died”. Even though the rumors began bubbling in 1966, the lid finally blew off in 1969, and the whole “Paul is Dead” theory spread like molten lava.

The story claims that Paul was killed in a car crash in late 1966 and the remaining Beatles hired a Paul lookalike to replace him. A real “Paul McCartney Lookalike” contest was held in the mid-60s, but no winner was ever revealed. Some say the winner was a man named William Campbell and it is indeed believed by a few that he became ‘Paul’. This rumor stayed underground for the most part, until October 12, 1969 when a listener of Russ Gibb’s Detroit radio program on WKNR called in and discussed it with Russ. The theory concluded that the other Beatles cloaked and leaked Paul’s demise by sneakily putting clues in album covers and song lyrics.

News reporters picked up the story and that was all it took. Soon the entire world was hip to the knowledge of Paul’s death – and Beatle albums were selling out, with fans scouring every inch for more ‘clues’.

Get our free mobile app

As for the songs that contained clues, that list began with Strawberry Fields Forever. At the end of the song, John Lennon is heard uttering “I buried Paul” which was, in reality, “cranberry sauce”.

On the song A Day in the Life on the Sgt. Pepper album, Lennon’s line “he blew his mind out in a car” was supposedly about Paul.

On the ‘White Album’, the song Glass Onion has gibberish by John at the fadeout. If played backwards, it sounds like he says “Paul is dead man; miss him, miss him, miss him” What John is actually uttering is “monsieur, monsieur, monsieur, how ‘bout another one” (so they say). The lyrics also include the line “the walrus was Paul” referring to the Magical Mystery Tour cover (see gallery below).

On the ‘White Album’ avant-garde gobbledygook titled Revolution 9, the repeating phrase “Number 9” played backwards does indeed sound like “Turn me on, dead man”...that’s an easy one to see for yourself.

Also on that album is Ringo’s song, Don’t Pass Me By which contains the line “you were in a car crash and you lost your hair” referring to Paul’s accident.

The song Come Together on the Abbey Road album contains the line “one and one and one is three” referring to just three Beatles were left alive.

Aside from the above “clues”, that wasn’t enough for many believers. They delved back further into the Beatles catalog, back into 1965 BEFORE Paul’s “demise”. In doing so, more so-called ‘clues’ were uncovered on pre-Sgt Pepper albums like Revolver, Rubber Soul, Yesterday and Today and even as far back as Help!. Fans and theorists just couldn’t get enough.....and there are still die-hards TO THIS DAY who 1000% believe Paul was actually killed back in the fall of 1966.

Now take a look below at the gallery of album covers and see the long list of ‘clues’ that the Beatles had hidden (allegedly)!