14 Reasons Every Teenager Should Know Who Paul McCartney Is

After Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock and ­”” most famously ”” Janet Jackson made the 2004 halftime show the most controversial in history, the Super Bowl went classic rock, leaning on acts like the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen for the rest of the decade. This run started with Paul McCartney, who played three Beatles classics (“Drive My Car,” “Get Back,” “Hey Jude”) and one Wings hit (“Live and Let Die”) for the 76,000 people at Jacksonville’s Everbank Field and 84 million watching at home.

The only reason a viral “Who is that guy onstage with Jay Z?” joke didn’t happen in 2006 was because Twitter didn’t get invented until the following month. During the death throes of mash-up mania, Jay Z (rocking a John Lennon shirt!) and Linkin Park performed their Grammy-winning combo of the rapper’s “Numb” and the band’s “Encore.” The song slowly transformed into the Beatles’ “Yesterday” and the Wing-leader emerged from the wings.

Stella McCartney has styled countless Aughts celebs, created lines for H&M and Target and designed a decade of Adidas sportswear. She has appeared on Time‘s list of the world’s 100 most influential people and her work has been honored by magazines like Vogue and Elle. She’s also the inspiration for the Wings’ band name: During her birth, Stella’s famous dad prayed that she would be born with some.

In 2013, Paul McCartney appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon for a hilarious sketch in which the Beatle and the SNLer switched accents. The clip went viral (currently at 2.8 million views) and featured Macca saying “Honey Boo Boo.” Before that, McCartney and Fallon sang the “original version” of “Yesterday” (with some new lyrics) in 2010.

Spongebob Squarepants has been on TV for 15 years, so it’s a good chance many American teens have glimpsed some of the Beatles references floating around Bikini Bottom. In 2007, Patrick said “Ringo” into a walkie-talkie, there’s a 2008 episode called “Krabby Road” and another where you can spot the Yellow Submarine in the background. Naturally, in 2005, the show released a soundtrack called The Yellow Album.