From The Beatles to Wings to finally flying solo, British rock star Paul McCartney has pounded the pop and rock charts for upwards of four decades, snatching five Grammy Awards for his solo work along the way. The legendary singer, though from the U.K., acquired so much attention in the U.S. during his stint as a Beatle that his solo career proved to be the icing on the cake, and McCartney has since achieved every kind of fame imaginable, even receiving Knightship in 1997.A member of the earth-shattering band The Beatles, of which America has to thank for starting the revolution of the rock era in the ‘60s, McCartney's standout vocals eventually led him away from the group, where he chased after a rock dream of his own. One year after The Beatles broke up, McCartney had formed the group Wings with his wife Linda, and along with guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell, Wings released its first album Wild Life in December 1971. Despite poor reviews, Wings went on to release albums like 1973's Red Rose Speedway and Band on the Run, both of which were well-received. A few shuffles of band members brought Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound, and three enormous tours later Wings' last hit album Back to the Egg was released in 1979. Although the album went platinum, its success was short-lived as a run-in with Japanese law left McCartney temporarily imprisoned for marijuana possession. Wings broke up shortly thereafter, but the Energizer Bunny McCartney kept going, releasing the unparalleled album Tug of War in 1982. "Ebony and Ivory," the album's duet with Stevie Wonder, became McCartney's most popular American hit. McCartney went on to release more albums, direct films, perform more tours and host radio shows throughout the ‘90s and ‘00s, and his most recent release is 2007's Memory Almost Full, a fitting title for such a busy American and British icon.