10 Classic Songs That Have Aged Terribly
2. Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
The idea of taking the piss out of something meant to bring people together can come off a bit mean spirited at the best of times. I mean, no one wants to be the guy yelling at people just because they're trying to make the world a better place. It gets even worse though when those people are two of the greatest musical minds to ever live.
Just as Paul McCartney was reaching his first elderstatesmen phase, he hooked up with music legend Stevie Wonder to write Ebony and Ivory about racial harmony, equating everything to the white and black keys on a piano. As much as their hearts are in the right place on this track, the actual execution isn't interesting in the slightest, sounding like a leftover from one of the Wings sessions while having Stevie Wonder on it to make it sound finished.
Though the talent is certainly here, both of these men were not necessarily at their musical prime either, with Wonder's classic period being firmly in the rearview and McCartney settling into the dad territory that would lead him to travesties like Give My Regards to Broad Street. If this song were made in the '70s, we would probably still be talking about its impact to this day, but we just got the cheesy "fresh" sounding version too many years too late.