The Beatles have been a great band for over 60 years. They made many hit songs and set a high standard for music. They were very good at making music and coming up with new ideas.

Even great artists get ideas from others. Paul McCartney talked to BBC Radio 2's Vernon Kay about who inspired him to play guitar and the story behind The Beatles' name.

Paul learned music from his father's piano. He liked Gene Vincent's music, which was new and exciting. 'Rock and roll had just arrived and we'd had years of quite 'square' music.', he said.

Paul said who inspired him to play guitar.

Paul also liked the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets. They made different kinds of music.

The Crickets' music and name were important to Paul and John Lennon.

Paul explained how The Crickets' name and music style influenced The Beatles. 'We thought, 'That is brilliant. Crickets is like a grasshopper, but the game cricket.', he said.

Paul met The Crickets after Buddy Holly died. He told them how much he liked their name.

The Crickets said their name wasn't a joke and they didn't know about the game cricket.

Buddy Holly & The Crickets inspired The Beatles.

The Crickets thought about calling themselves The Beatles in 1957.

Paul talked about the music he likes, from Elvis to Prince. He especially liked his friend John Lennon's music.

Paul and John had a fight in the 1970s, but they made up later. John's death in 1980 was very sad for Paul.

Paul and John were friends again before John died.

Sir Paul shared the story with Vernon Kay.

Paul was very sad when John died. He said it was 'a drag', but later he remembered their good times together.

Paul was glad he and John were friends again before John died. He said it would have been terrible if they hadn't made up and then John died.

Paul talked about John's song 'Imagine'. He said it's a beautiful song and many people like it. He thinks it's a great vision of how the world could be.