44 Years Ago, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney's 'Ebony and Ivory' Hit No. 1 Amid Controversy

Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney are two of the biggest music legends of the 20th century. So when they came together in the early '80s for "Ebony and Ivory," it obviously became an instant hit. On May 15, 1982, it reached No. 1 on the charts, where it stayed for seven consecutive weeks.

In 2013, Billboardranked "Ebony and Ivory" as the 69th biggest hit of all time. It was also McCartney's 24th No. 1 in the U.S. as a songwriter. But despite the song's commercial success, its reception was pretty mixed among the public. Some found it overly simplistic, even a little corny.

"The song presents a pie-in-the-sky kind of hope, a candy-coated vision of racial harmony that satisfies the moral sweet-tooth of us white people," wrote one critic. Essentially, it was the '80s version of Kendall Jenner's infamous Pepsi commercial.

In 2004, Blender (via CBS News) ranked "Ebony and Ivory" as the worst song of all time. In 2007, BBC 6 Music listeners voted it the worst duet in history. But hey, even legends don't bat a thousand.

Paul McCartney's Response to Criticism of 'Ebony and Ivory'

Despite the negativity, McCartney largely brushed it off. "They didn't like ‘Ebony and Ivory', the critics. I can see what they're talking about, but I think it was good," he told Paul du Noyer in the book Conversations With McCartney (via The Paul McCartney Project). "It wasn't the greatest coming together of me and Stevie. Cos he's a giant, and I can be fairly gigantic, and the two of us could have been mega giants… But for Christ's sake it was number one, you know? It did something. You find yourself justifying your successes. It's a funny state of affairs."

The former Beatle also didn't understand the simplicity critique. "[The negative criticism] would worry me if I wasn't singing about peace and racial harmony," he told Club Sandwich (via The Paul McCartney Project). "I mean, if I was doing a simplistic approach for catching mice, or something that didn't matter, but it really matters! It's like what's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding?"

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 12:37 PM.