Sir Paul's Big Day

You never want to touch a classic like "Sgt. Pepper's," but Paul McCartney might need to rename a track "When I Was Sixty-Four."

In fact, Sir Paul actually turns 67 years old today, and the Beatles legend shows no signs of slowing down. Last week, he put his celebrity muscle behind the Meat Free Mondays campaign to encourage people to abstain from eating meat one day a week to help slow down global warming.

The link between eating meat and climate change has become a hot topic as of late. A recent UN study revealed that the livestock industry alone accounts for 18 percent of manmade greenhouse emissions.

"I think many of us feel helpless in the face of environmental challenges, and it can be hard to know how to sort through the advice about what we can do to make a meaningful contribution to a cleaner, more sustainable, healthier world," McCartney said in a statement. "Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make, that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once."

The British rocker is also active on the road again. Most notably, he just added a third show (July 21) to Citi Field, home to the New York Mets, after tickets for the first two performances (July 17-18) sold out in minutes. These shows are historically significant since the Beatles were the first band to play the Mets' previous ball field, Shea Stadium, back in '65. Fittingly, McCartney was also part of Shea's final concert last summer joining Billy Joel on stage.

And on top of all this, he made it to the "The Beatles: Rock Band" world premiere at the E3 Convention earlier this month. As befits the singer's nature, the game features an exclusive Xbox LIVE download of "All You Need Is Love" that will direct all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. 

McCartney might be another year older, but he continues to give, whether to worthy causes or his on-going musical legacy. On second thought, if he does add a new track to "Pepper's," maybe it should be "When I'm Eighty-Four."

Sir Paul, thank you for your music and activism, and happy birthday!

Photos by Kevin Kazur