What is the title of Paul McCartney's first solo album?

Paul McCartney’s first solo album was titled McCartney. Apple Records released it on 17 April 1970, shortly before the Beatles’ final album Let It Be appeared in the United Kingdom.

McCartney recorded much of the album secretly at home in London during a turbulent period surrounding the Beatles’ breakup. He performed nearly all the instruments himself, using overdubbing to build the tracks. Linda McCartney contributed occasional vocals, but the album was fundamentally a one-man production, giving it a loose, intimate and lo-fi character unlike the polished Beatles recordings.

The album includes “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which became one of McCartney’s most enduring songs, although the original studio version was not initially released as a single in the United Kingdom. The record received mixed reviews at the time, partly because critics viewed its rough production as unfinished and partly because McCartney’s release plans intensified tensions within the Beatles.

The title is simply McCartney, not McCartney I. The Roman-numeral naming convention was applied retrospectively after McCartney II appeared in 1980 and McCartney III followed in 2020. Ram was his next album, while Band on the Run was recorded with Wings.