Paul McCartney scores US No. 1 after nearly four decades

NEW YORK: Paul McCartney is back on the top of the charts, on Sunday earning his first solo number-one album in the United States in 36 years.

"Egypt Station" -- a confident 16-track album in which McCartney experiments with a younger rock feel in addition to his classic Beatles sound -- marked the first time that he has ever debuted as a solo artist on top of the benchmark US Billboard chart.

The English legend -- who at 76 retains a hectic touring schedule -- spared no promotional effort for the album, appearing on US late-night shows and livestreaming an invite-only concert inside New York´s Grand Central Station.

Surprisingly, McCartney did not replicate the feat in his native Britain, where "Egypt Station" debuted at number three, with veteran US rapper Eminem´s surprise album "Kamikaze" reigning for a second week.

"Egypt Station" sold the equivalent of 153,000 copies in the United States in the week since its release on September 7, tracking service Nielsen Music said.

Unusually for a chart-topping album in recent years, virtually all of the sales were traditional purchases rather than through streaming or individually downloaded tracks.

McCartney, who last topped the chart as a solo artist in 1982 with "Tug of War," achieved the second largest gap between number-one albums for any artist.

Johnny Cash holds the record with a break that was seven months longer than McCartney´s when the country great posthumously hit number one in 2006.

Since "Tug of War," McCartney has also reached number one four times in the United States with Beatles anthologies.