UNDATED (AP) — Paul McCartney is Paul McCartney because his father didn’t want people to confuse them. McCartney’s given name is James Paul McCartney, and his father has the same name. A fan wrote to McCartney’s website asking why he didn’t go by James. McCartney says he was told that if letters came to the house for James McCartney, they wouldn’t know which one they were for. McCartney says his younger brother is Peter Michael McCartney and always went by Michael, which makes no sense because there was no other Peter in the house. McCartney says he figures it’s an Irish thing.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Forty-one percent of the albums sold in the U.S. last week were Adele’s “25” album. Billboard has broken down the sales numbers that show “25” did way more than just shatter the first-week sales record with 3.38 million. The “25” album sold 335 copies per minute. It also broke the record for most albums sold digitally in a week, with 1.64 million downloads, beating Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” with 662,000. The “25” album made up 49 percent of all digital albums bought in the U.S. in the last week. It’s no surprise it’s the number-one album, and it sold more than twice the combined total of numbers 2 through 100.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Steve Smith will return to drum duties for Journey’s upcoming tour with The Doobie Brothers and Dave Mason. Smith played with Journey from 1978 to 1985, then off and on with the band until 1998. He was replaced by Deen Castronovo, who was fired earlier this year after entering a plea deal in a domestic violence case involving his former fiancee’. The tour begins May 12 in Irvine, California.

NEW YORK (AP) — The record held by ‘N Sync has just gone down. ‘N Sync’s “No Strings Attached” album held the all-time record for most sales in a week with 2.416 million in March 2000. Adele’s “25” has sold 2.433 million in four days, according to Nielsen Music. Final sales numbers for the week will be revealed on Sunday. ‘N Sync singer JC Chasez tells Billboard magazine it was flattering to hold the record but the success of “25” ”proves that emotion and art are alive and well in music today.” Bandmate Joey Fatone says, “I even bought the damn album.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barbra Streisand and Gloria and Emilio Estefan are among those who have received the nation’s highest civilian honor. President Barack Obama recognized 17 Americans yesterday with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. James Taylor was also in that group, as was filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Obama says they are “extraordinary people” who “contribute to America’s strength as a nation.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The original copies of The Beatles’ White Album have numbers on the covers indicating in what order in the printing process those copies were made. It’s commonly known that The Beatles kept numbers 1 through 4, but many people don’t know that Ringo Starr has copy number 1 — and now he’s selling it. Julien’s Auctions says Starr kept it in a London bank vault for 35 years. In spite of that, it’s not quite in mint condition because a corner has a slight fold. It’s expected to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000 by the time the auction ends December 3.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Jamie Foxx will perform on a new holiday special on Fox. They will do classic holiday songs on “Taraji and Terrence’s White Hot Holidays,” airing December 9. It will be hosted by Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard from “Empire,” and the two hosts will do a duet. The show will also include some surprise guests.

NEW YORK (AP) — U2 will return to Paris to make up the shows canceled after the attacks there on November 13. U2 will perform December 6 and 7. Bono says for one night, “the killers took lives, took music, took peace of mind – but they couldn’t steal the spirit of that city.” He says U2 will put on their best for Paris. The original U2 show was supposed to be broadcast the same day on HBO, and the December 7 show will be shown on HBO as planned.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adele’s “25” has just reached a major sales milestone and could shatter an all-time record. It’s sold 2.3 million copies in just three days, according to Nielsen Music. It’s only the second album to sell more than 2 million copies in a week. The other album is the record holder: ‘N Sync’s “No Strings Attached,” which sold 2.4 million in its debut week in March 2000. The final numbers will be reported on Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For as hot as Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor got at the American Music Awards, it turns out it was just a stunt. Their representative confirms to Billboard magazine the two are not dating. Puth and Trainor ended their duet of the song “Marvin Gaye” with a makeout session. Puth says when he created the song, his intent was for people to make out to it. He says kissing Trainor is like kissing his best friend, but he acknowledges she’s a great kisser.