Sir Paul McCartney delighted to receive prestigious Kennedy Centre Honour

The legendary Beatle, 68, picked up the American gong earlier this month alongside TV chat show queen Oprah Winfrey.

He told CBS's Early Show that he was thrilled to be recognised for his lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts.

It topped off a huge year for Sir Paul that included concerts in North America, South America and Europe, as well as a concert at the White House.

Reflecting back on his epic rise to fame in the US, the Liverpool-born musician revealed it was all down to a smart business decision.

'The good thing was because we'd had a little bit of practice in Britain at fame - and we got really big there so Beatlemania was there - we just got on the plane to Kennedy airport and we were just going to go and do some work with this guy called Ed Sullivan.

'We had no idea, it was a huge explosion. But the thing was, we had said to our manager that we wouldn't go to America until we had a number one record there.

'It was a very canny move because a lot of English stars had come over and been huge in England but not done anything in America and come back a little bit with their tail between their legs.

'So we said no, we've got to have something.'

Asked how it felt to add 'Kennedy Centre honouree' to his lengthy list of achievements, he replied: 'I think it's the biggest one that America can confer and I'm thrilled to have got it.'