Junior's Farm

Junior's Farm is a song written by Paul McCartney and recorded by Wings.  The song was released in October of 1974.  The recording for this song was done in Nashville Tennessee.  The band was staying at the farm of Curly Putnam Jr. in Nashville when Paul wrote the song. 

The song is a strong rocker, with a great guitar solo provided by Wings new lead guitarist, young Jimmy McCulloch.  The band also had a new drummer, Geoff Britton.  Britton didn't last long, conflicts with McCulloch and founding member Denny Laine eventually drove him out, but at the time the band was flying high.  They were fresh from the success of their album Band on the Run and Junior's Farm would climb the charts all over the world making it to number 3 in the US.  Even the flipside Sally G made it to number 17 on the charts.

Sally G, was also recorded in Nashville and has a definite country feel, compete with violins and steel guitar.  The lyrics are about a love gone wrong in Nashville Tennessee.

Mrs. Vanderbilt

This single was released in January 1974.  Both the A-side and B-side were tracks from the album Band on the Run.  The songs were only released as a single in Continental Europe. The song "Mrs. Vanderbilt" was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria with additional sound being added in London.  "Bluebird" is an acoustic number that Wings used to perform during their acoustic breaks during their Wings Over the World Tour. The musicians who played on these songs were:
                                      Paul McCartney-Drums, Guitar, Bass & Vocals
                                      Linda McCartney-keyboards and backings vocals
                                      Denny Laine-Guitar and backing vocals
                                      Howey Casey-Saxophone

Jet

Jet is a single that was released in late 1973.  The song was taken from the 1973 album, Band on the Run.  When it was first released the song Mamunia was the b-side, but on later pressings it had been changed to the song Let Me Roll It.  McCartney's dog "Jet" is said to have been the original inspiration for the song.  The song rose to the number 7 spot on the charts in both the US and the UK.  The Australian band Jet, took their name from this song.  Paul McCartney, after more than 35 years, still includes both Jet and Let me Roll it in  his live shows.

Band on the Run

Band on the Run was released in December of 1973 and quickly climbed the charts in countries all around the world. This album, Wings' third, was the band's first triumph. Paul has said many times that this is his favorite Wings album. The album won a grammy and stayed on the charts for three years. Everything Paul has recorded since Band on the Run inevitably gets compared to it.

The album was not an easy one to make however. Paul's first choice to record was famed Abbey Road studios, but they were booked solid and Paul was forced to choose another venue for his band to work in. He asked EMI for a list of studios they owned or had access to around the world and after considering different parts of the world he decided on Nigeria. Paul and Linda both loved African music and thought it would be great to record in "the rhythm capital of the world".

Five days before they were to leave for Africa, lead guitarist Henry McCullough quit the band. Then, only three hours before departure, Denny Seiwell informed Paul that he wouldn't make the trip. So, two of the five five members of Wings quit just before the making of this album. Band on the Run is essentially a Paul McCartney/Denny Laine album. Linda added some back-up vocals here and there, but Paul and Denny played all the instruments and worked out the arrangements for the songs. Denny even co-wrote the song No Words with Paul.

Before they left, Paul and Linda thought Africa would be great. Lagos, Nigeria was near the coast. They thought they would lay around on the beach all day and record at leisure during the evening. Unfortunately it was the rainy season.

Other problems arose once they got there as well. The studio wasn't finished being built. They had to ask for glass to be put in the windows. Also, the African Musicians thought they were trying to steal their sounds, so there was tension there. Paul and Linda were mugged one evening when they ignored the rules about going out alone after dark. They were picked up by a roving band of criminals and taken to the beach where they were robbed and lucky to have escaped with their lives. Paul collapsed during recording and upon being taken to the hospital was informed he was smoking far too much. Through all of this they managed to create a masterpiece.

Paul played the bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, piano, organ and Denny Laine played guitar, percussion and bass guitar. Paul sang lead and Denny and Linda added backing vocals. The songs they recorded for the album were: Band on the Run, Jet, Bluebird, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Let me Roll it, Mamunia, No Words, Helen Wheels, Picasso's Last Words and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five. The album was produced by Paul, with the assistance of engineer Geoff Emerick (Emerick worked with George Martin on a number of Beatle albums and is regarded very highly in the recording industry). There were a number of hit singles that were taken from the album as well. The song Picasso's last words was based on an article Dustin Hoffman had been reading that described Picasso's last words, "Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can't drink anymore." Paul was in Jamaica vacationing and met Dustin Hoffman there and they were spending some time together, when Hoffman asked him if he could write a song about anything, Paul said it depended on the topic, so Hoffman showed him the article and Paul started playing his guitar and singing right there in front of him. (That's the story I heard anyway). It's a great album, even the cover attracts attention for the group Paul organized to be the "Band on the Run". In the cover photo were Talk show host Michael Parkinson, Actor/comedian Kenny Lynch, Actor Jame Coburn, Member of parliament and grandson of Sigmund Clement Freud, Actor Christopher Lee, Liverpool boxer John Conteh, and Paul, Linda and Denny. The album went Platinum three times over in the US and platinum in the UK. It went to number one in countries all over the world. It was a major triumph for Wings.

Helen Wheels

This song was inspired by a trip from Scotland to London, taken in Paul's Land Rover ("Hell on Wheels"). Helen Wheels was released in the US on October 26, 1973 and in the UK on November 3, 1973. The single was issued before the release of the album Band on the Run and was not included on the British version of the album, however in America, the song was included on the album.

The B-side of Helen Wheels was Country Dreamer. In the US the single made it to the number 10 spot on the charts. In the UK it went to number 12, Canada number 4 and Australia it reached the number 17 position.

Live and Let Die

This Wings single, and theme for the James Bond movie of the same name, was released in the summer of 1973. Paul had been asked to write the theme for the Sean Connery "James Bond" Movie Diamonds are Forever but because of various time conflicts it didn't work out. He was asked again by the 007 producers to write a theme, this time for Roger Moore's first Bond movie, Live and Let Die.

Traditionally Bond themes were sung by women, but Paul agreed to write the theme on the condition that he record the track with Wings and that their recording be used as the opening theme music. George Martin was brought in to write the score for the orchestra being used by Paul (this is the first time an ex Beatle worked with Beatles producer Martin since the break up of the group).

The producers liked George Martin and what he had done with Paul's track so much, they asked him to score the entire movie.

The song was nominated for an Oscar, and George Martin won a grammy for his arrangement on the song.

The flipside of the single Live and Let Die was a song written by Paul, but sung by Denny Laine. It was the first time Denny Laine performed the lead vocal on a Wings single. The song was called I Lie Around.

The single went to number seven on the charts in the UK, number 2 in the US, number 2 in Canada, 20 in New Zealand and 5 in Australia. Paul still regularly includes this song in his live shows to this day.

My Love

My Love was a single taken from the Red Rose Speedway album. It was released in March of 1973. This song was recorded live in Abbey Road studio. Paul had the orchestra, the band and all the recording people in place. He had worked out all the details of the song and the band and the orchestra were waiting for the count in....when lead guitarist, Henry McCullough, leaned over to Paul and said quietly "do you mind if I change the solo?" Paul thought for a second, swallowed nervously, and then said "you go ahead". As Paul himself would say later, it was the best solo McCullough ever played for Wings. Henry's solo made an already great song even better.

My Love would go on to become a huge hit. Over 2 million copies of the single were sold. The song became the first Wings "Standard". They would play it during every show, including Paul's Television special James Paul McCartney.

The B-Side was a song called The Mess. It was recorded live at a concert in the Hague, Netherlands in August of 1972. It's a pretty strong rock number.

The Single Went to number 1 in the United States, Number 2 in Canada, and 9 in the UK.

Red Rose Speedway

This was Paul McCartney's second album with his group Wings. The first album, Wings Wild Life, sold a bit modestly for an ex-Beatle and some attributed this to the the album being credited to the relatively unknown band....Wings. So, for this second album, Paul decided to credit the album to "Paul McCartney & Wings". The Wings Line-up at this time featured: Paul McCartney-Vocals, Bass, Guitars, Piano/Linda McCartney-Backing Vocals, Piano, percussion/Denny Laine-backing Vocals, Guitar, Bass/Henry McCullough-Guitar/Denny Seiwell-Drums.

Red Rose Speedway was released in May of 1973. It had been recorded from March to June, 1972 in Los Angeles and from the begininng of September to the end of October of 1972 in London. The title of the album is said to be inspired by McCartney housekeeper, Rose.

It was oringinally slated to be a double album, but on the advice of his business consultant, Paul decided to scale it back to a single album. The Harley Davidson motorcycle on the front cover was ordered especially for the photo shoot. Linda McCartney, Wings member and photographer, took the cover shot of Paul. Inside the gatefold sleeve was a 12 page booklet, showing pictures from Wings tour of Europe.

On the back cover there is a message, in braille, for Stevie Wonder thate reads "We Love You".

The first two lines, on the first song, were first heard on Paul's solo album Ram at the end of the reprise of Ram On.

There were 12 tracks on the original album release which lasted 42 minutes and 13 seconds.

The track list included: Big Barn Bed, My Love, Get on the Right Thing, Only One More Kiss, Little Lamb Dragonfly, Single Pigeon, When the Night, Loop (The first Indian on the Moon), Hold Me Tight, Lazy Dynamite, Hands of Love, Power Cut.

The last four songs on the album comprised an 11 minute, 16 second medley.

The CD release included bonus tracks which at various times included: I Lie Around, Country Dreamer, The Mess (live), C Moon, Hi Hi Hi.

The album, Red Rose Speedway, was received much better than Wings' initial album, Wild Life.

The album itself garnered mixed reviews, but after this album people began giving Wings the respect they deserved.

Wild Life

Wild Life is the first album issued by Paul's newly formed group Wings. The album was issued in December of 1971. It rose to a high point of 11 on the British charts and number 10 on the US charts. The album sold well enough to receive a gold record award.

When the album was released it contained 10 tracks: Mumbo, Bip Bop, Love is Strange, Wild Life, Some People Never Know, I Am Your Singer, Bip Bop Link, Tomorrow, Dear Friend and Mumbo Link.

The CD release contained the bonus tracks: Oh Woman, Oh Why?, Mary Had A Little Lamb and Little Woman Love. Later CD issues would contain different bonus tracks)

Paul and Linda McCartney wrote the songs for this album and then decided it would be good to have a group to record and tour with. Paul asked Denny Seiwell, who had drummed on McCartney's Ram album, to be the drummer. Then he called Denny Laine, an original member of the Moody Blues. Laine had sung the Moodies big early sixties hit Go Now. Both Denny's accepted and Wings was born.

WINGS Left to Right:

Paul, Linda, Denny Seiwell and Denny Laine.

Paul: Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals

Linda: Keyboards, Percussion, backing vocals

Denny Laine: Guitars, Bass, backing vocals

Denny Seiwell: Drums and percussion.

The new group met at Paul's house in Scotland and began rehearsals and played a few live gigs at different Universities around England. They would show up unannounced at the universities and ask if they would like Paul McCartney to play a show. Most were skeptical until they went out to the van to see Paul and then gladly accepted.

After Playing together for a short time they headed for the studio to record their first album, Wild Life. McCartney had read that Bob Dylan had recorded an album in three days and thought that was a great idea. The album would be full of spontaneity and excitement if they didn't over think things.

It was a disaster. When the critics got a hold of this album they let Paul have it. It was the worst criticism he had ever received. Wings recorded the album in three days and then did overdubs and mixing. It took a total of three weeks.

Nicholas Schaffner a rock writer and critic, and Beatles expert said about Wildlife:

"Unfortunately, what might pass for "rough-hewn" with Dylan translated into "half-assed" in the case of Wild Life, released in the last weeks of 1971, and from which McCartney's customary musical craftsmanship was totally missing. The entire record was sloppily performed, musically listless, and lyrically excruciating. The opening track, "Mumbo," was made up on the spot while the tapes rolled -- and sounded like it. Another song consisted mainly of the lyric "bip bop bip bom bop bip bop bip bom bam" repeated endlessly to a lobotomized three-note melody. This was the one George said he found hard "to relate to." C'mon Paul, we know ya can do better than that! Even the one or two half-decent tunes, like "Tomorrow," were suffocated by Linda's gloppy oohs and aahs unaccountably mixed as high as the lead vocal.

And the liner notes were just as cutesy-pie as the music: "Inside this wrapper is the music they made. Can you dig it?"

The rock critics not only couldn't "dig" Wild Life, they gored it with a vengeance. Most of them were already inclined to take Lennon's side in the Beatles' civil war; Paul was viewed as a traitor to the counterculture, who had split up the Beatles and sold his soul to bubblegum. In its end-of-1971 awards, Crawdaddy wished Wings a "crash landing." Bootleg Beatle albums appeared with covers caricaturing Paul as a bloated pig, while A. J. Weberman staged demonstrations outside the Eastmans' Park Avenue pad. The anti-McCartney hysteria got pretty silly, but Wild Life certainly didn't help Paul's case any."

There are a few bright moments on the album, but they are not enough to save this album. Fortunately Paul took the next album more seriously, but not before stubbing his toe on the next two singles.

(Dear Friend was an open letter to John Lennon trying to move past the arguing and bitterness)