"Junior's Farm" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Paul McCartney and Wings | ||||
B-side | "Sally G" | |||
Released | 1 November 1974 [1] | |||
Recorded | 16–18 July 1974 | |||
Studio | Sound Shop (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
Genre | Glam rock [2] | |||
Length | 4:20 3:03 (DJ edit) | |||
Label | Apple Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney | |||
Producer(s) | Paul McCartney | |||
Wings singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative covers | ||||
Official video | ||||
"Junior's Farm" on YouTube |
"Junior's Farm" is a song written by Paul McCartney (though credited to Paul and Linda McCartney) and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. It was issued as a non-album single by Apple Records in November 1974;it peaked at No. 3 in the United States [3] and No. 16 in the United Kingdom.
McCartney had his first ideas about writing a song about quiet farm lifestyle during his long family stay at his cottage in Campbeltown,Scotland between April and August 1970, [4] amidst the turbulent break-up of the Beatles, [5] but he shelved his recording project for four years. McCartney bought the 183-acre Scottish estate called High Park Farm in 1966,a place where he composed and recorded several songs. [6] In his 2021 memoir book titled The Lyrics:1956 to the Present ,he said:
It was such a relief to get out of those business meetings with people in suits,who were so serious all the time,and go off to Scotland and be able just to sit around in a T-shirt and corduroys. I was very much in that mindset when I wrote this song. The basic message is,let’s get out of here. You might say it's my post-Beatles getting-out-of-town song. [7]
McCartney explained that he based the song's lyrical theme on Bob Dylan's 1965 "Maggie's Farm" and that "the idea was to just get a fantasy song about this person Junior." McCartney said that,in contrast to the degree of thought Dylan applied to his song-writing,Junior's Farm "has silly words and basically all it means is,'Let's get out of the city.' ... As for reading deep meanings into the words,people shouldn't bother,there aren't any." [8]
McCartney and his band recorded "Junior's Farm" along with its B-side "Sally G" between July 16 and 18,1974 during a short stay in Tennessee, [9] in a period particularly relaxed for him and no concert tours scheduled in that year.
The song was engineered by Ernie Winfrey at Soundshop Studios in Nashville,owned by Buddy Killen. [10] While recording in Nashville,the band stayed at the Lebanon,Tennessee farm of Curly Putman Jr.,which accounts for the song's title. [11] Jimmy McCulloch played the guitar solo as his Wings debut. He is mentioned in a line in the song ("Take me down Jimmy").
Despite its relative success outside America,neither of these two songs were included on their subsequent studio album Venus and Mars of 1975,which was scheduled to start its recording sessions between November 5 and 13,1974 in London. The track only appears in some of the band's greatest hits compilations.
"Junior's Farm" was included in the average setlist of the Wings Over the World tour in 1975, [12] but it was not a song performed live on subsequent tours.
"Junior's Farm" / "Sally G" was released on 1 November 1974 through Apple Records,a few days before the band started recording Venus and Mars in England. The single continued McCartney and Wings' worldwide success after the album Band on the Run . It made No. 3 in the US,No. 16 in the UK, [13] and was a hit elsewhere.
Cash Box called it "a very strong disk," saying that "it has that unique McCartney flair that makes all his musical forays such inspired hit records." [14] Record World said that "Vassar Clements fiddle adds a subtle country touch to a straight-out 'Get Back'-type rocker." [15]
The photo for one of the single's picture sleeves featured Wings dressed in costumes corresponding to the song's lyrics (for example,drummer Geoff Britton as a poker dealer and guitarist Denny Laine as an Eskimo). A sea lion,also mentioned in the lyrics,appears in the photo,between Britton and McCartney,a farmer. This photo appeared on the picture sleeve of the single in Spain and in advertisements elsewhere. In the UK and the US,the single was released in a generic Apple Records sleeve.
The music video of "Junior's Farm" shows Paul McCartney playing a Kay electric bass guitar. The single was McCartney's last release on Apple Records before signing a solo recording contract with Capitol Records in May 1975,following the dissolution of the Beatles' partnership.
"Junior's Farm" was later released on the McCartney/Wings compilation Wings Greatest in 1978,the US version of All the Best! in 1987 and the deluxe edition of Pure McCartney in 2016. The three-minute radio edit of the song was included on the 2001 compilation Wingspan:Hits and History . Along with its B-side (the country-flavoured "Sally G"),"Junior's Farm" was remastered for inclusion on the Hear-Music version of Venus and Mars released in November 2014.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, written by Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston". The song is one of the few examples of John Lennon featuring prominently as lead guitarist. The album version of this song contains a different mix that features a studio chat between Paul McCartney and John Lennon at the beginning, which lasts for 20 seconds before the song begins, also omitting the coda featured in the single version, and with a final dialogue taken from the Beatles' rooftop concert. This version became the closing track of Let It Be (1970), which was released just after the group split up. The single version was later issued on the compilation albums 1967–1970, 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters, and 1.
Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, were an English-American rock band formed in 1971 in London by former Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. They were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism, and frequent personnel changes. They went through three lead guitarists and four drummers. The core trio of the McCartneys and Laine, however, remained intact throughout the group's existence.
Band on the Run is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released on 30 November 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970 and his final album on Apple Records. Although sales were modest initially, its commercial performance was aided by two hit singles – "Jet" and "Band on the Run" – such that it became the top-selling studio album of 1974 in the United Kingdom and Australia, in addition to revitalising McCartney's critical standing. It remains McCartney's most successful album and the most celebrated of his post-Beatles works.
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by the British-American rock band Wings, released in June 1979 on Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in North America. Co-produced by Chris Thomas, the album reflects band leader Paul McCartney's embracing of contemporary musical trends such as new wave and punk, and marked the arrival of new Wings members Laurence Juber and Steve Holley. Back to the Egg adopts a loose conceptual theme around the idea of a working band, and its creation coincided with a period of considerable activity for the group, which included making a return to touring and work on several television and film projects.
Venus and Mars is the fourth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings. Released in May 1975 as the follow-up to Band on the Run, Venus and Mars continued Wings' run of commercial success and provided a springboard for a year-long worldwide tour. The album was Paul McCartney's first post-Beatles album to be released worldwide by Capitol Records rather than Apple.
London Town is the sixth studio album by the British–American rock group Wings. It was released in March 1978, two years after its predecessor, Wings at the Speed of Sound. The album had a long and tumultuous gestation during which the band's tour plans for 1977 were cancelled, due to Linda McCartney becoming pregnant with her and Paul McCartney's fourth child and two members of Wings having departed, leaving the band as a trio comprising Paul, Linda and Denny Laine. Recording sessions were held intermittently over a period of a year, mainly at Abbey Road Studios in London and aboard a luxury yacht in the Virgin Islands.
Wings Greatest is a compilation album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in the U.K. December 1, 1978. It was the band's last release through Capitol in the US. The album is notable as being the first official retrospective release from Paul McCartney's post-Beatles career.
"Coming Up" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician Paul McCartney, released as the opening track on his second solo studio album McCartney II (1980). Like other songs on the album, the song has a synthesised sound, featuring sped-up vocals created by using a vari-speed tape machine. McCartney played all instruments.
"Mull of Kintyre" is a song by the British-American rock band Wings. It was written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine in tribute to the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute in the south-west of Scotland and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966.
"Come and Get It" is a song composed by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian. The song was performed by Badfinger, produced by McCartney and issued as a single 5 December 1969 in the UK, and 12 January 1970 in the US, on the Beatles' Apple label. It was the band's first release under the Badfinger name and was their international breakthrough, hitting the top 10 in both the UK and US singles charts.
"Jet" is a song by Paul McCartney and Wings from their third studio album Band on the Run (1973). It was the first British and American single to be released from the album.
"Band on the Run" is a song by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, the title track to their 1973 album Band on the Run.
"Listen to What the Man Said" is a hit single from Wings' 1975 album Venus and Mars. The song featured new member Joe English on drums, with guest musicians Dave Mason on guitar and Tom Scott on soprano saxophone. It was a number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US the week of July 19, 1975 and reached number 1 in Canada on the RPM National Top Singles Chart. It also reached number 6 in the UK, and reached the top ten in Norway and New Zealand and the top twenty in the Netherlands. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.
"Letting Go" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney and originally released by Wings on their 1975 album Venus and Mars. The song was remixed and released as a single on 4 October 1975 in the United States, and on 18 October 1975 in the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number 41 in the UK, 41 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Venus and Mars"/"Rock Show" is a medley of two songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney and originally performed by Wings that make up the first two songs of the album Venus and Mars. The single was released in the United States on 27 October 1975 and in the United Kingdom on 28 November 1975. The B-side is "Magneto and Titanium Man", another track from the album. The single version is considerably shorter than the album version of the songs; in the single "Rock Show" is cut by more than 3 minutes and "Venus and Mars" is cut by a few seconds. "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, but did not chart on the UK singles chart, the first McCartney penned single to do so. In the book The Rough Guide to the Beatles, Chris Ingham praised both songs, describing "Venus and Mars" as "atmospheric" and "Rock Show" as "barnstorming".
"With a Little Luck" is a single by the band Wings from their 1978 album London Town. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1978.
Cold Cuts is an unreleased album of outtakes by Paul McCartney & Wings.
The discography of the British-American rock band Wings, also known as Paul McCartney and Wings, consisted of seven studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, 29 singles and 19 music videos. Founded in 1971 by former Beatle Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney, Denny Laine and Denny Seiwell after the release of the McCartneys' album Ram, the band made their debut with Wild Life, released in December that year. The album garnered minimal commercial success and received generally poor reviews. In 1972, the band added Henry McCullough to the lineup and released several non-album singles, including "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and "Hi, Hi, Hi", before releasing their second album, Red Rose Speedway, in 1973. While receiving mixed reviews, the album and its lead single, "My Love" were huge commercial successes, both reaching number one in the US charts. Wings' continued their commercial success with the title track to the James Bond film Live and Let Die. At the beginning of the recording sessions for their next album, McCullough and Seiwell left the band prompting the McCartneys and Laine to record their next album as a trio. Backed by the successful singles, "Jet" and the title track, the album, Band on the Run, became Wings' most successful album, reaching number one in both the US and the UK. The album also garnered highly positive reviews from critics and significantly restored McCartney's tarnished post-Beatles reputation.
"Love in Song" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that was released on Wings' 1975 album Venus and Mars. It was also released as the B-side of Wings' number 1 single "Listen to What the Man Said." It has been covered by artists such as Helen Merrill and the Judybats.
"Walking in the Park with Eloise" is a jazz instrumental written by Jim McCartney in the early 1920s to the late 1930s. It was later recorded by his son Paul McCartney with his band Wings and released as a single under the name the Country Hams. The B-side, "Bridge on the River Suite", is another instrumental jazz composition, credited to Paul and Linda McCartney. It was released in the UK on 18 October 1974, and in the US on 2 December 1974.