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Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism and frequent personnel changes; going through three lead guitarists and four drummers. However, the core trio of the McCartneys and Laine remained intact throughout the group's existence.
Venus and Mars is the fourth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, and the sixth album by Paul McCartney after the break-up of the Beatles in 1970. 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 McCartney's first post-Beatles album to be released worldwide by Capitol Records rather than Apple.
Red Rose Speedway is the second studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". The album was released by Beatles-owned label Apple Records in April 1973, preceded by its lead single, the ballad "My Love". By including McCartney's name in the artist credit, the single and album broke with the tradition of Wings' previous records. The change was made in the belief that the public's unfamiliarity with the band had been responsible for the weak commercial performance of the group's 1971 debut album Wild Life.
Wings at the Speed of Sound is the fifth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released on 25 March 1976. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, it reached the top spot on the US album chart—the band's fourth consecutive album to do so—and peaked at number 2 on the UK album chart. Both singles from the album also reached the top 5 of the UK and US singles charts, with "Silly Love Songs" reaching number 1 in the US.
"Silly Love Songs" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was written by Paul and Linda McCartney. The song first appeared in March 1976 on the album Wings at the Speed of Sound, then it was released as a single backed with "Cook of the House" on 1 April in the US, and 30 April in the UK. The song, which features disco overtones, was written in response to music critics accusing McCartney of predominantly writing "silly love songs" and "sentimental slush".
"My Love" is a song by the British–American band Paul McCartney and Wings that was first released as the lead single from their 1973 album Red Rose Speedway. It was written by Paul McCartney as a love song to his wife and Wings bandmate Linda. The single marked the first time that McCartney's name appeared in the artist credit for a Wings record, after their previous releases had been credited to Wings alone. Released on 23 March 1973, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US for four weeks and peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was viewed as Wings' first significant success in the US and helped Red Rose Speedway achieve commercial success.
"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".
"London Town" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings. The title and opening track of their 1978 album London Town, it was the third of three single releases from the album, reaching No. 39 in the US, No. 43 in Canada and No. 60 in the UK. It also reached No. 17 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in the US.
The Wings Over the World tour was a series of concerts in 1975 and 1976 by the British–American rock band Wings performed in Britain, Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada. The North American leg constituted band leader Paul McCartney's first live performances there since the Beatles' final tour, in 1966, and the only time Wings would perform live in the US and Canada. The world tour was well-attended and critically acclaimed, and resulted in a triple live album, Wings over America, which Capitol Records released in December 1976. In addition, the tour was documented in the television film Wings Over the World (1979) and a cinema release, Rockshow (1980).
Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring genres ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical, ballads, and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon remains the most successful in history.
"Call Me Back Again" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was originally released on the album Venus and Mars. It was performed throughout their world tours in Australia and America and a live version was included on the album Wings Over America. It was also included on the compilation album Wingspan: Hits and History. The song was also included on the theatrical version of the film Rockshow, documenting the Wings 1976 tour, but was excluded from the laserdisc version of the film.
"Mamunia" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney that first appeared on Wings' 1973 album Band on the Run. It was also released as the B-side of the "Jet" single in the US, but was replaced by "Let Me Roll It" when "Mamunia" was being considered as a possible future A-side.
"Beware My Love" is a rock song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that was first released on the Wings 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was also used as the B-side of the single that included "Let 'Em In". A live version recorded on June 7, 1976, in Denver, Colorado, was included on the Wings' album Wings Over America and another live version from three days later in Seattle, Washington, was shown in the concert film Rockshow. An excerpt from the Rockshow performance was also included in the documentary Wings Over the World.
"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.
"Must Do Something About It" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that first appeared on the Wings 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound.
"Little Lamb Dragonfly" is a song by Paul McCartney and Wings, composed by Paul and Linda McCartney and originally released on the 1973 album Red Rose Speedway. The song was originally recorded during the sessions for McCartney's Ram album in early 1971, and thus Hugh McCracken plays guitar on the recording rather than Wings' guitarist Denny Laine. However, Laine did provide backing vocals during the production work for Red Rose Speedway. McCartney originally intended to use the song as part of his Rupert and the Frog Song animated film project. Chip Madinger and Mark Easter noted that drummer Denny Seiwell may have assisted in writing the song, although he was not credited.
"Warm and Beautiful" is a love ballad credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that was first released by Wings on their 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It is a love ballad sung by Paul directed to Linda. Critical opinion of the song has varied widely, ranging from a comment that it is "one of the most beautiful songs that Paul ever wrote for Linda," to a suggestion that it may be "one of the worst songs Paul McCartney has ever written." In 1998, after Linda's death, Paul rearranged the song for string quartet to be played at memorial concerts for his late wife. This version was included on the 1999 album Working Classical.
"No Words" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, and first released on 7 December 1973 on Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings. The song was Laine's first co-writing on a Wings album and his only writing credit on Band on the Run.
"Cook of the House" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney that was first released on Wings' 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was also released as the B-side to the number 1 single "Silly Love Songs." The song was included on Linda McCartney's posthumous 1998 solo album Wide Prairie.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Blaney, J. (2007). Lennon and McCartney: together alone: a critical discography of their solo work. Jawbone Press. pp. 113, 244. ISBN 978-1-906002-02-2.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Benitez, V.P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0.
- ↑ Ingham, C. (2009). The Rough Guide to the Beatles (3rd ed.). Penguin. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4053-8445-2.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Madiger, C. & Easter, M. (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You. 44.1 Productions. pp. 215, 409–410. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
- ↑ Christgau, R. "Robert Christgau: Wings". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ Erlewine, S.T. "Wings at the Speed of Sound". Allmusic . Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ Rodriguez, R. (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years 1970–1980. Hal Leonard. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
- ↑ Thomson, G. (2006). Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello. Canongate. p. 355. ISBN 978-1-84195-796-8.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, W. "Working Classical: Orchestral and Chamber Music by Paul McCartney". Allmusic . Retrieved 22 November 2011.
