Paul McCartney has always kept an impressively busy pace at all the various stages of his career. Aside from recording his own stuff with The Beatles, Wings, and as a solo act, he has made time for many guest appearances on the records of others.
Along those lines, McCartney has done a lot of work as a guest vocalist. Here are four of the most notable of those occasions.
“My Dark Hour” by Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller was more of an up-and-comer at the point in his career when he collaborated with McCartney, well before his days as a massive hitmaker in the 70s. In May 1969, he happened to pop into Olympic Studios in London looking to lay down a track. He found McCartney there. Earlier in the day, Paul had argued vehemently with the other Beatles about their management situation. Stewing in frustration, he signed up on the spot to help Miller create a song. “My Dark Hour” came out of that session. McCartney played multiple instruments on the cathartic banger. You can hear him howling out backing vocals throughout as well.
“Night Owl” by Carly Simon
On the 1972 Carly Simon album No Secrets, McCartney couldn’t quite win out in terms of the most impactful guest vocalist on the record. That would have to go to Mick Jagger, who famously harmonized on “You’re So Vain”, the song that may or may not have been about him. Macca was one of many luminaries who popped up on “Night Owl”, a cover of a James Taylor track, on that album. Nicky Hopkins tackled the piano while Bobby Keys wailed away with a saxophone solo. In addition to Paul, Linda McCartney and Becca Bramlett sang backing vocals. You can hear the former Beatle doing the low harmony work below Simon at several points during the song.
“Six O’Clock” by Ringo Starr
Relations between McCartney and Ringo Starr were strained in the early 70s somewhat due to the acrimonious breakup of The Beatles. On one infamous occasion, McCartney kicked Starr out of his house during an argument. Perhaps that’s why Paul was the last one of the ex-Beatles that Starr asked to appear on his 1973 album Ringo. Luckily, relations had thawed enough that Paul gladly acquiesced to the request. He offered the fake kazoo solo on Starr’s hit cover of “You’re Sixteen”. On top of that, McCartney wrote “Six O’Clock” for the album. He and Linda McCartney added the backing vocals on the track, which displays Paul’s effortless tunefulness.
“All Those Years Ago” by George Harrison
George Harrison had written “All Those Years Ago” as a possible vehicle for Ringo Starr. But after Harrison and Starr put together a track, Ringo decided that the song didn’t quite suit him. When John Lennon was murdered in December 1980, Harrison revisited it. He wrote some new lyrics to pay tribute to his former bandmate, even while essentially keeping the backing track that he’d previously concocted with Starr. To add the icing on the cake in this quasi-Beatles reunion, he invited McCartney to sing backing vocals. If those vocals give off a Wings vibe, it’s because Linda McCartney and Denny Laine are also in there singing with Paul.
(Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
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