James Paul McCartney is title of a 1973 television special produced by ATV and starring British musician Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 and his then current rock group Wings

Wings (band)

Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....

. It was first broadcast in April 16, 1973 in the United States on the ABC network, and was later broadcast in the United Kingdom on May 10, 1973. To date, the program has never been officially released on any home video format.

The Program

The special was broken up into eleven different segments, each of these showcasing McCartney's songs from both his career with The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and as a solo artist.

Part 1

The program opens with a live performance by Wings in front of an audience of television screens.

Song: Big Barn Bed

Part 2

An acoustic medley of songs is performed by McCartney during a photographic session with his wife Linda as the photographer.

Songs: Blackbird

Blackbird (song)

"Blackbird" is a Beatles song from the double-disc album The Beatles . Blackbird was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney.-Origins:...

, Bluebird

Bluebird (song)

"Bluebird" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that was originally released on the Paul McCartney and Wings' album Band on the Run. According to author John Blaney, it was written during a vacation in Jamaica...

, Michelle

Michelle (song)

"Michelle" is a love ballad by The Beatles, mainly written by Paul McCartney, with the middle eight co-written with John Lennon. It is featured on their Rubber Soul album. The song departs from most of The Beatles' other recordings in that some of the lyrics are in French...

, Heart of The Country

Heart of the Country (song)

"Heart of the Country" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney from their album Ram released in 1971. The song has simple acoustic tune with a heavy bass chorus, and an unusually mellow sound to the acoustic guitar that was achieved by tuning all of the strings a full step lower than...

Part 3

A short music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 style performance set in an outdoor location of McCartney's version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

Songs: Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary Had a Little Lamb (Paul McCartney song)

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is Wings' version of the traditional nursery rhyme, recorded, according to Paul McCartney at the time, in response to the BBC ban on their previous single, the political "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", though McCartney has since denied this. Wings lead guitarist Henry...

Part 4

A television studio performance with Wings and orchestra in front of a live audience.

Songs: Little Woman Love

Little Woman Love

"Little Woman Love" is a Wings song released as a B-side to the single "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on 12 May 1972. It was composed by Paul McCartney in 1970 and recorded during the Ram sessions but left of the album, then released as a single, although, in keeping with McCartney's practice at the...

, C Moon

C Moon

"C Moon" is a reggae song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side with "Hi, Hi, Hi" in 1972. With the ban of "Hi Hi Hi" in the United Kingdom, "C Moon" became a top five hit....

, My Love

Part 5

Another music video segment, this time for "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album Ram. Released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1971, making it the first of a string of post-Beatles, McCartney-penned singles to top the US...

", however the "Admiral Halsey" section was not included in the final broadcast version.

Songs: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

Part 6

A short voice-over from Mcartney introduces the next segment set in the Clelsea Reach public house near Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. This features members of Paul's family and Wings in a pub singalong

Songs: April Showers, Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag

"Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile" is the full name of a World War I marching song, published in 1915 in London. It was written by George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and set to music by his brother Felix Powell...

, You Are My Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine

"You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state songs of Louisiana as a result of its association with former state governor and country music singer Jimmie Davis. The song is copyright 1940 Peer International Corporation, words and music by...

Part 7

A Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...

 style musical number, featuring dancers dressed in half-man/half-woman costumes.

Songs: Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance

Part 8

A music video segment were Paul introduces "Live And Let Die

Live and Let Die (song)

"Live and Let Die" is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and was performed by Paul McCartney & Wings for the movie soundtrack and appears on the soundtrack album. The song was one of Wings' most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point...

", the title theme from the 1973 James Bond movie

Live and Let Die (film)

Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...

.

Songs: Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die (song)

"Live and Let Die" is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and was performed by Paul McCartney & Wings for the movie soundtrack and appears on the soundtrack album. The song was one of Wings' most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point...

Part 9

Beatles Medley: a filmed segment with street passers-by singing various Beatles songs (off key) to comedic effect.

Songs: When I'm 64, A Hard Day's Night

A Hard Day's Night (song)

"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...

, Can't Buy Me Love

Can't Buy Me Love

"Can't Buy Me Love" is a song composed by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on the A-side of their sixth British single, "Can't Buy Me Love"/"You Can't Do That".-Interpretation:...

, She Loves You

She Loves You

"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States by being one of the...

, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on their 1968 album The Beatles...

, Yesterday

Yesterday (song)

"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...

, Yellow Submarine

Yellow Submarine (song)

"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with "Eleanor Rigby". The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks...

Part 10

Another live studio performance with Wings.

Songs: The Mess, Maybe I'm Amazed

Maybe I'm Amazed

"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by Paul McCartney that was first released on his McCartney album on 17 April 1970. The studio version from the album has never been released as a single. McCartney dedicated the song to his wife, Linda, who had helped him get through the break-up of The Beatles...

, Long Tall Sally

Long Tall Sally

"Long Tall Sally" is a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman , recorded by Little Richard and released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label....

 (US broadcast only; the UK and other European market replaced this with Hi, Hi, Hi

Hi, Hi, Hi

"Hi, Hi, Hi" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side single with "C Moon" in 1972.The single peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and at number 10 in the United States in January 1973...

)

Part 11

A live acoustic performance of "Yesterday". Credits roll over the performance.

Songs: Yesterday.

Reception

Critical reception to the program was largely negative. Melody Maker

Melody Maker

Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

stated: "McCartney has always had an eye and ear for full-blown romanticism, and nothing wrong with that, but here he too often lets it get out of hand and it becomes over-blown and silly".