Wings Greatest
Encyclopedia
Wings Greatest is a compilation album by the band Wings
and is their eighth album as well as Paul McCartney
's 10th since leaving The Beatles
. It is notable as being the first official retrospective release from Paul McCartney
's post-Beatles
career. Excepting interest in its vinyl LP mix, this collection has become largely irrelevant since the releases of All the Best!
and Wingspan: Hits and History
.
's American label, Capitol Records
, for a six-year stay with Columbia Records
(US and Canada only), though he remained with EMI worldwide during his US sabbatical from Capitol.
Wings Greatest is notable for including many of McCartney's post-1970 single-only releases, including "Another Day
" (actually a "Paul McCartney" song, not a "Wings" recording), "Live and Let Die
", "Junior's Farm
", "Hi, Hi, Hi
" and "Mull of Kintyre
". In addition to "Another Day", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
" was originally credited to "Paul & Linda McCartney" and from their 1971 album Ram
.
Despite the fact that McCartney had amassed enough hits by late 1978 to fill a double album of hits, he kept it down to a single disc for commercial reasons. Thus, several songs would be overlooked for Wings Greatest. Indeed, not one song was excerpted from 1975's Venus and Mars
, despite "Listen To What The Man Said" being a #1 US hit.
The album was promoted by a TV commercial in the UK, which featured several members of the public (played by actors) singing Wings tunes in public places. At the end a dustman, waiting in his lorry at a set of traffic lights (in Abbey Road), sings to himself an out of tune rendition of "Band On The Run", at which point Paul, Linda and Denny pull up alongside and Paul shouts out "You're a bit flat mate!". The driver leans out his window and says "Funny, I only checked them this morning!"
Although Wings Greatest has since been superseded by 1987's All the Best!
and 2001's Wingspan: Hits and History
, it still stands as a representative sampler of Wings' flight.
In 1993, Wings Greatest was remastered and reissued as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection".
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....
and is their eighth album as well as 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...
's 10th since leaving 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...
. It is notable as being the first official retrospective release from 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...
's post-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...
career. Excepting interest in its vinyl LP mix, this collection has become largely irrelevant since the releases of All the Best!
All the Best!
All the Best! is the second official compilation album of Paul McCartney music, after 1978's Wings Greatest and was released in 1987. The album contains tracks from the beginning of his solo career in 1970 up to the newly recorded "Once Upon a Long Ago." The track inclusion and running order...
and Wingspan: Hits and History
Wingspan: Hits and History
-Disc 2: History:-Chart positions:-Year-end charts:-Certifications:- References :...
.
History
The LP was compiled after McCartney's decision to leave EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's American label, Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, for a six-year stay with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(US and Canada only), though he remained with EMI worldwide during his US sabbatical from Capitol.
Wings Greatest is notable for including many of McCartney's post-1970 single-only releases, including "Another Day
Another Day (Paul McCartney song)
"Another Day" is a song recorded by Paul McCartney in New York in 1970, during the sessions for his album Ram. Although it was the first single of McCartney's solo career, "Another Day" was actually written and previewed during The Beatles' Let It Be Sessions in 1969. It was officially released on...
" (actually a "Paul McCartney" song, not a "Wings" recording), "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...
", "Junior's Farm
Junior's Farm
"Junior's Farm" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. A number-three hit single in the United States, it was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1974, while the band was staying at the farm of Curly Putman Jr., which accounts for the title. The...
", "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...
" and "Mull of Kintyre
Mull of Kintyre (song)
"Mull of Kintyre" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine and performed by Wings. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966, and its headland or Mull of Kintyre.The song was Wings' biggest hit...
". In addition to "Another Day", "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...
" was originally credited to "Paul & Linda McCartney" and from their 1971 album Ram
Ram (album)
Ram is an album by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, released in 1971, the only album credited to the pair. It was the second of the two albums McCartney released between leaving The Beatles and forming Wings...
.
Despite the fact that McCartney had amassed enough hits by late 1978 to fill a double album of hits, he kept it down to a single disc for commercial reasons. Thus, several songs would be overlooked for Wings Greatest. Indeed, not one song was excerpted from 1975's Venus and Mars
Venus and Mars
Venus and Mars is the fourth album by Wings. Released as the follow-up to the enormously successful Band on the Run, Venus and Mars continued Wings' string of success and would prove a springboard for a year-long worldwide tour...
, despite "Listen To What The Man Said" being a #1 US hit.
The album was promoted by a TV commercial in the UK, which featured several members of the public (played by actors) singing Wings tunes in public places. At the end a dustman, waiting in his lorry at a set of traffic lights (in Abbey Road), sings to himself an out of tune rendition of "Band On The Run", at which point Paul, Linda and Denny pull up alongside and Paul shouts out "You're a bit flat mate!". The driver leans out his window and says "Funny, I only checked them this morning!"
Although Wings Greatest has since been superseded by 1987's All the Best!
All the Best!
All the Best! is the second official compilation album of Paul McCartney music, after 1978's Wings Greatest and was released in 1987. The album contains tracks from the beginning of his solo career in 1970 up to the newly recorded "Once Upon a Long Ago." The track inclusion and running order...
and 2001's Wingspan: Hits and History
Wingspan: Hits and History
-Disc 2: History:-Chart positions:-Year-end charts:-Certifications:- References :...
, it still stands as a representative sampler of Wings' flight.
In 1993, Wings Greatest was remastered and reissued as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection".
Track listing
Chart positions
| Chart (1978-79) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
8 |
| Canadian RPM Albums Chart RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
25 |
| Dutch Mega Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
18 |
| French SNEP Albums Chart | 2 |
| Japanese Oricon LP Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
24 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 16 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
20 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
32 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
5 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
29 |
| West German Media Control Albums Chart | 18 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1979) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 43 |