Yesterday’s classic song of the day was Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird,” from the Beatles’ White Album. Continuing with that avian theme—and with Paul McCartney—today’s classic song of the day is the similarly named “Bluebird.”
Even though “Bluebird” is credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, you know Sir Paul did all the writing. Along the same lines, this is definitely a Paul McCartney recording, even though it’s credited to Paul McCartney & Wings. Mr. McCartney played the main instruments himself—acoustic guitar, bass, and drums. The only other member of Wings on the track was Denny Laine, who played second acoustic guitar and sang backup. Guest artist Howie Casey played sax and fellow guest Remi Kabaka provided the percussion. Paul’s wife Linda also sang backup, Geoff Emerick was the recording engineer, and McCartney himself produced the tune.
While they’re both ornithologically titled and acoustic guitar-based, “Bluebird” and “Blackbird” couldn’t be more different in terms of lyrical content. “Blackbird” was about the American Civil Rights movement; “Bluebird” is a more straight-ahead love song, with the bird of the title being a metaphor for the power of love.
“Bluebird” was included on the 1973 Wings album, Band on the Run. It was also featured as the B-side on Wings’ “Mrs. Vandebilt” single, which was not released as a single in the U.S. or the UK.
Today’s daily bonus video of the day comes from the 1980 Rockshow concert film. It’s Paul McCartney & Wings performing “Bluebird” on Wings’ 1975-1976 Wings Over the World tour. It was a highlight.
