January-February 1975
In 1974 word had it that Paul McCartney was coming to New Orleans to record a new Wings album, and so I did what any reporter would do and tried to get the story. I contacted his label and laid out a good case for being the person to do just that. I was ignored.
A friend of mine, Bill ‘Bleu’ Evans, the founder of Studio In The Country in Bogalusa, had his to ear the music ground having recorded Kansas, Stevie Wonder, Louis Prima, Pete Fountain, Perry Como, Willie Nelson and, my favorite, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown. Despite being a first class recording studio, Bill didn’t get the gig for the former Beatles star, but he knew who did and he would let me know when McCartney was in town.
Paul and Linda were in New Orleans from mid-January to late February 1975 to record “Venus and Mars,” at New Orleans music man Allen Toussaint’s Sea-Saint Studios in Gentilly. I was told Paul would show up at the studio about 10am, so I got there at 9 and waited among the 20 or so women gathered in hopes of spotting the star. I found out they were fans of his for years and, in the decade that had passed, they had gotten married, had babies (two were there in strollers), added some weight, but hadn’t lost their zeal for Paul.
I was concentrating on the women as the fall-back story, interviewing some of them in case the the big star stiffed me for an interview when, all of a sudden, a large white Oldsmobile convertible drove up with Paul at the wheel. I was jostled by the women trying for a position in front of Him.
There were no recording executives or bodyguards, just Paul and Linda, and he stopped to sign autographs and pose for pictures in a very orderly manner.
I waited my turn and introduced myself and asked for an interview, to which he replied – “Of course, come on inside and you can meet Linda.”
My photographer, Charlie Cahill, and I stared at each other with mouths set in Venus Fly trap mode, we just couldn’t believe our luck. Inside Sea Saints we were introduced to Linda and Wings and the sound engineers, producers; the whole crew. We set up for an interview (which Paul insisted was with Linda) and we did about six minutes when Charlie said we needed to change film. During the interlude Paul suggested we change locations and film in the studios – he would do one of the new tracks from the album –
“Alright, okay, Very good to see you down in New Orleans…..“.
Linda was banging a tambourine singing next to Paul. We were filming inside the control room while Linda, Paul and the rest of Wings were on the other side of the glass;
“Any time, any day, you can hear the people say that love is blind; .…”
I motioned to Charlie to keep rolling, but he had played in a band and professionally he knew that we could shoot more film later, and he knew that we needed an uninterrupted track of the song. We both were as greedy as grizzlys to get the most of the situation.
When it ended Paul, Linda and Wings gave it a freeze frame in place until the director said ‘Thank you’ from inside the glass barrier. Then, Paul suggested we might want to get cut aways from inside the studio. Always the master artist. Even the lingo – cut aways.
But then, it came into focus for me as they started the tape of their performance again. It became obvious that the first rendition was on tape too – Paul, Linda and Wings had lip-synched for us. I was just overwhelmed with the situation and the generosity.
And, we had the exclusive. Paul, Linda and Wings. A new album. In New Orleans.
I found out later Paul and Linda had embraced the carnival season, dressing up as clowns to anonymously take part in the parade and street madness.
They hired a local photographer Sidney Smith to document their time.
