Yahoo Lifestyle Paul McCartney Prepping ‘Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run’ Book for Fall Release
Playing “The End” on the “SNL50” special hardly marked the end of what fans will be hearing or seeing from Paul McCartney this year. He announced Wednesday that he will release a book, “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run,” tracing the history of the group he helmed through most of the 1970s after the Beatles’ breakup. It comes out Nov. 4.
Although officially credited as “by Paul McCartney,” the fall release features the voices of others as well as McCartney’s own in tracing the history of Wings, and is edited by — and includes an introduction from — historian Ted Widmer. Widmer is a former White House speechwriter for Bill Clinton whose most recent book is “Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington.”
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Said McCartney in a statement: “I’m so very happy to be transported back to the time that was Wings and relive some of our madcap adventures through this book. Starting from scratch after the Beatles felt crazy at times. There were some very difficult moments and I often questioned my decision. But as we got better I thought, ‘OK this is really good.’ We proved Wings could be a really good band. To play to huge audiences in the same way the Beatles had and have an impact in a different way. It was a huge buzz.”
The book is being described as “drawn from over 500,000 words, based on dozens of hours of interviews with McCartney and numerous key players in the band’s orbit,” and includes more than 100 photographs.
The announcement includes mention that filmmaker Morgan Neville is at work on a documentary about McCartney’s solo and Wings work in the 1970s.
The announcement of the book is for its U.S. release, which is through Liveright/W. W. Norton and Allen Lane/Penguin Press. A U.K. release is promised as well, via Penguin/Allen Lane. Cover art has not yet been revealed.
Nine albums in the McCartney catalog were credited either to Wings or Paul McCartney & Wings, starting with “Wings Wild Life” in 1972 (which followed two post-Beatles albums credited either to McCartney alone or Paul and his wife Linda) and ending with “Back to the Egg” in 1978. Denny Laine was the only other member of Wings besides the two McCartneys to be with the band for the long haul. Starting with 1980’s “McCartney II,” the singer went back to crediting himself as solely a solo artist. Wings’ albums included the smash “Band on the Run” in 1973 and one-offs like the “Live and Let Die” theme.
McCartney has not produced a memoir, although he has cooperated with biographers. In 2021, he released “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present,” which included a page of annotation for each of the songs he selected to be included.
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