In case you haven’t noticed, Paul McCartney is having a bit of a moment. He performed on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago, as well as on the final episode of CBS’s Late Night with Steven Colbert. Somehow, the aging Beatle has re-entered the cultural zeitgeist. Again.
He’s done it before, of course. After The Beatles broke up in 1970, he formed a new band, Wings, with his recent bride, Linda (nee Eastman). I was a big fan of Wings, back in the day. I had a couple of their albums, but no record-player. I had to sneak into my parents’ bedroom in the afternoon and play them on my dad’s stereo.
In keeping with McCartney’s recent resurgence, I stumbled upon a fine oral history of the band, Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, which he assembled with Ted Widmer. While reading the book, I discovered many things about some of their most famous songs. I was especially struck by the history of this one, “Jet”, which has always been one of my favorites.
For example, I learned that the beautiful, trippy Moog synthesizer featured on the song was played by Linda McCartney (she taught herself how to play it). And that the ending saxophone riff was actually two saxophones played in sequence—one for the high part, and then another one for the low part. And that the funky lyrics, whose meaning I and others have puzzled over for years, are absolutely meaningless. (Paul chose them strictly for their feel; never let meaning get in the way of a good melody!)
Anyway, it’s still a great song.
Rock on…
Ash Clifton, Writer 