Last Words From Wings (1976)

Hey! Did anyone else catch Paul McCartney playing up on the "Late Show with David Letterman" marquee the other night. It was good fun. To see that artist performing at the Ed Sullivan Theater again has to be some sort of rock n' roll synergy.

In any case, that performance put me in a Paul McCartney mood. But which track to choose? There are of course many great Beatles songs, but that seems too obvious. That leaves his great 70's group Wings, and Paul's solo work.

I think I got it. Here's a choice nugget from the 1976 three LP live set called "Wings Over America". These three albums chronicle Paul McCartney and Wings' 1976 American tour.


One of my favorite lesser known McCartney songs is "Picasso's Last Words" which originally appeared on the excellent 1973 album 'Band On The Run'. That album gave us great tracks like "Jet" and my favorite ode to a Land Rover, "Helen Wheels".

The story goes that "Last Words" came about because Paul was having dinner with Dustin Hoffman, who asked about the art of songwriting. Paul said all he needed was a good idea and the song would basically write itself. Dustin then retold a story he had read in People Magazine that day about the artist Picasso who had recently passed away, and what witnesses recounted as his final words the evening before his death.

Apparently, Paul picked up his guitar and wrote this song in about two minutes. Now that is musical genius.

So here it is. The live version of "Picasso's Last Words" from Wings' 1976 tour.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jzrgw5yiyiz

P.S. Speaking of actors, did you know that actors like James Coburn and Christopher Lee are featured in the prison-break scene on the cover of "Band On The Run"? It's true.