Who Can Forget Sally

[George Redmon]

Sally G of course.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5LimJctLZH8

I recall all the controversy this light hearted "Country Flavored" B-Side tune caused among country music musicians. I sit and think back to those times and smile. This tune had more harsh descriptive phrases then a Robert Randolph song gets today. I heard everything from "It sounds like a lame Beatles song, trying to sound country", to "Real country can't be sung (sang, heard it both ways) with a British accent, ain't doing it for me hoss." "It sounds like they're draggin", you name it I heard it. Even though Lloyd did a tasteful steel fill, and Bob Wills and Johnny Gimble played great fiddle, it still wasn't over popular with the country crowd or even Paul McCartney fans. Compared to today's ummm....country music, I actually find it refreshing. Yeah I know, i'd rather hear Paul in his own environment harmonizing with John to, but hey.....it's do'in it for me.
"Take It Chaps."

[Jack Hanson]

Always wondered if Sir Paul had the lady in the red dress in mind when he penned this song:

[Lee Baucum]

Ah. That triggers memories. I was playing guitar in a rock band when that was released. I had purchased a beautiful little Sho~Bud Maverick shortly before that. 3 pedals, no knee-levers.

That was the first song I played live, on stage, with my first pedal steel guitar.

~Lee

[b0b]

Lloyd Green on pedal steel and dobro. Can't complain!

Plus Johnny Gimble and Bob Wills on fiddle, according to Wikipedia. Surely that's an error.

[Pete Finney]

According to Buddy Killen, who owned and ran the Sound-shop where it was recorded and helped supervise the session, the second fiddle on the track is Vassar Clements.

Not sure where the weird Bob Wills credit got started, but he's even named on the relatively recent McCartney " reissue "Venus and Mars" double-CD that includes the Nashville sessions as bonus tracks.

[Joachim Kettner]

This was the flipside to the single Junior's Farm. It was the name of the place Wings lived and rehearsed near Nashville. It was not the only song they recorded during their stay there. Denny Laine of Wings recorded another one with Buddy Emmons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HotdEwzzEDM
Paul on bass.

[b0b]

Received via email:

First, Bob Wills was never a Nashville studio musician. He was obviously…”Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys”!

Second, Paul McCartney asked Buddy Killen, the coordinator for his entire 6 week Nashville stay, to get Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Lloyd Green and a fiddle player for separate session sessions that week. Bob Wills wasn’t there. Killen thought Paul should also have Buddy Emmons on one session that week… so he was. The rest of the band were the members of “Wings”.

So, I don’t know if Paul had ever heard of Johnny Gimble. Although he almost certainly had heard of Bob Wills & the T.P.

Anyway, Bob Wills was not there, not on the session, not mentioned unless Gimble brought up his name, which he usually did.

Sir Paul would be the proper person to ask for the genesis of that title and lyrics, but it was a composite of two individuals on lower Broadway, one of whom Paul probably met when he visited that denizen of the Nashville musical underworld at the time.

He must have gone incognito with Buddy Killen.

In a followup, Lloyd continued:

After reading the topic just now…I must say I don’t remember Vassar Clements playing with Gimble on the session??

If he did…we didn’t need him. Gimble could do it all.

But I cut at least two sessions with McCartney and Wings on those dates, the other tune being “Hey Diddle” with Paul playing Ocarina. We played a long solo together and I told Paul I wanted to sound on my steel as close as I could to the timbre, vibrato and tone of the Ocarina, and I don’t think anyone gave me credit for the “other” instrument on the Nashville cut.

Maybe thru the decades he simply forgot we played the solo together.

At around 1:13 Paul and I play the 16 bar solo (after a fiddle). His part is the lower octave, my steel the top. Cool sound!

Regards,

Lloyd G.

Here's that solo: https://youtu.be/jl7T6tt0Ox8?t=68. A cool sound, indeed!

[Jim Fogle]

Sally G is my favorite Paul McCartney and Wings song. It's too bad it doesn't seem to get the recognition I feel it deserves. Having Lloyd Green and Johnny Gimble certainly didn't hurt.

Here is a 17 minute interview with Ernie Winfrey, Buddy Killen's sound engineer and Sound Shop studio manger, where he talks about the Wing sessions. He states both Vassar Clemens and Johnny Gimble played on Sally G as well as listing other Nashville musicians that participated in the session.

https://youtu.be/f5ww7JOZwDY

[Pete Finney]

Here's another link to the McCartney and Denny Laine track with Buddy Emmons from the 1974 Nashville "Wings" sessions (The link posted above doesn't seem to work in the US, might be a Europe-only thing).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2vjZu9_V6g

"Send me the Heart" was co-written by Laine and McCartney with McCartney singing prominent harmony on the track as well as playing bass, but it was only released on a Denny Laine solo album many years later.

Great to get Lloyd's input on the McCartney sessions he did!

[Bob Carlucci]

Loved it then, love it now... So its wasn't "real" country???.
Yeah,,, like the useless drivel Nashville is churning out these days is "country"...I'll take Paul's interpretation any day thank you.... bob

[George Redmon]

Wiki is half right as usual. Here are the names they have listed. Not sure where they got their information from neither? Shoot I think it's a dandy tune.

Personnel

Paul McCartney – vocals, acoustic guitar
Linda McCartney – backing vocals
Denny Laine – backing vocals
Jimmy McCulloch – acoustic guitar
Geoff Britton – drums
Lloyd Green – dobro, pedal steel guitar
Bob Wills – violin
Johnny Gimble – violin

[Brint Hannay]

I didn't know till now that it was a McCartney song. I really liked (like) Lloyd's instrumental version on his Steel Rides album.

[Donny Hinson]

In reference to the Bob Wills violin credit that's on the cut, Lloyd could easily verify that!

Ricky? We need 'ya again.

[Brint Hannay]

I believe Lloyd did answer this in b0b's post above.