Fifty years ago today (October 18), Paul McCartney released perhaps one of the most unique songs of his career. Teaming up with members of his 1970s band Wings and some legendary Nashville musicians under the moniker The Country Hams, the former Beatles star put out a jazz instrumental track titled “Walking in the Park with Eloise” that actually was written by his father, Jim.
The Dixieland-influenced song initially was issued as a single in the U.K. on October 1974. It’s U.S. release followed on December 2 of that year.
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McCartney recorded “Walking in the Park with Eloise” in July 1974 in Nashville. Playing on the track was country guitar legend Chet Atkins, lauded session pianist Floyd Kramer, banjo player Bobby Thompson, and a three-piece horn and woodwind section. Wings guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Geoff Britton also were featured on the tune.
“Walking in the Park with Eloise” was a song McCartney used to hear his father play on piano when he was young. His dad apparently wrote the tune sometime in the 1920s or ’30s. Paul believes it was the only song ever written by his father.
McCartney Discussed the Song in a Recent Q&A
In a recent Q&A posted online, McCartney shared some more background about “Walking in the Park with Eloise.”
Sir Paul recalled that it was Atkins who encouraged him to record the tune.
“The recording of the song happened when I was in Nashville,” McCartney noted. “I mentioned it to Chet Atkins and he said, ‘We should record that for your dad!’ So, it was Chet’s idea. We got a couple of guys together and recorded it.”
About the origins of the song, Paul said, “[I]t was just something that [my father had] made up on our piano.”
McCartney also revealed what his dad thought about the version of the song he recorded.
“Oh, he loved it. He really loved it,” Paul shared. “He wouldn’t ever admit he’d ‘written’ it. He said it was just a piece he played on the piano that he’d ‘made up.’ And I said, ‘Well, we call that writing these days!’ I think he meant that he didn’t physically write something out in notation.”
How McCartney Was Influenced by His Dad’s Love for Music
McCartney also explained how his father’s appreciation of music rubbed off on him.
“He usually played all the ‘old standards,’ that’s why I’ve got such a rich background knowledge of them,” he noted. “He never read any music, it was all by ear. I think it all sunk in when I was little, before I could even reach the piano!
McCartney added, “It gave me an interest in those kinds of songs. I’d hear Fred Astaire’s stuff on the TV or radio [like the song ‘Cheek to Cheek.’] And I would learn to appreciate the skill made in making that song. I figured out how he’d done it, what tricks he used. A lot of my music education was just that, hearing tricks that other composers had used and thinking, ‘Oh, I love that. I’ll do it too.’”
Jim McCartney died in 1976 at age 73.
Other McCartney Releases Featuring “Walking in the Park with Eloise”
“Walking in the Park with Eloise” was later included as a bonus track on the expanded 2014 reissue of the 1974 Wings album Venus and Mars. release in 2014. In addition, an orchestral version of the song was recorded for the 2016 animated film Ethel & Earnest. The latter version also appeared on McCartney’s 2022 vinyl compilation The 7” Singles Box.