Paul McCartney has expressed his love of country music a few times. He’s discussed the genre in interviews and has imbued his songwriting with its textures and conventions. He’s never gone full-blown country, unlike his former bandmate Ringo Starr, but there have been glimmers of a country influence over the years. He even earned one charting hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, “Sally G.” Learn more about the Nashville influence on this Wings track.
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Paul McCartney’s Only Country Chart Hit
In the mid-’70s, Wings was going through a personnel change. They were rounding out their lineup, featuring McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, and Geoff Britton, when they took a trip to Music City.
“Buddy Killen took us out to Printer’s Alley, a little club district,” McCartney once said. This little corner of Nashville instantly inspired McCartney. It moved him to pen “Sally G,” the B-side to “Junior’s Farm.”
The night life took me down to Printers Alley / Where Sally sang a song behind a bar / I ran my eyes across her as she sang a tangled mind / I used to love to hear her sweet guitar, the lyrics read.
McCartney added elsewhere about the experience, saying, “I didn’t see anyone named ‘Sally G’ in Printer’s Alley. Nor did I see anyone who ran her eyes over me when she was singing ‘A Troubled Mind.’ That was my imagination, adding to the reality of it.”
Well, now I’m on my own again / I wonder if she ever really understood / I never thought to ask her what the letter “G” stood for / But I know for sure it wasn’t good, McCartney sings later in the song, crafting a very “Nashville” one-liner.
Charting Hit
McCartney didn’t just play a country hitmaker for a little while; he genuinely earned success in the genre. He landed at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Though this is a far cry from the chart success he has enjoyed in the rock realm, it’s still an impressive feat.
The success of “Sally G” speaks to McCartney’s universal excellence as a songwriter. Putting his songwriting voice to any genre works out well. He proved his talents go far beyond genre lines or expectations. But, then again, the entire world likely already knew that.
(Photo by -/PRESSENS BILD/AFP via Getty Images)
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