Paul McCartney has never shied away from a big idea throughout his recording career, going back to his time with The Beatles and then all the way through his stint with Wings and his solo efforts. One particular gambit that came at the end of the Wings era was a particularly bold one, although it doesn’t get much attention today.
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That came when McCartney assembled some of the biggest musical names of the day and dubbed them the Rockestra. They appeared on a pair of studio recordings, and then delivered a single, unofficial live performance before fading into the history books.
Paul’s Proposal
The idea behind Wings’ 1979 album Back to the Egg was a return to a simpler, more rocking approach than the band had employed on their previous record (London Town). Of course, the scale of McCartney’s operations at that point meant even a simplified strategy encompassed recording the album at five different locations over the period of close to a year.
In October 1978, McCartney returned to his old haunts at Abbey Road in London with a grand idea. What would it sound like to pull together as many top-notch musicians as possible to play on a single track? He already had an instrumental in the works called “Rockestra Theme,” which he had demoed with Wings at a castle in Kent.
To give you an idea of the glittery roster he had in mind, consider some of the folks who were invited but didn’t attend. Macca had tried to nab all three guitar legends who made it through the roster of the Yardbirds (Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck), but none showed. Keith Moon was slated to appear, but he passed away not long before the sessions. Luckily, enough big names did make the sessions to turn the Rockestra into quite the event.
Rockestra Assemble!
So who did show? Guitarists included The Who’s Pete Townshend and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. Among the bassists were Ronnie Lane of Faces, Bruce Thomas of The Attractions, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Jones was joined on keyboards by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum. Led Zeppelin and Faces were also represented on drums by John Bonham and Kenney Jones, respectively.
McCartney and Wings also joined the party. The idea was to see what kind of sound could be achieved by having all these instrumentalists pound away into the mix together, creating a Wall of Sound the likes of which Phil Spector couldn’t have even imagined.
It’s hard to say if “Rockestra Theme” achieved that objective. With overdubbing technology, such widescreen sonics could be achieved by stuffing multiple tracks. Nonetheless, the song would go on to win a GRAMMY for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1980.
One Live Show
The Rockestra also backed McCartney on the relatively forgettable Back to the Egg track “So Glad to See You Here.” A video taken of all the goings-on at the studio the day those songs were recorded was also released after the fact.
The last sighting of Rockestra came during the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, held in London in December 1979. (This would also be the last ever show for Wings.) Many of the original performers were on hand for two renderings of the “Rockestra Theme,” along with a few newcomers like Robert Plant and Dave Edmunds.
McCartney has spoken at times about reviving the Rockestra idea, although that has never come to pass. Although it didn’t amount to much in terms of musical output, that original gathering certainly holds historical value as a once-in-a-generation rock summit.
Photo by Linda McCartney via Facebook
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