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Paul McCartney was frustrated.
He was putting together his 1975 album "Venus & Mars" with Linda and Wings, and he was working on a song that he had high hopes for--and he wasn't the only one. It seemed that everyone he played it for on the piano thought it was fantastic.
But in the studio, Paul was having one heck of a time trying to get the right mix. Something was missing. He called in Dave Mason to lay down some extra guitar tracks, which turned out great...but the song still needed something.
Someone suggested that adding a saxophone might work, so Paul called sax legend Tom Scott.
In less than half-hour, Tom had arrived at the studio, grabbed some headphones, and while they played the track for him, he ad-libbed a few solos.
When he was done, everyone was shocked: The sax parts had turned "Listen To What the Man Said" into a GREAT song!
Tom was even MORE shocked because he didn't know they were recording him! He begged to re-record and tinker some more, but after a few more takes, Paul decided the original ad libs were EXACTLY what was needed.
Except for one last thing: He asked the studio engineer to record and add a kiss from Linda. Done...and Done!
When the song was released (first on "Venus & Mars" and then as a single), the critics went nuts, calling it, "sweet and lovely," "deliciously catchy," "artful and sensitive," "buoyant and optimistic," "likeable and hummable," and on and on and on.
On the charts, it topped the Top 40 in the US and Canada, and it reached #6 in the UK.
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fter a lot of tinkering, Paul McCartney (with Linda and Wings) had come up with exactly what was needed to make "Listen To What the Man Said" the "Great Song of the '70s" he knew it could be (with special thanks to Dave Mason and Tom Scott)!
From 1975:
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