How a Book About Elvis Saved a Paul McCartney Song From Obscurity
A song that The Beatles‘ producer was credited on a song that appeared on an album from 2020. Paul McCartney read a book about Elvis Presley that convinced him not to put out the song as a B-side. Paul eventually made the song part of a melody. The medley appeared on an album that became a huge hit.
Paul McCartney gave The Beatles’ producer credit on a song he didn’t work on
During an interview with Loud and Quiet, Paul was asked about his song “When Winter Comes” from his album McCartney III. “There’s nothing on that track — it’s just me — but I made a track called ‘Calico Skies’ a while ago [for the 1997 album Flaming Pie], which [Beatles producer] George [Martin] produced,” he said.
“And at the same time, because I was in the studio and had an extra minute or so, I had this other song, so I said, ‘Let me knock this one off,'” he said. “That was ‘When Winter Comes,’ and I mention George because it was on a George Martin-produced session, but is just me on the guitar.“
How the Elvis Presley biography ‘Last Train to Memphis’ changed everything for the song
Paul discussed why “When Winter Comes” appeared on one of his albums. “It was nearly going to be a bonus extra that was going to be on a reissue of Flaming Pie, but I’d just been reading that great book on Elvis, Last Train to Memphis, and it mentioned a song and said you’ve probably never heard it because it was buried as a bonus on the B-side of an album,” he said.” So I thought, ‘No, I’d rather have this one as a proper track.'”
Paul didn’t mention the name of the Elvis tune that languished in obscurity. It’s obviously true that many of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll‘s tunes are forgotten today. It’s good to know that Paul was smart enough not to repeat one of the many mistakes from Elvis’ career.
How Paul McCartney’s ‘When Winter Comes’ performed on the pop charts
A medley of Paul’s songs “Winter Bird” and “When Winter Comes” was released as a single. The tune did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 or the Bubbling Under Hot 100. Both tunes appeared on the album McCartney III, which is a belated sequel to the albums McCartney and McCartney II. That record reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for four weeks.
The Official Charts Company reports the medley of “Winter Bird” and “When Winter Comes” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. None of Paul’s songs have charted in the U.K. since 2015’s “FourFiveSeconds.” That tune was a collaboration with the younger artists Rihanna and Kanye West. McCartney III climbed to No. 1 in the U.K. for a single week. It stayed on the chart for three weeks in total.
“When Winter Comes” became part of one of Paul’s hit albums. We have an Elvis book to thank for that.
