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Paul McCartney recorded the only song his father ever wrote. Jim McCartney had been in a band called Jim Mac’s Jazz Band and played tons of music for Paul and his brother Michael when they were growing up. McCartney Sr. wrote one tune during his lifetime, but he had an unexpected reaction to his son’s recording of it.

Paul McCartney's father with a horse in 1964.
Paul McCartney’s father, Jim McCartney | Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Paul McCartney loves music because of his father

In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote that his father came from the music hall era. The family was “steeped” in it. The family often sang together around their piano, especially during parties.

Interestingly, Jim got the family’s upright piano from Harry Epstein’s North End Music Store (NEMS). Epstein’s son Brian later became The Beatles’ manager.

Paul’s Auntie Jin and Auntie Milly used to sing an old music hall song called “Bread and Butterflies.” Later, Jim worked as a limelight operator at the Royal Hippodrome, which helped more music creep into the McCartney household.

Paul’s father was the family pianist, but there was always someone around who could play the instrument. “It was a wonderful thing because it meant people broke into song a lot, like in musicals,” Paul wrote.

Despite being proficient in the instrument, Jim did not want to teach his son piano. He wanted Paul to learn from a professional. Jim didn’t consider himself one, even though he’d performed many times with his jazz band and had his own song.

Paul recorded the only song his father ever wrote

In The Lyrics, Paul said that his father only ever wrote one song, at least to his knowledge, called “Walking in the Park with Eloise.” Later, with his band Wings, Paul recorded the song so that he could play it to Jim. After recording the tune in Nashville, Paul and Wings released it as a single under the name The Country Hams. Paul even had friends like Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer play on it.

However, Jim had an unexpected reaction to his son’s recording. When Paul talked to his father about the single, he said, “Dad, you know that song you wrote?” Jim said, “I didn’t write a song, son.” Paul had to remind him of the song. However, Jim said, ‘No, I didn’t write it. I made it up.”

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Jim had a ‘great effect’ on Paul’s life

In The Lyrics, Paul spoke many times about his father’s influence on him. Jim is the reason why Paul has added so many music hall references and sounds to his music. Paul’s father was there for the birth of many Beatles songs too, and provided a safe haven for his son when the pressures of fame became too much.

Paul wrote that it’s “good to know” that his father got to hear songs like The Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers.” Jim died seven years later. “He lived long enough, though, to know what a great effect he had on my life,” Paul said.

Paul didn’t even care about what Jim said about “Walking in the Park with Eloise.” The former Beatle never regretted recording his father’s only song. It was an honor.

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