"Cook of the House" is a song written by

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

that was first released on

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

' 1976 album ''

Wings at the Speed of Sound ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'' is the fifth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released on 25 March 1976. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, it reached the top spot on the US album chart—the band's fourth cons ...

''. It was also released as the B-side to the number 1 single "

Silly Love Songs "Silly Love Songs" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was written by Paul and Linda McCartney. The song first appeared in March 1976 on the album '' Wings at the Speed of Sound,'' then it was released as a single backed wit ...

." The song was included on Linda McCartney's posthumous 1998 solo album ''

Wide Prairie ''Wide Prairie'' is a posthumous compilation album by Linda McCartney, compiled by her husband Paul McCartney and released in October 1998, roughly six months after her death due to breast cancer. The idea for the album was inspired by a fan wh ...

''.

Music and lyrics

"Cook of the House" is a "1950s-style

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

song." Linda McCartney sings the lead vocal, her first lead vocal performance for Wings. Paul McCartney plays the same

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo. Ear ...

played on

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

songs. Other musicians on the song are

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

and

Jimmy McCulloch James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979) was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass, as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One i ...

on guitar and Joe English on drums. Either Thaddeus Richard or Howie Casey plays

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. The song opens with the sound of bacon and

chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

frying in the key of E-flat. This sound effect is the only part of the song recorded in

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

; most of the track is in

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

to enhance the retro feel. "Cook of the House" was inspired during the McCartneys' stay at a rented house in Australia during their 1975 tour, and was written in November of that year. A plaque in the kitchen stated "Wherever I serve my guests, they like my kitchen best," which inspired some of the lyrics. Most of the remaining lyrics came from the McCartneys looking at the food in the kitchen and listing the items in the song. The song was most likely recorded on 20 January 1976.

Reception

"Cook of the House" was largely panned by critics. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called the song a "celebration of scatterbrained wife-in-the-kitchen coziness." Authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter claim that Paul McCartney's double bass playing is the song's only redeeming value. Author Robert Rodriguez calls it an "embarrassment," and author Tim Riley calls it a "

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

's nightmare." Paul McCartney biographer

Howard Sounes Howard Sounes (born 1965) is a British author, journalist and biographer. Biography Born in Welling, South East London, Sounes began his journalistic career as a staff reporter for the ''Sunday Mirror''. He broke major stories, including one ...

praised the song's production values but called it a "weak song" which was not sung well. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' described it as a "simpleminded domestic anthem" and claimed it was "genuinely terrible." On the other hand, Wings' guitarist

was happy for Linda's lead vocal opportunity and considered the song a "tribute to her talent of whipping up a meal in no time."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

found the song charming, though acknowledging that it is "awkwardly sung." Paul McCartney biographer Chris Welch called it "one of the most popular items" on ''Wings at the Speed of Sound''.

Other appearances

"Cook of the House" appeared as the B-side of Wings' 1976 single "

." That represented the second time a singer other than Paul McCartney sang the lead vocal on a Wings' single, the first being

's vocal on " I Lie Around," the B-side to " Live and Let Die." Linda also sang "Cook of the House" live on Wings' 1979 UK tour. "Cook of the House" was included on Linda McCartney's 1998 posthumous solo album ''

''. The Eastmans covered "Cook of the House" on ''Love in Song: An Atlanta Tribute to Sir Paul McCartney''.

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

–

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

– electric guitar * Joe English –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Howie Casey Howard William Casey (born 12 July 1937) is a British rhythm and blues and rock saxophonist. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors, the first rock and roll band from Liverpool to play clubs in Germany, ...

–

*Thaddeus Richard – saxophone

References

{{Authority control 1976 songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Songs written by Linda McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Paul McCartney and Wings songs Music published by MPL Music Publishing Paul McCartney songs