"Rockestra Theme" is the fourth and final single on Wings' final studio album ''

Back to the Egg ''Back to the Egg'' is the seventh and final studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in June 1979 on Columbia Records in America (their first for the label), and on Parlophone in the UK. Co-produced by Chris Thomas, ...

''.

Recording

"Rockestra Theme" was recorded on 3 October 1978 at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

by an all-star collection of musicians dubbed "Rockestra", although the song is technically credited to Wings. It was recorded as part of Wings' 1979 album ''

'' and released as a single in France.

Personnel

Musicians who performed on both this song and on "So Glad To See You Here" included: Denny Laine,

Laurence Juber Laurence Ivor Juber (born 12 November 1952) is an English musician, fingerstyle guitarist and studio musician. He played guitar in the rock band Wings from 1978 to 1981. Biography Early life Born in Stepney, East London, Juber was raised and ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

, Hank Marvin, Pete Townshend (guitars),

Steve Holley Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1954) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album ''Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian Hu ...

, John Bonham, Kenney Jones (drums), Paul McCartney (piano, bass), John Paul Jones, Ronnie Lane, Bruce Thomas (basses), Gary Brooker,

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 ...

, Tony Ashton (keyboards), Speedy Acquaye, Tony Carr,

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

, Morris Pert (percussion),

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, ...

, Tony Dorsey, Steve Howard, Thaddeus Richard (horns). One person taken out of the Rockestra supergroup was

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

. After being asked by McCartney to participate, Beck requested to be able to have veto power over his own guitar contributions. McCartney subsequently withdrew Beck's invitation. In a 2001 interview on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

, McCartney said

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

was to have taken part in "Rockestra" but died one month before the recording sessions took place. Kenney Jones, who replaced Moon on drums within The Who, appeared instead. Wings' drummer Steve Holley described the recording session as "daunting"''.''

Personnel

* Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, piano *

– keyboards, backing vocals * Denny Laine – electric guitar *

– electric guitar *

– drums *

– electric guitar * Pete Townshend – electric guitar * Hank Marvin – electric guitar * Tony Ashton – keyboards * Gary Brooker – piano * Bruce Thomas – bass * Ronnie Lane – bass * John Paul Jones – bass, piano * John Bonham – drums * Kenney Jones – drums *

– percussion * Tony Carr – percussion * Morris Pert – percussion *

– horns * Tony Dorsey – horns * Steve Howard – horns *

Thaddeus Richard Thaddeus (Latin ''Thaddaeus'', Ancient Greek Θαδδαῖος ''Thaddaĩos'', from Aramaic תדי ''Ṯaday'') is a male given name. As of the 1990 Census, ''Thaddeus'' was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ''Thad'', ...

– horns *

Speedy Acquaye Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed. Speedy may refer to: Ships * HMS ''Speedy'', nine ships of the Royal Navy * ''Speedy''-class brig, a class of naval ship * ''Speedy'' (1779), a whaler and convict ship despatched i ...

– percussion

Live

The song was performed again at the

Concerts for the People of Kampuchea Concerts for the People of Kampuchea was a series of concerts featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists which took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during December 1979 to raise m ...

and released on the album and EP of the same name. This was a series of concerts featuring Queen, The Clash, the Pretenders, The Who,

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

, Wings, and many more artists which took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England during December 1979 to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia. The event was organized by McCartney and Kurt Waldheim, and it involved older artists such as McCartney and The Who as well as younger new wave acts like The Clash and the Pretenders. The last of the concerts was the last concert of Wings. Most of the Rockestra wore silver suits for this performance. On the ''Concerts for Kampuchea'' home video, McCartney can be heard making a comment about Townshend before playing the song, making reference to Townshend being a "poof" (gay in British slang). "Thank you, Peter. Only lousy sod who wouldn't wear the silver suit. Cuz he's a poof." Townshend made comment about it in several interviews following the performance. Juber can be seen walking up behind Townshend after McCartney's comment, and placing a silver top hat on his head. Townshend quickly grabs the hat and flings it into the audience.

Aftermath

"Rockestra Theme" won the 1980 Grammy Award for

Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

. In France it was used as the opening theme of ''Chlorophylle'', a pop-rock program on the radio station Europe 1.

References

{{Paul McCartney Paul McCartney songs 1979 singles Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney All-star recordings Charity singles Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Music published by MPL Music Publishing 1978 songs