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"Too Many People" is a song by
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 ...
from his and his wife Linda McCartney's 1971 album ''
Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
''. It was issued as well as the B-side of the "
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album ''Ram''. Released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971, it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 4 September 1971, making it the first o ...
" single. It was also included on ''
The 7" Singles Box ''The 7" Singles Box Set'' is a box set by Paul McCartney released in December 2022 containing 80 seven-inch vinyl singles originally released between 1971 and 2022. The box set was packaged in a wooden crate manufactured in the United Kingdom an ...
'' in 2022.


Background

"Too Many People" contains digs at McCartney's former bandmate and songwriting partner
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, as well as his wife
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
. According to ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci, it is "McCartney's bitchiest kissoff to his ex-bandmates." As McCartney himself recalled in an interview with ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' in 1984: The song begins with the line "piece of cake" (similar in sound to "piss off, cake") later revealed to be a veiled jibe at Lennon: The line "You took your lucky break and broke it in two" was originally "Yoko took your lucky break and broke it in two" but McCartney revised it before recording the song. Despite this revision, Gallucci interprets the line as a "dig at Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' stated that "Too Many People"'s "incredibly sweet melody is proof that McCartney could use his charm as a weapon when he wanted to." The introduction to the song as well as the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
alternate the
tonic chord Tonic may refer to: * Tonic water, a drink traditionally containing quinine * Soft drink, a carbonated beverage *Tonic (physiology), the response of a muscle fiber or nerve ending typified by slow, continuous action * Tonic syllable, the stressed ...
of
G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...
with its minor subdominant chord of
C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...
. This allows McCartney to go from the bridge to a repetition of the introduction music as a means of moving the music back to the verses. According to Vincent Perez Benitez, this strategy "enhance the coherence of the song," in a manner consistent with McCartney's earlier song "
Maybe I'm Amazed "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album ''McCartney''. Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartney's l ...
." "Too Many People" incorporates guitar solos in both the middle and at the end of the song. McCartney also recorded an instrumental version of "Too Many People" that was released on his '' Thrillington'' album. In this version a stereo phaser was used to produce a sound that music journalist Ian Peel describes as coming from a "psychedelic
echo chamber Echo chamber of the Dresden University of Technology Hamilton Mausoleum has a long-lasting unplanned echo An echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce reverberation, usually for recording purposes. For example, the producers of ...
."


Recording

"Too Many People" was initially recorded on 10 November 1970 in
Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Major film studios, Big Five stud ...
in New York City. Most of the overdubbing, including adding
brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin ...
to the beginning of the song, occurred in January 1971. Additional overdubbing occurred in March/April 1971.


Aftermath

Following the release of ''Ram'', John Lennon pointed out several songs that he claimed were attacks at him, among them being "Too Many People". In response, Lennon wrote " How Do You Sleep?" for his album ''
Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'', an attack at McCartney featuring musical contributions from George Harrison. McCartney later wrote "Dear Friend", a truce offering to Lennon, and released it on the album '' Wild Life'' with his band,
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 expre ...
.


Reception

''Rolling Stone'' rated "Too Many People" to be McCartney's 3rd greatest post-Beatles song, 2 slots ahead of its A-side "
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album ''Ram''. Released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971, it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 4 September 1971, making it the first o ...
" and behind only " Band on the Run" and "
Maybe I'm Amazed "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album ''McCartney''. Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartney's l ...
." '' Billboard'' described "Too Many People" as "wailing sentimentality." ''Capital Journal'' critic Steve Gettinger called "Too Many People" a high point of ''Ram'' stating that it is "bright and bitter, carefully constructed" and "unmistakably Beatles." ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' critic Ernie Santosuosso described it as "a loud meditation about society" with a "particularly violent guitar statement," praising the music more than the lyrics. ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' critic
Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...
described "Too Many People" as "a sort of musical extension of
Thomas Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
that includes some of the humorous irony of the vintage Beatles," with lines such as "Too many reaching for a piece of cake" and "Too many hungry people losing weight." Hilburn goes on to state that the song provides a lyric surprise, which he likens to an O. Henry story, in which the lyrics turn to "a statement about the resolution of ones problems in a difficult self-centered world." Hilburn suggests that this may be a reference to McCartney's experience with the Beatles' breakup. According to ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Nick DeRiso, the song's "haughty sermonizing" towards Lennon is one of the weaknesses of the ''Ram'' album. But fellow ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Gallucci rated the song as the 4th best Beatles' post-breakup fight song. Of the instrumental version on ''Thrillington'', Peel states that "rock 'n' roll is transformed into funky jazz with more than a hint of studio experimentation."


Personnel

*
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 ...
– vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar * Linda McCartney – backing vocals *
Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally a ...
– acoustic guitar, electric guitar *
Denny Seiwell Denny Seiwell (born July 10, 1943) is an American drummer and a founding member of Wings. He also drummed for Billy Joel and Liza Minnelli and played in the scores for the films ''Waterworld'', '' Grease II'', and ''Vertical Limit''. His d ...
– drums, percussion


References

{{Paul McCartney 1970 songs Paul McCartney songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Music published by MPL Music Publishing Songs about John Lennon Songs about Yoko Ono Diss tracks Apple Records singles