"Junior's Farm" is a song written 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 ...

(though credited to Paul and Linda McCartney) and performed by

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their com ...

. It was issued as a non-album single by

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

in October 1974; it peaked at No. 3 in the United States and No. 16 in the United Kingdom.

Recording

McCartney composed and recorded "Junior's Farm" along with " Sally G" in July 1974 during a short stay in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, in a period particularly relaxed for him and no concert tours scheduled in that year. Despite its relative international success, neither of these two songs were included on on their subsequent studio album '' Venus and Mars'' of 1975. "Junior's Farm" only appears in some of the band's greatest hits compilations. The song was engineered by Ernie Winfrey at Soundshop Studios in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

in 1974. While recording in Nashville, the band stayed at the Lebanon, Tennessee

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

of Curly Putman Jr., which accounts for the song's title.

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 ...

played the guitar solo as his Wings debut. McCartney said he based the song's lyrical theme on

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Maggie's Farm "Maggie's Farm" is a song written by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 15, 1965, and released on the album '' Bringing It All Back Home'' on March 22 of that year. Like many other Dylan songs of the 1965–66 period, "Maggie's Farm" is based on elect ...

and that "the idea was to just get a fantasy song about this person Junior." McCartney said that, in contrast to the degree of thought Dylan applied to his song-writing, Junior's Farm "has silly words and basically all it means is, 'Let's get out of the city.' ... As for reading deep meanings into the words, people shouldn't bother, there aren't any."

Release

The single continued McCartney and

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 ...

' worldwide success after the album '' Band on the Run''. It made No. 3 in the US, No. 16 in the UK, and was a hit elsewhere. '' Cash Box'' called it "a very strong disk," saying that "it has that unique McCartney flair that makes all his musical forays such inspired hit records." The photo for one of the single's picture sleeves featured Wings dressed in costumes corresponding to the song's lyrics (for example, drummer

Geoff Britton Geoffrey Britton (born 1 August 1943) is an English rock drummer known for his work with Wings from August 1974 to January 1975, where he was featured on the '' Venus and Mars'' album. Career Britton was born in Lewisham, South East London). H ...

as a poker dealer and guitarist

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 ...

as an Eskimo). A

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

, also mentioned in the lyrics, appears in the photo, between Britton and McCartney, a farmer. This photo appeared on the picture sleeve of the single in Spain and in advertisements elsewhere. In the UK and the US, the single was released in a generic

sleeve. The music video of "Junior's Farm" shows

playing a Kay electric bass guitar. The single was McCartney's last release on Apple Records before signing a solo recording contract with Capitol Records in May 1975, following the dissolution of the Beatles' partnership.

Subsequent releases

"Junior's Farm" was later released on the McCartney/Wings compilation ''

Wings Greatest ''Wings Greatest'' is a 1978 compilation album by the British–American rock band Wings and their eighth album as well as Paul McCartney's tenth since leaving the Beatles. It was the band's last release through Capitol in the US. The album is n ...

'' in 1978 and the US version of ''

All the Best! ''All the Best!'' is the second official compilation album of Paul McCartney's music, after 1978's ''Wings Greatest''. It was released in 1987 on Capitol Records and Parlophone Records. Background The album contains tracks from the beginning ...

'' in 1987, although it was not on the UK edition of the latter. The three-minute radio edit of the song was included on the 2001 compilation '' Wingspan: Hits and History''. Along with its B-side (the country-flavoured " Sally G"), "Junior's Farm" was remastered for inclusion on the Hear-Music version of '' Venus and Mars'' released in November 2014.

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, bass guitar * Linda McCartney – keyboards, backing vocal *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocal *

– lead guitar *

– drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

*In 1994, "Junior's Farm" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by the Lee Harvey Oswald Band on their album ''A Taste of Prison''. *In 1996, "Junior's Farm" was covered by

Galactic Cowboys Galactic Cowboys are an American heavy metal band based in Houston, Texas. They combine progressive metal with a vocal style influenced by The Beatles and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as Anthrax. They have been described as " ...

on their EP '' Feel the Rage''. *In 2014, "Junior's Farm" was covered by Steve Miller for inclusion on the covers album '' The Art of McCartney''.

References

{{authority control 1974 singles 1974 songs Apple Records singles Music published by MPL Music Publishing Paul McCartney songs Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Songs written by Linda McCartney Songs written by Paul McCartney Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs about Tennessee