Juinor’s Farm/Sally G. by Paul McCartney and Wings

Juinor’s Farm/Sally G. single by Paul McCartney and Wings.

I had this single as a kid. Juinor’s Farm and Sally G were both partially recorded in Nashville during Paul’s six-week stay there in 1974. Juinor’s Farm is one of my favorite songs by Paul McCartney. The song rocks and the solo was performed by a 21-year-old Jimmy McCulloch. The song reached #3 in America. The band stayed at a farm in Lebanon TN around 30 miles from Nashville. I remember at the time it being big news that Paul McCartney was going to record in Nashville. I was seven years old and remember seeing Paul on the local news.

Jimmy McCulloch was a guitar prodigy… He was playing in a band when he was 11. He was in a band supporting The Who when he was 14 and in the band Thunderclap Newman in 1969 when he was 16. He went on to play with John Mayall (That guy knew how to pick guitar players) and Stone the Crows… He then went to play with Paul McCartney and Wings in 1974. He gave Paul’s songs an edge and I wish he would have stayed in Wings longer.

He left Paul to play with the reformed Small Faces in 1977.  In 1979 died of heart failure due to morphine and alcohol poisoning. You have to wonder how much better this guy could have been…

The B side was Sally G. and it hit #17 on the Billboard charts and even #51 on the country charts. This song has stayed with me through the years. When I listen to it…I think, now this is more of a what a country song should sound like. I really hate modern country music. No pickup trucks or tractors in this song. Modern country music could learn a lot by listening to country songs in this period and earlier. Paul composed the song after visiting a club in Printer’s Alley in Nashville.

This was McCartney’s last release on Apple Records

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This is from the Tennessean about Paul’s 1974 visit to Nashville. It was written by Dave Paulson

1974
Paul McCartney touched down at Metropolitan airport with his family on the evening of June 6, 1974, emerging from the plane wearing a green battle jacket and flashing a peace sign. The Tennessean reported that Paul answered questions “briefly but willingly” and even humored a group of kids who were amused by his British accent (he said the word “elevator” at their request).
The music superstar told a crowd of about 50 fans and members of the press that he’d come to Nashville for his three Rs — rehearsing, relating and riding. Music producer and executive Buddy Killen, who would act as the McCartneys’ Music City guide during their six-week stay here that summer, greeted the family upon their arrival.
The McCartneys rented a 133-acre farm just outside of Lebanon from songwriter Curly Putman (“Green, Green Grass of Home”) for $2,000 a week. They had requested a farm within 50 miles of Nashville that had horses and swimming facilities.
“I’ve got a farm in Scotland,” McCartney told reporters during an informal press conference on the farm. “You’re not the only people who have farms, you know. Back in Scotland, we’re country people in our own way.”
During their stay, the family visited the homes of Johnny Cash and Chet Atkins and even took in a few movies at their local drive-in.
McCartney and his family caused quite a stir when they joined the audience at Opryland for the third annual Grand Masters Fiddling Contest on June 16, 1974. During the intermission, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton performed their final show together before Parton embarked on her solo career. Linda McCartney got out of her seat several times to take photos of the duo. The McCartneys went backstage to meet with Wagoner and Parton, and then escaped into a waiting automobile.
McCartney told Nashville reporters that he was raised on country music, and he tried his hand at a bit of country songwriting while he was in town: He wrote the song “Sally G.” after a trip to Printer’s Alley.
McCartney drove around on a newly purchased motorcycle during the family’s Nashville visit. When a group of reporters waited at the Putman farm gate for a “highly informal” press conference, Paul and Linda rode past, smiling and waving.
Linda told The Tennessean she was “not much into materialism anymore,” though she had made a recent trip to Rivergate to purchase gifts for her family. Another big machine Paul loved — the Mellotron synthesizer — was not readily available in Tennessee at the time, to his chagrin.
As his time in Tennessee came to a close, McCartney told a group of local reporters that he hoped to mount a U.S. tour the following year, and that if it happened, Music City would definitely be on the itinerary.
“We just couldn’t skip Nashville,” he said. “We have too many friends here.”
McCartney continued to skip Nashville for the next 36 years.

When Paul did come I was there in 2010… he also came back in 2013 and I was there again. Three hours of one favorite after another…

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

45 thoughts on “Juinor’s Farm/Sally G. by Paul McCartney and Wings”

  1. One of my favorite Paul singles- and one thing that adds to it is the fact it was not so over played as some of his others on the radio. I like Junior’s Farm over Sally G also. Didn’t “Junior” pass away recently?

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      1. Great tune! I remember it well from radio back in the day. I also remember Thunderclap Newman, or at least the one song “Something in the Air”, another goodie. Don’t mean to use this for ‘advertising’ but I noticed you have followed my baseball blog (thanks!) you might also like my music blog at http soundday wordpress com -lots of daily bits and pieces about pop/rock, including a lot of the stuff you seem to love from 70s! Cheers

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      2. I will check it out! Baseball and Music are my passion for sure… Yes, I’m stuck in the 60s-70s era mostly. I like “Something in the Air” also… Thanks for commenting here!

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    1. I didn’t know that. I’ve driven by the Farm recently and someone pointed it out. Sally G. has a special place for me because my grandmother was named Sally G. And I think of her every time…

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      1. That would make the song memorable! Paul has visited Nashville more often than he has visited his old home where he grew up!!

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    1. My sister actually had the single at that time and it amazes me now because Paul wasn’t a pinup by this time… she actually got something good.

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      4. lol nope… I had a cousin at the time at the same age as my sister and she and her brother turned me to the real music… I love my sister but not her musical taste. I tell people she got the looks and I got the brains.

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      5. I tried to pass my musical tastes down to my brother and sister and for the most part it was a success– but for some reason my brother has developed of late a love for YES…..oh well… You better watch what you say about your sister lol– although you did pay her a compliment.

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      6. I have tried but it never took. I only have one sibling but I did get to pass some down to a nephew and some band members.
        I remember her bedroom and you could not see a wall…at all. It was covered with Donny Osmond and David Cassidy.

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      7. Has her tastes in music changed at all over the years? At least there is hope for the new generation- your nephew! … At least she didn’t have Jimmy Osmond [was that his name} the one who did Long Haired Lover From Liverpool…. that has to be in contention for worst record of all times!!

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      8. Lol! No she likes country…I tried…I really did.
        My Mom and Dad loved Elvis…so does my wife…my wife got to see Elvis when she was a kid…her mom took her. I like Elvis but 50s Elvis the most.

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      9. Well she was older and had a head start on you- maybe she was beyond hope by the time you came along–musically… the best Elvis was Sun Elvis! I would have liked to have seen him–before the jump suits…

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      10. YES! That is what I believe. John was right when he said Elvis died when he joined the army. I get nasty looks from Elvis fans with that saying lol…I did like some of the stuff afterward but not like SUN… he was untouchable then.

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      11. That was a true quote from John for sure.. Its a shame he didn’t get rid of Col. Parker. I agree Elvis did some good things in all periods of his career but it was here and there after the army…. firing Col. Parker- Not doing those movies and not wearing those jump suits.. three things he should have done.

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      12. Firing Parker would have been the number 1 thing…ok jumpsuits are up there also… the guy was slimy to me. He didn’t care about Elvis…only as a money machine. That is one thing about Brian. He lost the Beatles money from time to time but he cared for them. That was a big difference.

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      13. Not making excuses for Brian but he was entering a territory no one had really been- and he was in over his head- but he was trying his best for them without question- his heart was right…. i like the Col. Parker quote -asked when Elvis died what he was going to do now “Manage Elvis”– it was all about the money indeed. …. without Brian working his tail off early on we may never have heard of The Beatles.

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      14. Oh, believe me, I would take 1 Brian over 10 Parkers… The mistake I heard the most about was the Seltaeb deal but you know what? Without him, they probably…most likely wouldn’t have made it. He really cared about them as people. He was the key.

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      15. One thing in the Lewisohn book that I wasn’t really aware of was how close they got to just breaking up- before they made it.. John and Paul seeming to lose interest- it was Brian that got it all moving again.. Brian was a believer… when they talk who was the 5th Beatle it had to be two- a 5th and 6th beatle- Brian and Sir George.

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      16. They were very fortunate to be surrounded by people who helped them and didn’t try to control them like the other groups…The Small Faces, Them and other bands who got screwed… That surprised me also about how close they came…As we know they got bored easily… Everything just fell into place.

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      17. Yes! They were surrounded by good people and as Lewisohn pointed out that was very rare in those days. … and probably today also.

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      18. The question impossible to answer is…if Brian would have lived 1. Would they have resigned him and 2. Would things have been different? I don’t think the MMT movie would have been released and Apple would have been more controlled….of course that is just guessing.

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      19. Yes an unanswerable question. I don’t think they would have in the end cut ties with him but with no touring he was lost…. again all speculation we will never know– would they have split up if he had lived? I like Lennon’s quote on The Beatles ending- he started the band and he was always going to end it at the right time–not word for word there- but he wasn’t going to let the rot sit in. … If they had went on- John and Paul would have had to make room for more than a George song or two on an album that is for sure…

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      20. And really it ended well. They never had a chance to record a bad album. People try to put together future Beatle albums from their solo output but its hard for me to do that because they would have influenced each other and the songs would have been different…. I do agree with you because George was the man at that time. They would have had no other choice.

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      21. I agree ended perfectly. Never a bad album. No rot setting in like say The Rolling Stones. Yes- you can’t take the solo stuff and make an album from any period and call it a Beatles album because there being together / apart made so much difference with the music. ,,, one of the facts that always blows my mind when i think about it is- when they broke up they were all under 30 years old–they accomplished all that in their 20’s.

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      22. That is incredible. It must get old for them to be permanently froze in their 20s. Not that they didn’t have success later and now but it stemmed from that period. Paul seems to still love it and talk about it. I’m glad he does also. You can tell he loves telling stories from then… It’s hard to explain the Beatles…no they were not the best musicians…they just meshed together better than anyone else…and of course the songs…the songs they wrote and they played for the song… You mentioned YES earlier…they are great musicians but they know it…and to me it has no soul. Thats unfair of me… but alot of progressive rock bores me because it has no charm, soul or whatever it is.

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      23. I think you nailed exactly why i am not a fan of progressive rock- a lot of great musicians no question about that- but there is no charm or soul- to me it sounds like a bunch of guys impressed with how well they can play an instrument… The Beatles – chemistry…… A fellow who was a DJ- radio personality in Pittsburgh has a facebook page where he writes about music- and recently he was talking about how- within the past couple decades- Paul has become like us- a big fan of The Beatles! He wrote about how early on John- Paul- and George were all wanting to distance themselves from The Beatles – .. and how the light bulb went off sometime in Paul’s head that- The Beatles were pretty great! I think had John lived he would have reached the same conclusion. .

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      24. I think John would have also. I guess it took the years to do it. Paul will pop out with a story at a drop of a hat which is cool. I remember noticing that in the Anthology where Paul was talking about being told to make one album from The Beatles album in 68 and he then said…hey it’s the Beatles White Album! like hey it turned out fine…like a fan saying it. It’s hard to word that right but I think you know what I mean.

        You have it…progressive players play to impress themselves and other musicians…if you don’t play for the song… it has no soul.

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      25. I think the DJ did say that he thought Paul became this big Beatles fan- while spending all that time in the mid 90’s doing the anthology documentary- that it was the turning point….. Paul was right- why mess with perfection- even the minor songs on The White Album- I wouldn’t want to get rid of….. I don’t know where you stand on Rush– I saw a documentary on them a while back and they seem like really great people- i know they are great musicians– but I just can’t get past Getty Lee’s voice.. I have tried…

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      26. Some of the minor ones like Cry Baby Cry…I love…
        I love the documentary of Rush but no…I cannot relate to what they are doing. You can polish the soul out of something. They are great musicians but every detail is planned. I like rough edges.

        Have you seen the Big Star documentary? I havent got to see it yet.

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      27. No and thanks for reminding me of it- must get it!!!! I think I mentioned something about The Faces box set being one of my favorites- ditto with the box set on Big Star!

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      29. Well, my sister just called me and informed me that I wasn’t that smart lol…I had to agree. I’m happy she reads the blog once in a while…she picked a good day.

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    1. You know I never thought of that aspect. I guess John would have stayed clear lol… There was such a big division between Rock and Country at that time…Paul was like an alien when he came here. Now it would not be a big deal. Thanks…

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