Recording: The Back Seat Of My Car by Paul and Linda McCartney

Studio B, CBS Studio Building, New York City
Producers: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney

Paul and Linda McCartney worked on the song ‘The Back Seat Of My Car’ for the Ram album on 23 October 1970.

‘Back Seat Of My Car’ is very romantic: ‘We can make it to Mexico City.’ That’s a really teenage song, with the stereotypical parent who doesn’t agree, and the two lovers are going to take on the world: ‘We believe that we can’t be wrong.’ I always like the underdog.

The song’s complex structure had proved problematic in previous sessions, and Paul took some time to work out the arrangement with the session musicians, guitarist Hugh McCracken and drummer Denny Seiwell.

‘The Back Seat Of My Car’ had the longest learning period, three hours or more to learn the whole song so that we could get the transitions to flow naturally, and everyone was familiar with the new tempo, when [it went] to another tempo. Then it was just a matter of getting a good performance.

By the end of the session, the backing track was complete. The three musicians, plus Linda McCartney and studio engineers Tim Geelan and Ted Brosnan, held an impromptu celebration as the week’s work drew to a close.