Studio B, CBS Studio Building, New York City
Producers: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Paul McCartney worked on two Ram songs on 5 November 1970: ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ and ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’.
‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ had been rehearsed in the studio the previous day. During this session the backing track was completed, with McCartney on upright piano, Hugh McCracken on guitar with a phaser pedal, and Seiwell on drums. McCartney and McCracken also overdubbed guitars and Seiwell added tambourine.
In the afternoon they worked on a new song. McCartney had conceived a medley of various song fragments, known variously as ‘Uncle Albert’, ‘Hands Across The Water’, and ‘Gypsy Get Around’. They would eventually be released as ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’.
He decided to record it in two parts, the first of which had the working title ‘Uncle Albert’.
I had an uncle – Albert Kendall – who was a lot of fun, and when I came to write ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ it was loosely about addressing that older generation, half thinking ‘What would they think of the way my generation does things? ‘That’s why I wrote the line ‘We’re so sorry, Uncle Albert’. There’s an imaginary element in many of my songs – to me, Admiral Halsey is symbolic of authority and therefore not to be taken too seriously. We recorded it in New York and George Martin helped me with the orchestral arrangement. I was surprised when it became a big hit.
Wingspan: Paul McCartney’s Band On The Run
Despite a number of attempts, a satisfactory master take of ‘Uncle Albert’ failed to materialise, and the song was set aside for the following day.
The session also saw the musicians jam a piece of music, during which McCartney sang a verse from the folk song ‘Cumberland Gap’.