Recording: Long Haired Lady by Paul and Linda McCartney

Studio B, Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles
Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineer: Eirik Wangberg

Paul and Linda McCartney continued the final overdubs and mixes for the Ram album on 6 April 1971.

On this and the previous day Paul McCartney worked on ‘Long Haired Lady’. The final overdubs were backing vocals, harmonies, and a Wurlitzer electric piano part.

The song was then mixed by Eirik Wangberg, who found its complexity a challenge. He chose to introduce the overdubbed brass and woodwind parts gradually, so as not to overload the production.

I had to make some tough choices. It is the longest piece of music on Ram. Paul made a repetitive loop at the end of the song with just the words ‘Love is long’. Meanwhile, George Martin’s score made this section a brilliant event. Both the band and ensemble run continuously over the same chord pattern for a long time, and I felt that this ran the risk of seeming ‘thick’ and ‘blurred’, and perhaps boring.

I wanted the listener to feel and hear the same as I, a growing magic until all the instruments are back – a great climax before the song ends.