Recording: Walking In The Park With Eloise by Paul McCartney

Sound Shop Studio, Nashville
Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineer: Ernie Winfrey

Paul McCartney recorded the instrumental ‘Walking In The Park With Eloise’ in Nashville on 16 July 1974.

It had been written by McCartney’s father Jim for his group, Jim Mac’s Jazz Band.

My father did write a song – only the one, to my knowledge – and many years later I said, ‘Dad, you know that song you wrote: ‘Walking In The Park With Eloise’?’ He said, ‘I didn’t write it – I just made it up.’ Anyway, I told him that I’d recorded it with some friends of mine in Nashville. One of the friends was Chet Atkins, and he’d brought along Floyd Cramer. We got together and made a little recording of the song specially to play to my dad.

The only other members of Wings to feature on the recording were Denny Laine on guitar, and drummer Geoff Britton. The other musicians were Chet Atkins on guitar, Floyd Cramer on piano, Bobby Thompson on banjo, Bill Puitt on clarinet, Denis Good on trombone, and Don Sheffield on trumpet.

We were having dinner with Chet Atkins, the guitar player, one night in Nashville, and Paul had been playing a lot of his music for Chet, and he said: ‘Here’s one that my dad wrote a long time ago’ – and he started playing it. Chet got talking to Paul, saying that the song should be recorded and that it would be nice for his dad. So we got Chet playing on it and Floyd Cramer, the piano player, and Chet got together a nice little band called The Country Hams with lots of other Nashville people.

At this stage the tune had the working title ‘Eloise’. It was recorded live in the studio, following several rehearsal takes.

The only overdub was a washboard part played by McCartney. Afterwards he asked studio engineer Ernie Winfrey to mix it in stereo.