# Paul McCartney's Post-Beatles Career (With Wings, The Wings, etc.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525 "2019-06-14T20:33:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/1 "2019-06-14T20:33:40Z")
1. Did Paul write and record all original material for the Wings? Or was some of their _ouvre_ from material he’d written for The Beatles but that didn’t make it to an album? 2. What’s with the inconsistency in the band’s name? At times Paul McCartney and Wings, other times just Wings… was this Paul’s way of having a joke at the audience’s expense? Or was consistency simply not Paul’s strong suit? 3. In the song “Let 'Em In,” is there any meaning behind the names? “Sister Suzie, brother John, Martin Luther, Phil and Don, Brother Michael, Auntie Gin.” ---
**Author:** ![bionic\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@bionic\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bionic_man)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/2 "2019-06-14T21:23:02Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > 1. Did Paul write and record all original material for the Wings? Or was some of their _ouvre_ from material he’d written for The Beatles but that didn’t make it to an album? > > 2. What’s with the inconsistency in the band’s name? At times Paul McCartney and Wings, other times just Wings… was this Paul’s way of having a joke at the audience’s expense? Or was consistency simply not Paul’s strong suit? > > 3. In the song “Let 'Em In,” is there any meaning behind the names? “Sister Suzie, brother John, Martin Luther, Phil and Don, Brother Michael, Auntie Gin.” Wings was made several years after the beatles break up so I guess it was made around mid 1970s./ ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/3 "2019-06-14T21:29:35Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > … > > 1. In the song “Let 'Em In,” is there any meaning behind the names? “Sister Suzie, brother John, Martin Luther, Phil and Don, Brother Michael, Auntie Gin.” I pretty sure “Phil and Don” is a reference to [The Everly Brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Everly_Brothers) who greatly influenced Paul and his ex-bandmates. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/4 "2019-06-14T21:56:25Z")
1. Wings did cover “Love Is Strange”, an old hit by Mickey and Sylvia. Perhaps others. As for whether he used old ideas from the Beatle days, wouldn’t surprise me - you’d have to ask him. 2. I think Paul wanted Wings to be considered a real band with input from all members, so after they were established there was no need to keep the marquee name front and center. 3. I think Brother John is John Lennon, Martin Luther is Dr. King, Brother Michael is Paul’s brother Mike McGear. Et cetera - you can look this stuff up. Just a bunch of names of people he liked - no meaning beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/5 "2019-06-14T22:16:41Z")
The best Wings song not sung by Paul is Medicine Jar by Jimmy McCullough ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/6 "2019-06-14T22:39:53Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > 1. In the song “Let 'Em In,” is there any meaning behind the names? “Sister Suzie, brother John, Martin Luther, Phil and Don, Brother Michael, Auntie Gin.” See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_%27Em_In#Content) or [here](https://www.songfacts.com/facts/wings/let-em-in). We had another thread not too long ago: [Talk to me about (Paul McCartney’s) Wings](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=874511) ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/7 "2019-06-15T04:28:02Z")
Since this thread is about Wings I’ll use the opportunity to ask a question: listen to the first mention of “luck” in the opening line of “With A Little Luck” - did Paul sneak an F-bomb past the censors? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/8 "2019-06-15T15:46:58Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Since this thread is about Wings I’ll use the opportunity to ask a question: listen to the first mention of “luck” in the opening line of “With A Little Luck” - did Paul sneak an F-bomb past the censors? [I hear “luck”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzH-2NgtaZk) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/9 "2019-06-15T16:15:14Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > 1. Did Paul write and record all original material for the Wings? Or was some of their _ouvre_ from material he’d written for The Beatles but that didn’t make it to an album? > > 2. What’s with the inconsistency in the band’s name? At times Paul McCartney and Wings, other times just Wings… was this Paul’s way of having a joke at the audience’s expense? Or was consistency simply not Paul’s strong suit? Just to be clear: while the band was variously referred to as “Paul McCartney and Wings,” and “Wings,” it was never “\*\*The \*\*Wings.” ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/10 "2019-06-15T19:07:44Z")
This link claims that the reference to Martin Luther doesn’t refer to Martin Luther or Martin Luther King. Rather, it’s an old nickname the band had for John Lennon (John Martin Luther Lennon). [https://beatleshistorian.com/?p=288](https://beatleshistorian.com/?p=288) ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/11 "2019-06-15T21:55:40Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [I hear “luck”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzH-2NgtaZk) It’s hard to believe but that was filmed just seven years after the Beatles broke up. 42 years (an eternity) have gone by since then. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/12 "2019-06-15T22:27:26Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > It’s hard to believe but that was filmed just seven years after the Beatles broke up. 42 years (an eternity) have gone by since then. A fact I recently discovered that blew my mind: The Beatles broke up before any of them had turned 30. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/13 "2019-06-17T15:31:46Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > The best Wings song not sung by Paul is Medicine Jar by Jimmy McCullough Yes it is. That song rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/14 "2019-06-17T15:38:27Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > It’s hard to believe but that was filmed just seven years after the Beatles broke up. 42 years (an eternity) have gone by since then. And Paul’s post-Wings solo career has by now lasted significantly longer than the Beatles and Wings combined. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-post-beatles-career-with-wings-the-wings-etc/835525/15 "2019-06-17T16:32:00Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > A fact I recently discovered that blew my mind: The Beatles broke up before any of them had turned 30. George was only 26 when they made their last recording.