Paul McCartney - Sunshine - 1977

After Lennon was placed under house arrest in 1976 for possession of marijuana, The Beatles' career came to a grinding halt. All members agreed that continuing without John would not be accepted, and so, for the time being, the band took a break for everyone to have some time to themselves.

The McCartneys stayed at their farm in Scotland, maintaining a quiet, family-centric life...

For about three months, that is.

Paul became restless. He realized that not writing or recording music was taking a toll on him mentally. So, logically, he did the only thing he knew how.

Over the next five months, traveling between his home studio and Abbey Road Studios, McCartney slowly pieced together his solo debut, 'Sunshine'. Featuring songs of old and new, Linda by his side on harmony vocals, and Laine on various instruments, 'Sunshine' reached the #3 spot on the UK charts, as well as #5 in the US.

Critical and public reception of the album was quite warm, with many praising McCartney's ability to switch from genre to genre of music seamlessly. Lennon was sneaked a promotional copy while under house arrest, where, after finishing the album, refused to return it.

This personal copy of Lennon's sold for $243,000 USD at an auction in 2019, which, upon further inspection of the record surface, revealed severely worn-out grooves from hours of playing time.


[All songs by Paul McCartney]

SIDE ONE:

0:00 Big Barn Bed
4:12 Right Away
6:42 Medley: Little Lamb/Dragonfly
13:07 Tomorrow
16:27 Must Do Something About It

SIDE TWO:

19:36 Smile Away
23:30 Single Pigeon
25:24 Some People Never Know
31:51 Medley: Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People
36:10 Right Away (Reprise)
37:05 Sunshine