Wings (band) - Legacy

Legacy

Wings had 12 top 10 singles (including one No. 1) in the United Kingdom and 14 top 10 singles (including six No. 1's) in the United States. All 23 singles released by Wings reached the US top 40, and one double-sided single, "Junior's Farm"/"Sally G", reached the top 40 with each side. Of the nine albums released by Wings, all went top 10 in either the UK or the US, with five consecutive albums topping the US charts.

Paul McCartney was unquestionably Wings' leader and star, but Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, Laurence Juber, and Linda McCartney all wrote songs for the group, and Laine, McCulloch, English, and Linda McCartney all performed lead vocals. Nevertheless, all of the band's songs that were released as singles were at least co-composed by Paul McCartney, with the exceptions of "Seaside Woman" and "Walking in the Park with Eloise," both of which were released under pseudonyms.

The success of Wings was a vindication for McCartney (although at least one commentator felt that McCartney really did not need the vindication). His early home-grown solo output, which often featured simpler songs and less lavish production than the Beatles received from George Martin, often was dismissed by critics as "lightweight" next to the more serious nature of his former bandmates' solo output. But by 1975, Lennon's solo career had been put on hold following the birth of his son Sean, and he stopped recording. A year later, George Harrison had all but retired from performing live (although not from recording). Ringo Starr was living in L.A. and was writing and recording successfully, but as a solo artist had not been performing onstage other than rare guest appearances (and would not tour until many years later, in 1989). Meanwhile, Wings continued to tour regularly and to enjoy hit singles and albums the world over. By 1980, even Lennon was envious of Wings' (and McCartney's) continuing success, which largely inspired Lennon's own comeback that year.

In addition to its own output, Wings recorded several songs that were released through various outlets after the band's break-up. Three songs on Laine's 1980 solo album Japanese Tears were performed by Wings with Laine on lead vocals. Juber's instrumental "Maisie" appeared on his solo album Standard Time. After Linda McCartney's death, a compilation of her songs entitled Wide Prairie was released that featured seven Wings songs written or co-written by Linda. Wings also backed Paul's brother Mike McGear on the McGear album, as well as McGear's band The Scaffold on the single "Liverpool Lou" and its B-side "Ten Years After on Strawberry Jam". McCartney also used three unreleased Wings songs as B-sides of his solo singles several years after Wings' break-up. Denny Laine's 1977 solo album, Holly Days, was actually a joint effort by Laine with Paul and Linda McCartney, the same trio who – as Wings – had recorded Band on the Run.

During its life, Wings had 12 top-10 singles in the United Kingdom and 14 top-10 singles (including six No. 1s) in the United States. All 23 singles credited to Wings reached the U.S. Top 40 (and one single reached it with each side). Wings had only one fewer No. 1 single in the United States than John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr combined in their post-Beatle careers. Of the nine albums credited to Wings during the band's life, all went top 10 in either the United Kingdom or United States, with five consecutive U.S. No. 1s. (The only Wings album not to reach the U.S. Top 10 was Wings Greatest.)

Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls School" is still the biggest-selling non-charity single in the United Kingdom (although Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" sold more, its sales include a reissue in aid of the Terrence Higgins Trust), and it ranked fourth in the official list of all-time best selling singles in the United Kingdom issued in 2002.

In June 2007, Apple's higher-quality iTunes Plus was released, featuring albums from EMI. Among the albums included were the nine original albums from Wings. As of 4 June 2007, Band on the Run was the third most downloaded album from iTunes Plus.

Wings are sometimes the subject of satirical reference; the more pop-friendly style of the band has attracted tongue-in-cheek comparisons with the Beatles. Steve Coogan's comic creation Alan Partridge naturally admires Wings, referring to them as "the band the Beatles could have been." In The Simpsons episode "Burns' Heir", a cult deprogrammer states that he "did get Paul McCartney out of Wings," to which Homer replies "You idiot! He was the most talented one."