Silly Love Songs

"Silly Love Songs" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. The song appears on the 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was also released as a single in 1976, backed with "Cook of the House". The song, written in response to John Lennon and music critics accusing McCartney of predominantly writing "silly love songs" and "sentimental slush", also features disco overtones.[1]

For the Glee episode, see Silly Love Songs (Glee).

"Silly Love Songs"
German single sleeve
Single by Wings
from the album Wings at the Speed of Sound
B-side	"Cook of the House"
Released	1 April 1976
Recorded	16 January 1976
Genre	Disco funk
Length	5:54 (Album version) 3:28 (Special DJ Single version)
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Paul McCartney Linda McCartney
Producer(s)	Paul McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"Venus and Mars/Rock Show" (1975) "Silly Love Songs" (1976) "Let 'Em In" (1976)
Wings at the Speed of Sound track listing
11 tracks Side one "Let 'Em In" "The Note You Never Wrote" "She's My Baby" "Beware My Love" "Wino Junko" Side two "Silly Love Songs" "Cook of the House" "Time to Hide" "Must Do Something About It" "San Ferry Anne" "Warm and Beautiful"
Alternative covers
Music video
"Silly Love Songs" on YouTube

The song was McCartney's 27th number one as a songwriter; the all-time record for the most number one hits achieved by a songwriter.[n 1] With this song, McCartney became the first person to have a year-end No. 1 song as a member of two distinct acts. McCartney previously hit No. 1 in the year-end Billboard chart as a member of the Beatles with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964 and "Hey Jude" in 1968.[2][3]

"Silly Love Songs" has since appeared on multiple McCartney greatest hits compilations, including Wings Greatest and All the Best!. The song has also appeared on the "Hits" section of the compilation album Wingspan: Hits and History.

Background

"Silly Love Songs" was written as a rebuttal to music critics (as well as John Lennon) who had criticized McCartney for writing lightweight love songs.[4] Author Tim Riley suggests that in the song, McCartney is inviting "his audience to have a laugh on him," as Elvis Presley had sometimes done.[5]

But over the years people have said, "Aw, he sings love songs, he writes love songs, he's so soppy at times." I thought, Well, I know what they mean, but, people have been doing love songs forever. I like 'em, other people like 'em, and there's a lot of people I love -- I'm lucky enough to have that in my life. So the idea was that "you" may call them silly, but what's wrong with that?

The song was, in a way, to answer people who just accuse me of being soppy. The nice payoff now is that a lot of the people I meet who are at the age where they've just got a couple of kids and have grown up a bit, settling down, they'll say to me, "I thought you were really soppy for years, but I get it now! I see what you were doing!"

By the way, "Silly Love Songs" also had a good bass line and worked well live.

— Paul McCartney, Billboard [6]

McCartney allowed the horn section to create their own parts for the song.[7]

Release

"Silly Love Songs" was released in the US on 1 April 1976[8] and spent five non-consecutive weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9][10] The song was the number 1 pop song in Billboard's Year-End Charts of 1976; it was also the group's second of three number ones on the Easy Listening chart.[11] The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.[12] Billboard listed "Silly Love Songs" as Paul McCartney's all-time biggest Hot 100 single.[13]

The single was released in the UK on 30 April 1976[8] and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[14][15] The song reached #1 upon the Irish Singles Chart on 27 May.[16]

Critical reception

Upon release, "Silly Love Songs" generally received positive reviews from music critics,[17] despite a common criticism of the song lacking substance. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song, as well as its follow-up single, "Let 'Em In", as "so lightweight that their lack of substance seems nearly defiant."[18] Music critic Robert Christgau called the two tracks "charming if lightweight singles", while Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden said "Silly Love Songs" was "a clever retort whose point is well taken."[19][20] John Bergstrom of PopMatters called the song "an exemplary piece of mid-‘70s pop production and a pure pleasure."[21]

In 2008, "Silly Love Songs" was listed at No. 31 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[4]

Other recordings

In 1976, Wings recorded "Silly Love Songs" live for their triple live album Wings Over America. In 1984, three years after the dissolution of Wings, Paul McCartney re-recorded "Silly Love Songs" for the soundtrack to the critically panned motion picture Give My Regards to Broad Street.

Personnel

Wings

• Paul McCartney – lead vocals, bass
• Linda McCartney – backing vocals, piano
• Denny Laine – backing vocals, percussion
• Joe English – drums

Other musicians

• Tony Dorsey – trombone
• Thaddeus Richard – saxophone
• Steve Howard – trumpet
• Howie Casey – saxophone
• ? - strings

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1976) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[22] 20 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[24] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 14 Ireland (IRMA)[26] 1 Japan (Oricon) 66 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[27] 13 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[28] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[29] 8 Norway (VG-lista)[30] 9 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[32] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[33] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1976) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[34] 10 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[35] 23 US Billboard Hot 100[36] 1 US Billboard Easy Listening[37] 33 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[38] 40

Ardijah version

"Silly Love Songs"
Single by Ardijah
from the album Time
Released	1999
Genre	R&B
Length	5:55
Label	PolyFonk
Songwriter(s)	Paul McCartney Linda McCartney
Ardijah singles chronology
"Love So Right" (1999) "Silly Love Songs" (1999) "Do 2 You" (1999)

In 1999, New Zealand hip hop/funk group Ardijah released an R&B version of the song. It debuted at number 22 on New Zealand's RIANZ Singles Chart on 17 January 1999, then reached the top 10 the next week at number nine. It then moved up to number three, where it stayed for two weeks, then reached number one on 14 February, taking over the top position from "Have You Ever?" by Brandy[39] and becoming the band's highest-charting single in their home country, as well as their first top 10 hit since "Watching U" in 1988.[40]

"Silly Love Songs" subsequently returned to number three for another two weeks, then slowly began its descent from the chart, spending four more weeks in the top 10. It last charted at number 45 on 9 May, totaling 17 weeks on the chart altogether. Despite its success, it did not appear on New Zealand's year-end chart for 1999,[41] nor did it receive any certifications.[42]

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[43]	1

Other covers

• In 1977, Welsh singer Shirley Bassey covered the song on her album You Take My Heart Away.[44]
• In 1995, American rock band The Replicants covered the song on their self-titled album, with Maynard James Keenan on vocals.[44][45]
• In 1996, rock group Red House Painters performed the song on their album Songs for a Blue Guitar.[46]
• Wings band member Denny Laine covered "Silly Love Songs" on his album Wings at the Speed of Denny Laine.[47]
• In 1998, American singer Stevie B recorded a version for his album Right Here, Right Now.
• In 2011, the song is featured in the Valentine's Day episode of Glee, which is also titled after the song.[48][49] The song was performed by Darren Criss (who plays Blaine Anderson), while all-male a cappella group Beelzebubs sang the background vocals.
• In 2015, John Pizzarelli recorded the song on his album Midnight McCartney.[50]
• In 2019 American band Tool featured a cover in their Immunity to Reason EP

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1976 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)
• List of number-one singles from the 1990s (New Zealand)

Notes

1. See the List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones for full clarification

References

1. McCartney: Songwriter ISBN 0-491-03325-7 p. 152
2. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1964
3. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1968
4. Billboard 2009. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBillboard2009 (help)
5. Riley, T. (2002). Tell Me Why: The Beatles: Album By Album, Song By Song, The Sixties And After. Da Capo. p. 359. ISBN 9780306811203.
6. "Paul McCartney On His Not-So-Silly Love Songs". Billboard.
7. Benitez, Vincent Perez. The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years.
8. McGee 2003, p. 210.
9. McGee 2003, p. 232.
10. "Paul McCartney Charts and Awards". allmusic. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
11. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 163.
12. "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - June 06, 2014". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
13. "Paul McCartney's Top 10 Billboard Hits". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
14. McGee 2003, p. 240.
15. "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
16. irishcharts.ie
17. McCartney: Songwriter ISBN 0-491-03325-7 p. 119
18. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wings at the Speed of Sound". AllMusic.
19. Christgau, Robert. "Paul McCartney discography".
20. Holden, Stephen. "Wings at the Speed of Sound". Rolling Stone.
21. Bergstrom, John. "Paul McCartney and Wings: Wings at the Speed of Sound". PopMatters.
22. "Australia's (David Kent) Weekly Single Charts from 1976". Retrieved 16 June 2018.
23. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4132a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
24. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4141." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
25. "Musicline.de – Wings Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
26. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Silly Love Songs". Irish Singles Chart.
27. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved June 16, 2018.
28. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wings – Silly Love Songs" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
29. "Charts.nz – Wings – Silly Love Songs". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
30. "Norwegiancharts.com – Wings – Silly Love Songs". VG-lista. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
31. "Wings: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
32. "Wings Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
33. "Wings Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
34. "Top 200 Singles of '76". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
35. "Top 50 Singles of 1976". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 25. 25 December 1976.
36. "Pop Singles" Billboard December 25, 1976: Talent in Action-6
37. Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976
38. "Hot 100 turns 60". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
39. "Single Top 40 14/02/1999". charts.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
40. "Search for: Ardijah". charts.nz. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
41. "End Of Year Charts 1999". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
42. "09 May 1999". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
43. "Charts.nz – Ardijah – Silly Love Songs". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
44. "Original versions of Silly Love Songs by Shirley Bassey". SecondHandSongs. 1976-03-25. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
45. "Replicants - Replicants". Discogs. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
46. Rolling Stone review
47. "Performs the Hits of Wings". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
48. "Glee Season 2 Episode 12: Silly Love Songs | The Official Music for Glee Site". Gleethemusic.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
49. Erica Futterman (2011-02-09). "'Glee' Recap: 'Silly Love Songs' Hits the Right Note | Culture News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
50. "Midnight McCartney". www.paulmccartney.com. paulmccartney.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.

Bibliography

• McGee, Garry (2003). Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 0-87833-304-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)