It's officially Carnival season now, and yet, not really—not like
it usually is. Here's one look back at a memorable—and more festive—Mardi Gras of
many years ago, complete with a visit from Paul McCartney.
With all the recent
success and hype that we've heard about the great new McCartney III LP release, I couldn't help but reminisce lately
about Paul's past visit to the Big Easy when I was in high school.
And since we'll be
missing Carnival this year in the "City That Care Forgot," I will never forget
my own "close encounter with Paul of the third kind."
The year 1975 was the
year that, incognito, Paul McCartney and his Wings Band flew into the Crescent
City, after their successful 1973 Band on
the Run LP. They were to complete recording the cool Venus and Mars LP at Sea-Saint Studios, operated then by the late,
great music legend Allen Toussaint. This was after Paul had recorded some of
the tunes in late 1974 at Abbey Road in London.
My buddies David, John,
Marshal, Neal, and Scott and I almost had a Lennon-McCartney reunion in da Big
Easy dat year, as John Lennon reportedly had hoped to join his former famous
partner at Sea-Saint, but this got crashed with Lennon's own re-connection then
to Yoko Ono after a brief hiatus.
How can I forget the
rumors that Scott and others had gotten back then about Paul and his beloved,
the late Linda Eastman McCartney, a renowned photographer, being in town—long
before social media's help with keeping up-to-date on celebrity happenings?
We did hear about Paul
and the gang reportedly being at some French Quarter inn, but, as high
schoolers, we couldn't sneak away to Bourbon Street to make some "Billy Shears"
sightings. Later, we found out that Paul and da gang had a sublet of an
apartment and mingled in "undercover" with all da local yats—until they dressed
up as clowns for Mardi Gras Day!
My buddy Scott Vincent was
able to make a brief phone call back then to Paul's dwelling with one of those ancient
landline phones. How cool that was for Scott to talk with Paul about "Yesterday"
and "Here, There anf Everywhere"!
So, as you and I may
soon be dreaming of being on St. Charles Avenue safely wearing a mask for both
Mardi Gras and COVID-19 and longing for the sights, sounds, and happenings of
some great parades such as Bacchus, Endymion, and Zulu, please keep your eyes
peeled. You just never know if, one day, you may spot Paul again, going down
those "long and un-winding roads," helping us all enjoy our "Missing Carnival."
Here are some lyrics to
Paul's own "My Carnival" song:
"It's my Carnival; it's a lovely day
Well, it's my Carnival; it's a lovely day
Well, all you people, getting ready to play
I want to hear you say, come on down
This is my Carnival; it's a lovely day …."
