Tuesday 18 June 1974 | Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Paul McCartney spent his 32nd birthday in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was rehearsing and recording with Wings, accompanied by his family. It was a working birthday — but Linda McCartney marked the occasion with one of the most remarkable gifts in rock and roll history.
The Gift: Bill Black's Bass
Linda McCartney gave Paul a 1950s Kay M-1 upright bass that had belonged to Bill Black — the bassist who had played on Elvis Presley's earliest recordings at Sun Studio in Memphis. It was the bass on records like That's All Right, Blue Moon of Kentucky, and the other sides that had launched Presley's career and, in doing so, helped launch rock and roll itself.
McCartney described the gift — and what it meant to him — in an interview on Deep Hidden Meaning Radio with Nile Rodgers, broadcast on 8 January 2021:
"If you've ever seen photographs of Elvis Presley and Scotty Moore and Bill Black, that is his bass. That is the Elvis Presley bass that's on all those early records of Elvis's. We knew a guy in Nashville. The bass was just in a barn, nobody bothered with it anymore 'cause Bill Black himself, the player with Elvis, had died. So Linda actually got it for me for my birthday. So there it is man, you've seen it, the world has seen this bass. And you know what my ambition is? One of these days, maybe when I pop my clogs, this has got to end up, this bass side by side with my little Höfner bass, in a museum somewhere."
— Paul McCartney, Deep Hidden Meaning Radio with Nile Rodgers, 8 January 2021
Bill Black and the Sun Sessions
Bill Black (1926–1965) was the upright bassist who, alongside guitarist Scotty Moore and Elvis Presley, formed the original trio that recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1954 and 1955. The recordings they made — produced by Sam Phillips — are among the most consequential in the history of popular music. Black's slap bass style, driving and rhythmically propulsive, was central to the sound of those early sides.
Black later formed the Bill Black Combo, which had a series of instrumental hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He died in October 1965 of a brain tumour, aged 39. By 1974, his bass had ended up in a barn in Nashville — unplayed, largely forgotten, until Linda McCartney tracked it down and bought it as a birthday present.
The Kay M-1 was a standard American-made upright bass of the postwar era — affordable, robust, and widely used by country, rockabilly, and early rock and roll musicians. It was not a prestige instrument by the standards of classical music, but in the hands of Bill Black at Sun Studio, it helped define a sound that changed the world.
McCartney's Vision for the Bass
McCartney's ambition — expressed in the 2021 interview — is for Bill Black's bass to end up in a museum alongside his own Höfner 500/1 violin bass: the left-handed instrument he had played since 1961 and which had become one of the most recognisable bass guitars in rock history. The image of the two instruments side by side — the slap bass that launched Elvis, the violin bass that anchored The Beatles — is a quietly powerful one. Two instruments, two revolutions, one museum case.
Wings in Nashville, 1974
The Nashville visit in June 1974 was part of a period of intensive activity for Wings. The band had released Band On The Run in December 1973 to enormous critical and commercial success, and were now working on what would become Venus and Mars (1975). Nashville — with its world-class session musicians, its recording infrastructure, and its particular musical atmosphere — was a natural destination for a band looking to broaden its sound.
Key Facts: 18 June 1974
| Date | Tuesday 18 June 1974 |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee, USA |
| Activity | Rehearsing and recording with Wings |
| Birthday gift | Bill Black's 1950s Kay M-1 upright bass (from Linda McCartney) |
| Bill Black | Bassist on Elvis Presley's early Sun Studio recordings; died October 1965 |
| Bass provenance | Found in a barn in Nashville; acquired by Linda McCartney |
| McCartney's ambition | For the bass to be displayed alongside his Höfner 500/1 in a museum |
| Source quote | Deep Hidden Meaning Radio with Nile Rodgers, 8 January 2021 |
Nashville, Tennessee — where Paul McCartney was rehearsing and recording with Wings in June 1974, and where Linda McCartney found Bill Black's bass in a barn and bought it as a birthday present.
Paul McCartney: Post-Beatles
From the Höfner to Nashville. Officially licensed Beatles merch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Paul McCartney receive for his 32nd birthday?
Linda McCartney gave Paul a 1950s Kay M-1 upright bass that had belonged to Bill Black — the bassist on Elvis Presley's early Sun Studio recordings. The bass had been found in a barn in Nashville. McCartney described the gift in a 2021 interview with Nile Rodgers.
Who was Bill Black?
Bill Black (1926–1965) was the upright bassist who, alongside Scotty Moore and Elvis Presley, recorded the early Sun Studio sides that launched Presley's career and helped define rock and roll. He later formed the Bill Black Combo and died in October 1965 of a brain tumour, aged 39.
What is Paul McCartney's ambition for Bill Black's bass?
McCartney has said he wants Bill Black's bass to end up in a museum alongside his own Höfner 500/1 violin bass — the instrument he played with The Beatles. He described this ambition in a 2021 interview on Deep Hidden Meaning Radio with Nile Rodgers.
Why was Wings in Nashville in June 1974?
Wings were in Nashville rehearsing and recording in June 1974, following the enormous success of Band On The Run (December 1973). The Nashville sessions were part of the work that would eventually lead to Venus and Mars (1975).
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