Recording: Monkberry Moon Delight, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey – 5 November 1970

Thursday 5 November 1970 | Recording | Paul and Linda McCartney | Ram

On 5 November 1970, Paul McCartney worked on two songs for Ram at CBS Studio B in New York: Monkberry Moon Delight and the piece that would become Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. Guitarist Hugh McCracken and drummer Denny Seiwell joined him for the session.

The backing track for Monkberry Moon Delight was completed, followed by instrumental overdubs. In the afternoon, attention shifted to the first part of a medley of song fragments, initially worked on as Uncle Albert. The finished records still required further sessions.

Returning to Monkberry Moon Delight

The musicians had begun working on Monkberry Moon Delight during the 3 November session, without securing the required master backing. On 5 November, McCartney, McCracken and Seiwell returned to the song and completed its instrumental foundation.

McCartney played upright piano, McCracken played electric guitar with a phaser pedal, and Seiwell played drums. This combination established the basic performance for the recording before additional parts were layered onto the tape.

McCartney and McCracken subsequently overdubbed guitars, while Seiwell added tambourine. The work expanded the arrangement beyond the original piano, guitar and drums.

A backing track, not the finished vocal recording

The distinction between the backing and the completed record is important here. The 5 November work supplied the instrumental basis of Monkberry Moon Delight, but the intense lead singing and supporting vocal arrangement developed through later stages of the project.

Paul and Linda were still working on vocals in March 1971. Our article on the 29 March 1971 Monkberry Moon Delight session follows that later phase.

The song eventually appeared on side two of Ram, between Heart Of The Country and Eat At Home. Its place on the album was the outcome of a recording process extending well beyond this New York backing session.

Beginning Uncle Albert in the afternoon

After completing the Monkberry backing, the musicians turned to a new piece. McCartney had assembled several song fragments, known during development by names including Uncle Albert, Hands Across The Water and Gypsy Get Around.

The fragments would eventually form Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. Rather than treating the entire medley as a single uninterrupted backing performance, McCartney decided to record it in two parts. The first was approached under the working title Uncle Albert.

Work began on that section on 5 November, but the successful backing performance followed on 6 November. The second part also received attention the following day. The date covered here therefore marks the beginning of the recording, not the completion of the finished medley.

The eventual record’s shifts in mood and tempo reflect its construction from contrasting sections. Those contrasts were part of the composition being developed, while the orchestral and other finishing details belonged to later production work.

The handwritten Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey draft

The manuscript contains crossed-out lines, revised wording and notes separating sections. A trumpet instruction appears among the writing, alongside the developing vocal passages.

As a working document, it records decisions about words and structure before the familiar finished recording. The page brings the medley’s construction into view without assigning every handwritten change to a particular studio date.

Paul, Linda and the New York musicians

Ram was credited to Paul and Linda McCartney. After the largely self-performed McCartney album, Paul worked with selected musicians in New York to build the next project’s instrumental tracks.

Denny Seiwell played drums, while Hugh McCracken contributed guitar to this session. McCracken’s phaser-treated part on Monkberry Moon Delight provided a different texture from a plain electric-guitar accompaniment.

Tim Geelan engineered the CBS sessions, with Ted Brosnan assisting. The recording process allowed the musicians to establish a backing and then add instrumental and vocal layers, rather than requiring the eventual arrangement to be captured in one live performance.

Linda’s role in the project encompassed the album credit, songwriting credits and vocal contributions. It is useful to distinguish that broader collaboration from the specific instrumental duties documented for the Monkberry backing on this date.

The Ram recording project

The New York sessions had begun in October 1970 and continued into November. They produced material for the album as well as songs that followed a separate single-release route.

The preceding work included Oh Woman, Oh Why and the initial Monkberry Moon Delight attempts on 3 November. Oh Woman, Oh Why later appeared as the B-side of Another Day rather than on the original Ram LP.

Further overdubbing took place in December. When Studio B was unavailable, McCartney used CBS Studio D on East 30th Street, the converted church associated with a different part of Columbia’s New York studio operation. Later work continued in 1971.

This makes the location distinction important: the session of 5 November took place at the East 52nd Street Studio B, not the East 30th Street studio used for subsequent overdubs.

From the November session to the Ram album

Ram was released in the United States on 17 May 1971 and in Britain on 21 May. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey occupied the fifth position in the album’s sequence, while Monkberry Moon Delight was the eighth track.

The two songs illustrate different approaches within the same project. Monkberry Moon Delight developed around a forceful piano-led backing and later vocal performances. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey was built from contrasting fragments, with the studio arrangement connecting its separate sections.

Paul’s official Ram album page provides the released track sequence and further album material.

Session chronology

CBS Studio B: the New York recording location

Studio B, CBS Studio Building, 49 East 52nd Street, Manhattan, New York, USA. This was the historic Columbia/CBS facility on East 52nd Street, distinct from the East 30th Street studios.

Open the historic CBS Studio B address in Google Maps.

Explore Paul McCartney’s early solo era

The McCartney photo T-shirt features the portrait associated with Paul’s debut solo album, the release preceding Ram.

Browse the Paul McCartney and Wings collection for more designs connected with his post-Beatles career.

Frequently asked questions

What did Paul McCartney record on 5 November 1970?

He completed the backing track for Monkberry Moon Delight and began work on the Uncle Albert section of Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.

Who played on the Monkberry Moon Delight backing?

Paul McCartney played upright piano, Hugh McCracken played guitar with a phaser effect, and Denny Seiwell played drums. Guitar overdubs and tambourine were then added.

Was Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey completed that day?

No. Work began on its first section on 5 November, with successful backing recording continuing on 6 November and further production following later.

Where did the session take place?

Studio B in the CBS Studio Building at 49 East 52nd Street in Manhattan, New York.

Were the Monkberry vocals recorded on 5 November?

The documented work that day concerned the backing and instrumental overdubs. Vocal work continued later, including Paul and Linda’s session on 29 March 1971.

Which album contains both songs?

Both appeared on Ram by Paul and Linda McCartney, released in May 1971.