''Run Devil Run'' is the eleventh solo studio album by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, released in 1999. It features mostly covers of both familiar and obscure 1950s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

songs, along with three original McCartney compositions written in the same style, including the title track, making it the second McCartney covers album, after his Russian cover album. As his first project following first wife Linda's death in 1998, McCartney felt the need to get back to his roots and perform some of the music he loved as a teenager. On 14 December 1999, McCartney returned to the Cavern Club stage to play a set publicising the new album.

Background

Following the death of his wife

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

in April 1998,

had a year of mourning.Benitez 2010, p. 154 Wanting to keep things fresh, a lesson he had learned from his experiences working on ''

The Beatles Anthology ''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and R ...

'' project and put to use on '' Flaming Pie'', McCartney planned to cut the album as quickly as possible, much in the way

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

had recorded in their early years. Asking Chris Thomas to help produce, McCartney booked time at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

to undertake his quest.

Music and lyrics

The album consists of 12 cover versions of

songs and three McCartney originals. Of the covers, "Blue Jean Bop" was written and recorded by Gene Vincent in 1956. " She Said Yeah" had been recorded by Larry Williams. " All Shook Up", " I Got Stung" and "Party" had been recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. "No Other Baby" was written by Dickie Bishop and Bob Watson,Jackson 2012, p. 242 and was originally recorded in 1958 by

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

group the Vipers and released as a single. Despite never owning a copy of the song, it had made a big enough imprint on McCartney for him to record it 40 years on. " Lonesome Town" had been recorded by

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

. " Movie Magg" had been recorded by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

's composition " Brown Eyed Handsome Man" had been recorded by him and by

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

whose version McCartney liked. "Shake a Hand" was written by Joe Morris and recorded by

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

in 1956 " Coquette" had been recorded by

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

. " Honey Hush" had been first recorded by Joe Turner, though the liner notes state that McCartney was more familiar with the version by

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...

. Of the originals "Run Devil Run" is a song in the

style, "Try Not to Cry" was recounting a widower's suffering,Carlin 2010, p. 313–314 and "What It Is" had been started a few months prior to Linda's death.

Recording and structure

Wanting to work with reliable and empathetic musicians, McCartney called up

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

to play guitar. Also recruited were guitarist

Mick Green Michael Robert Green (22 February 1944 – 11 January 2010) was an English rock and roll guitarist who played with Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Pirates (with and without Johnny Kidd (singer), Johnny Kidd), Billy J. Kramer The Dakotas (band), ...

, keyboardists

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, Keyboardist, keyboard player, songwriter, singer, and music journalism, music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University, Wingfield and three other students formed ...

and Geraint Watkins, and on drums

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

's Ian Paice and Dave Mattacks.Carlin 2010, p. 312 McCartney played bass, and overdubbed electric or acoustic guitar or percussion on some songs. McCartney wanted the sessions to be laid back, with no post-production. McCartney had brought a list of material that he wished to play, the songs being early rock and roll songs from his childhood and a few originals he had written in a similar style. The initial sessions were a week in early March, with a few more sessions done in May, and then the album—featuring three new McCartney songs among the old classics—was complete.Carlin 2010, p. 313 Thomas thought it a "cathartic" exercise for McCartney, calling it the "this is for Linda album".

Release

Released on 4 October 1999 in the UK, and a day later in the US, reaching number 12 in the UK and number 27 in the US.Jackson 2012, p. 291 The title ''Run Devil Run'' was inspired by Miller's Rexall Drugs, a hoodoo and herbal medicine shop in South Downtown

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

with products by that very name. It appealed to McCartney as a great title for a rock and roll song, which he duly composed. The store was located at 87 Broad Street in Atlanta, Georgia. To stimulate sales, a number of different bonus discs and singles were issued to accompany the album. Two special editions of ''Run Devil Run'' with limited-edition bonus discs were available only at certain retailers. A special limited edition of the album, sold only at

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

, featured a bonus interview disc. A similar special limited edition of the album, sold only at

Musicland The Musicland Group, Inc. was an entertainment company that ran Musicland, Sam Goody, Discount Records, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, On Cue, and the Media Play Superstore Chains. The Musicland Group was purchased by Best Buy in 2001 at the ...

and Sam Goody stores, featured a four-track E.P. that contained the original artists' versions of four songs on the album: "Blue Jean Bop" by Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, "Lonesome Town" by

, "Coquette" by

, and " Let's Have a Party" by

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American retired singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of Rock music, rock, Country music, country and Gospel music, gospel. She was among th ...

. Also, in the UK, all fifteen songs on the album, along with "Fabulous", were released on 25 December 1999, as set of eight 7-inch singles sold together in a ''Run Devil Run Limited Edition Collector's Box'' designed to look like a record case from the 1950s. "No Other Baby" was released as a 7" vinyl single in the UK with two songs on the B-side, "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and a non-album track "Fabulous". In America, "No Other Baby" was released on a special juke-box single, with "Try Not to Cry" included as the B-side. "No Other Baby", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and "Fabulous" were released together on two different CD singles, one of which contained stereo versions of the three songs and the other of which contained mono versions of the three songs. The music video for "No Other Baby", which was filmed in black and white, highlights McCartney's grief after Linda's death.Jackson 2012, p. 243 McCartney filmed a performance at the Cavern Club as part of promotion for the album,Ingham 2009 on 14 December 1999.Sounes 2010, p. 496 This performance was eventually released as a video '' Live at the Cavern Club''.

Reception

On release, ''Run Devil Run'' received several highly favourable reviews. McCartney biographer Peter Ames Carlin said that despite the rock and roll songs being written by others, the album was "the most deeply autobiographical album of Paul's career". Rhapsody praised the work, calling it one of their favourite cover albums.

Track listing

Notes * In 2007, upon adding McCartney's catalogue of music, the iTunes Store added his cover of the Charlie Gracie song, "Fabulous", as an exclusive digital bonus track on this album. *"Fabulous" was also released as the B-side on the "No Other Baby" single.

Personnel

Personnel per booklets. *

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(all),

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

(all),

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

(5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16),

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

(7, 9),

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(8) *

– electric guitar (all),

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

(3, 5, 6), lap steel guitar (4) *

– electric guitar (all except 9, 10), Hi Strung electric guitar (9, 10) *

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(2, 4, 6, 9-12, 14-16),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(5, 14), Wurlitzer electronic piano (13) * Ian Paice –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(all except 3, 7), percussion (8, 9) * Dave Mattacks – drums (3, 7), percussion (6, 7) * Geraint Watkins – piano (3, 7) *Chris Hall –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

(9) Production * Chris Thomas, Paul McCartney – producers * Geoff Emerick, Paul Hicks –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

*Steve Rooke – mastering *Dave Fine – cover photos *Richard Haughton – Paul photo * Mike McCartney – young Paul photo *John Hammel – session photos *Mike Owen – products photo *Philip Gallard – instrument photos *

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German graphic artist, artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, includ ...

, Aleen Toroyan – drawings *Norman Hathaway – design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

Footnotes Citations Sources * * * * * *

External links

*
JPGR's Beatles site: Paul McCartney's ''Run Devil Run''
{{Authority control 1999 albums Paul McCartney albums Parlophone albums Capitol Records albums History of Atlanta Albums produced by Paul McCartney Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Albums with cover art by Klaus Voormann British rock-and-roll albums 1990s covers albums