Mary McCartney/MPL; Jill FurmanovskyPaul McCartney and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason appear on a star-studded tribute to late Wings guitarist Henry McCullough called “Live Long Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which will be released this month.
McCullough died in 2016 at age 72. He played with Wings from 1972 to 1973. Hot Press reports that the song was co-written by McCullough with a good friend, Irish singer/songwriter Don Mescall.
It was after Henry suffered a serious heart attack in 2012 that Mescall decided to start gathering some famous guest artists to record the tune. Mescall says he first invited Mason to contribute to the song, and then got acclaimed U.K. session guitarist Albert Lee to play on it.
Lee suggested that Mescall reach out to keyboardist Chris Stainton, who had played with McCullough in Joe Cocker‘s famed backing group The Grease Band. Stainton gladly agreed to take part in the project.
Mescall then got word to McCartney that he wanted him to play bass on the track, and heard back that the rock legend “loved the song and he really wanted to play on it.”
“There are still sometimes when I’m on my own in the studio when I’ll listen to Paul McCartney’s bass on the track and think, ‘If anyone brought magic to this track — it was Sir Paul McCartney,'” Mescall tells Hot Press. “He put heart and soul into the bass line on the track. It’s absolutely incredible.”
Others who contributed to the song include Procol Harum‘s Gary Brooker on lead vocals and ex-Squeeze and Mike + the Mechanics member Paul Carrack on backing vocals.
“Live Long Rock ‘n’ Roll” will appear on a new McCullough compilation titled Ballywonderland, which arrives on August 16.
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