Mary Had a Little Lamb (Paul McCartney song)

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“Mary Had a Little Lamb”
Single by Wings from the album Wild Life (The Paul McCartney Collection)
B-side	"Little Woman Love"
Released	May 12, 1972
Format	7" single
Recorded	1972
Genre	Rock
Label	Apple
Writer(s)	Traditional Paul & Linda McCartney
Producer	Paul McCartney Linda McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (1972) "Mary Had a Little Lamb"/"Little Woman Love" (1972) "Hi, Hi, Hi"/"C Moon" (1972) Reverse cover "Little Woman Love" - United States B-side cover

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is Wings' version of the traditional nursery rhyme, recorded, according to Paul McCartney at the time, in response to the BBC ban on their previous single, the political "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", though McCartney has since denied this. Wings lead guitarist Henry McCullough plays mandolin, and the McCartney children sing on the chorus. McCartney has claimed that record logs reveal that the song was recorded before "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" had been banned by the BBC, but a source says that the song was recorded after "Give Ireland Back to the Irish"^[1]

The song was virulently attacked by rock critics at the time, although a few critics thought it to be deliberately ironic.^[2] Although it reached the top 10 in the U.K., many U.S. radio stations chose instead to play the pop/rock B-side, "Little Woman Love". Apple Records in the U.S. even revised the special picture sleeve for the single to credit both sides by name (see reverse cover), but the single still failed to rise above #28 in the U.S.

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