Maybe I'm Amazed



"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 album McCartney. McCartney dedicated the song to his wife, Linda, who had helped him get through the break-up of the Beatles.

Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartney's later band Wings, from the live album Wings over America, was. This version became a top-ten hit in the United States and reached number 28 in the United Kingdom.

In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Maybe I'm Amazed" number 347 on its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.

History
McCartney wrote the song in 1969, just before the Beatles' break-up. He credited his wife Linda with helping him get through the difficult time. Although most of his debut solo album was recorded at his home in London, McCartney recorded "Maybe I'm Amazed" entirely in EMI's Number Two studio in Abbey Road, on the same day as he recorded "Every Night". He played all the instruments: guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums. Although McCartney declined to release the song as a single in 1970, it nonetheless received a great deal of radio airplay worldwide, making it one of his most recognisable solo successes. A promotional film was made, comprising still photographs of McCartney, his wife Linda and stepdaughter Heather, which first aired in the UK on 19 April 1970 on ITV in its own slot, and as a part of an episode of CBS Television's The Ed Sullivan Show.

The original studio version of the song finished with a fade instead of a full ending, but McCartney later composed an ending that can be heard on the live versions of the song. McCartney first performed this live with Wings, in Châteauvallon, France, on 9 July 1972. During his guest appearance in The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Vegetarian", McCartney says to Lisa and Apu "If you play 'Maybe I'm Amazed' backwards, you'll find a recipe for a ripping lentil soup", which can be heard in the background when the song is played during the closing credits to the episode.

Regarded as one of McCartney's finest love songs, it achieved the number 347 position in the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list compiled by Rolling Stone magazine in November 2004, and is the only solo McCartney song to make the list. In a late 2009 Q&A with journalists held in London to promote his live album Good Evening New York City, McCartney said "Maybe I'm Amazed" was "the song he would like to be remembered for in the future".

Live version
A live recording from the 1976 album Wings over America was released as a single by McCartney's band Wings on 4 February 1977 and reached number 10 in the US on the Billboard pop charts, and number 28 in the UK. Versions of the song can be heard on several other live McCartney albums including Back in the U.S. and Back in the World. "Maybe I'm Amazed" has become a centrepiece of McCartney's concerts, along with "Band on the Run" and "Live and Let Die", live versions of the song are available on the 2011 reissue of McCartney.

Personnel
McCartney studio version
 * Paul McCartney – lead vocals, guitar, bass, piano, organ, drums
 * Linda McCartney – backing vocals

Wings Over America live version
 * Paul McCartney – lead vocals, piano
 * Linda McCartney – backing vocals
 * Denny Laine – backing vocals, bass guitar
 * Jimmy McCulloch – lead guitar
 * Joe English – drums

Covers

 * London based band Fickle Pickle released Maybe I'm Amazed as a single in August 1970 and had a Top 40 hit with it in the Netherlands the following year.
 * On 27 May 2011, the official Paul McCartney YouTube channel held a "Maybe I'm Amazed Cover Competition" where users would submit video responses of themselves covering the song, the winner being the user whose video gained the most 'likes'. On 28 June 2011, YouTube user "Troubleclef" was named winner of the contest.
 * Billy Joel covered it for the Art of McCartney tribute album.