So you like strobe lights and explosions, because with Paul McCartney and Wings in the mid-70’s you got strobe lights and explosions! And this LIVE version of “Live and Let Die” (the theme song to a popular James Bond movie at the time) is no exception. Linda McCartney introduces the song which debuted in 1973, right before the movie came out.

Here’s more on the song from Wikipedia:

“Live and Let Die” is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die, written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Paul McCartney’s band Wings. It was one of the group’s most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point, charting at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart.

Commissioned specifically for the movie and credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, it reunited the former Beatle with the band’s producer, George Martin, who both produced the song and arranged the orchestral break. It has been covered by several bands, with the Guns N’ Roses version being the most popular cover. Both the McCartney and the Guns N’ Roses versions were nominated for Grammys. In 2012, McCartney was awarded the Million-Air Award from Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), for more than 4 million performances of the song in the US.

It’s certainly one of my favorite McCartney songs, which both echos some of his later work with the Beatles, and really moves him into his run with Wings. Interesting little tidbit you won’t find on Wikipedia: Weird Al Yankovic wanted to do a parody version called “Chicken Pot Pie” but McCartney wouldn’t let him sing it because–wait for it!–he’s a vegetarian and though the song would encourage people to eat chicken. No, really! Weird Al never recorded it, but it does play it in concert and below the “original” version of the song, we have included the knock-off. Have a listen and tell me what you think!

Here’s Paul McCartney singing “Live and Let Die’ LIVE in 1976, although I don’t know the exact date or the location. Anyone know?

You can follow Paul McCartney on his Facebook page here, or visit his website for artist information.

And here’s Weird Al’s parody called “Chicken Pot Pie.”