Watch Paul McCartney’s Behind-the-Scenes Blues Jam With Johnny Depp
Back in July, Paul McCartney released an inspiring music video for his NEW tune “Early Days.” The Vincent Haycock-directed clip, which focuses on two aspiring musicians in the American South of the 1950s, also led a massive on-set jam session in Los Angeles, where Sir Paul was joined by a number of local musicians (and buddy Johnny Depp). The results of that loose, 30-minute jam – first shared on McCartney’s website – are available above.
In the refreshingly low-key video, McCartney is joined by a number of players (Roy Gaines, Al Williams, Dale Atkins, Henree Harris, Motown Maurice, Lil Poochie and Misha Lindes) as they strum through a series of sizzling blues classics – including snippets of Charlie Campbell’s “Goin’ Away Blues” and Carl Perkins’ 1957 rockabilly tune “Matchbox” (frequently covered on-stage by the Beatles and included on a handful of the band’s early releases).
“I happened to ring Johnny Depp,” McCartney told Rolling Stone earlier this year about the impromptu session. “I said, ‘Come along and we’ll sit around and jam with these blues guys.’ He said, ‘Yeah, OK, count me in, man.’ I knew it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Macca also talked about the original video and how its concept evolved. “It’s a memory song for me, about me and John in the early days,” he said. “But Vince came up with this great idea: Instead of having young lookalikes of me and John walking the streets of Liverpool, guitars slung over our backs, and literally acting out the song, what if it was any two aspiring musicians? I thought that was such a cool idea.”
An official “Making of ‘Early Days'” film will be included on a special collector’s edition of NEW, out later this year. The set will include exclusive material chronicling the release and promotion of the original LP, which came out last October.