Used To Be Bad

Song facts

“Used To Be Bad” is a song from 1997 album “Flaming Pie“. From the liner notes:

Having enjoyed ‘Young Boy’ Steve Miller was keen to extend the collaboration, wanting to get Paul singing some “Texas blues.” As a consequence, he arrived at their second set of session with dozens of guitar riffs; this prompted Paul to climb behind the drum kit and the pair played away for some time, kicking around ideas, until Miller began adding words to the jam, utilizing blues lines line, “I used to be bad but I don’t have to be bad no more”. Once the piece had gelled Paul overdubbed bass and Steve added some solos before the traded vocal lines.

This was just a jam, really. Steve whacked out these blues riffs, I got on the drums and we just went for it – a duet, sung on one mike. We did the vocal in one take.

Paul McCartney, from the liner notes of “Flaming Pie”

Mark Lewisohn, in Club Sandwich n°82, Summer 1997:

Having enjoyed cutting ‘Young Boy’ with Paul, Steve Miller was keen to extend the collaboration, insisting that he wanted to get Paul singing some blues. As a consequence, Miller arrived at their second set of sessions with dozens of blues guitar riffs. This prompted Paul to climb behind the drum kit and the pair played away for some time, kicking around ideas, and later Miller began adding words to the jam. Once the live piece had gelled as ‘Used To Be Bad’ Paul overdubbed bass guitar and Steve added some solos before the crucial decision was made to alternate the lead vocal lines. This was not the only blues duet recorded by the pair this day; another may be released on Steve Miller’s next album. Additionally, the previous day, Paul and Steve cut ‘Broomstick‘, released in Britain on the second ‘Young Boy’ CD single.

After we’d done ‘Young Boy’ in America, I got him over in England and he came saying ‘I want to get you singing Texas blues’. That sounded like a good offer and he turned up with millions of little blues riffs.

I Used To Be Bad’ came out of that. It was just a jam, really, with Steve whacking out these riffs. I got on the drums and we just went for it, with Steve suggesting these old blues words… I used to be bad, but I don’t wanna be bad no more.

I hit on the idea that he should sing the first line and I’d sing the second, sort of like answering him, and we’d work through the whole song like that, alternating lines.

And when we did that, you could see the engineers’ faces light up in the control room – Oh, this’II work – so that was it; a little duet, sung on one mike, from a jam. And we did it in one take.

Paul McCartney, from Club Sandwich n°82, Summer 1997

I was trying to get Paul to do some Texas blues and stuff. It’s just me, that’s what I like to play. I threw the rhythm track together, and we just started pulling out blues lines and blues lyrics and just throwing them together — just tossed a bunch of stuff on the table, wrote down a bunch of paragraphs and picked them up, and I’d sing a line, he’d sing a line, I’d sing a line, he’d sing a line and it was done.

Steve Miller, about recording “Used To Be Bad” with Paul McCartney, from the Flaming Pie Archive Collection, 2020

Last updated on September 27, 2020

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