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Released in 1970

Hot As Sun

Written by Paul McCartney • Instrumental

Last updated on April 13, 2022

Album This song officially appears on the McCartney LP.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1970

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1959, when Paul McCartney was 17 years old)

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Other songs from the "McCartney" instrumental medley

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“Hot As Sun” is a fragment of a 3-parts instrumental track on Paul McCartney’s debut solo album, “McCartney“, released in April 1970 – the two other parts being “Glasses” and a very few seconds of “Suicide“.

“Hot As Sun” dates from The Quarry Men era, circa 1958 or 1959. When it was first recorded with The Beatles during the “Get Back” sessions on January 24, 1969, it was mostly an instrumental track with Paul McCartney adding some vocal sounds and a spoken word passage: “Welcome to the South Sea Islands, where the sound of a wave landing on the sand brings joy to the air”.

In February 1970, “Hot As Sun” was recorded for the “McCartney” album, with elements of Hawaiian and Calypso styles, according to author Adrian Allan:

There are elements of the Hawaiian style in Hot As Sun; but only in a broad and generic fashion.

For example, the pedal steel guitar originated in Hawaii in the 1920s. A key feature of the pedal steel technique involves the use of harmonised sixths, which are in abundance in Hot As Sun. The steel string guitar on the track is recorded very brightly, and gives the impression of a steel guitar.

The only thing that is missing is any use of slide bottleneck technique in McCartney’s playing. Hot As Sun consists of parallel sixth movements and could indeed be played in a bottleneck or slide style, but unlike George Harrison, McCartney never developed a proficient slide guitar technique in his career.

Hot As Sun displays some elements of the Calypso style. Indeed, there is an ill-defined blur between the styles. For example, Harry Belafonte’s Jamaica Farewell begins with an acoustic guitar solo in sixths, features the primary chords of A, D and E major and has a syncopated bass line that is stylistically very similar to Hot As Sun.

It is impossible to escape the significance of Belafonte’s Calypso album, released in 1956. It became the first LP record album to sell over one million copies.

As a teenager in the late 1950s, McCartney would have been acutely aware of Belafonte and undoubtedly absorbed traits of the calypso style, as a part of his ever-widening musical palette.

From Hot As Sun – The Evolution of An Early McCartney Composition – Paul McCartney After The Beatles: A Musical Appreciation

Paul McCartney and Wings performed “Hot As Sun” in a pronounced reggae style during their last UK tour in 1979, as well as at the Concert For The People of Kampuchea, a charity concert organized on December 29, 1979.

We’re going to do a bit of Caribbean number with Paul on the guitar.

Denny Laine – Introducing “Hot As Sun” during the Concert for The People of Kampuchea, December 29, 1979

A song written in about 1958 or 9 or maybe earlier, when it was one of those songs that you play now and then. The middle was added in Morgan Studio, where the track was recorded recently.

1 acoustic guitar.
2 electric guitar.
3 drums.
4 rhythm guitar.
5 organ.
6 maracas.
7 bass.
8 bongos.

Paul McCartney, from the press release of “McCartney”, April 1970

In the early eighties, lyricist Tim Rice added words to “Hot As Sun“. Singer Noosha Fox released a version of “Hot As Sun” with lyrics in July 1981. Elaine Page also covered the song in her eponym album released later in 1981, the sleeve notes erroneously mentioning that Paul had written the song specifically for her.

From the press release of “McCartney”, April 1970

Variations

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Live performances

“Hot As Sun” has been played in 18 concerts and 1 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where “Hot As Sun” has been played

See all concerts where “Hot As Sun” has been played

Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989

With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.

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Daniel • 7 years ago

I am a lifelong New Yorker - My first thought when I heard this was "I used to hear this when I watched cartoons, but this seems slower..."

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