"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda
McCartney from the album
Ram. Released in the United States as a single on 2
August 1971, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in
August 1971. The song is probably the most ambitious and
experimental track on
Ram, and is less a song and more a collection of melodic
fragments pieced together, in a similar way to the song-cycle
on the second half of The Beatles'
Abbey Road. Paul McCartney won the Grammy Award for Best
Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists in 1971 for the song.
The song is noted for its sound effects, including the sound
of thunder, lightning, and rain, heard between the first and
second verse, the sound of a telephone dialing, and a message
machine, heard after the second verse, and a sound of chirping
sea birds and wind by the seashore. Linda's voice is heard in
the harmonies as well as the bridge section of the "Admiral
Halsey" portion of the song.
McCartney said "Uncle Albert" was based on his uncle. "He's
someone I recall fondly, and when the song was coming it was
like a nostalgia thing." McCartney also said, "As for Admiral
Halsey, he's one of yours, an American admiral", referring to
Admiral William "Bull" Halsey.
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