Paul McCartney had an interesting time with Stevie Wonder working on their song “Ebony and Ivory” in 1982. The former Beatle said he had to be “super precise” around the virtuoso because he could hear every mistake.
Paul McCartney had to wait a long time before Stevie Wonder showed up to film Ebony and Ivory.
In Lyrics from 1956 to the presentPaul said he wrote “Ebony and Ivory” in 1980 “as a response to the issue of racial tension which was causing a lot of conflict in Britain at the time”.
Paul made the demo in Scotland in his little studio there. After a while, she decided to call Wander to see if he wanted to do something together. The couple has known each other for a long time. They first met in 1966, after 15-year-old Wonder played a show in London.
When Paul mentioned the child prodigy about collaborating, they thought about writing something together. However, Paul told Wonder that he had “Ebony and Ivory”. Wonder agreed to record it.
Paul and Wonder arranged to meet in Montserrat, where producer George Martin had a recording studio. Though Paul had no idea how long it would take for Wonder to show up.
Paul wrote that Wonder “was supposed to show up, but he didn’t. So there were a lot of calls, like Stevie. ‘We are here.’ When are you going out? It was always “this Friday”.
“Then the weekend would go by and I’d call him on Monday. ‘Oh, I’ll be there on Wednesday.’ Oh, good. So it was all a lot. He is his own man. He’ll show up when he’s ready.”
Paul said he had to be “super precise” around Wonder when they recorded “Ebony and Ivory.”
When Wonder finally showed up, Paul said it was great. Although, he had to be careful not to mess up, as Wonder heard every mistake.
He wrote: “It was fascinating because he’s such a musical monster. he just is music. You have to be extremely precise because any mistake he will hear. He asked if we were going to use a drum machine and I said no, so he got on the drum kit and he was a great drummer with a very different style and that’s what he plays on the record. The whole song is just me and Stevie.”
The former Beatle had to wait again for Wonder to film his video
When Paul and Wonder arranged to meet to shoot the video for the song “Ebony and Ivory”, “it happened again”. The miracle was delayed.
“It was booked with the team and the studio and the technicians and the cameramen and everybody, and Stevie was supposed to show up on Monday morning or whatever, and he didn’t,” Paul wrote. “Getting to him was a challenge because it would happen like this. Wonder is in the studio right now. Excuse me, who is this?’
“That’s Paul McCartney. We know each other; we worked together.” ‘Oh, well, he’s working and can’t be bothered. So it went on and we were about a week late making the video when he finally showed up. So yeah, it was great working with him, but there was always being late, not being there. What I was not used to, I must say.’
Ultimately, Paul knew that Ebony and Ivory wasn’t going to “solve the world’s problems, but I think his heart was in the right place. People made fun of it, of course. Some thought it was too sentimental or simplistic, perhaps. Eddie Murphy filmed it on Saturday Night Live. It’s the kind of thing that’s easy to send.” However, the song did make waves by being banned in South Africa.
The first and only time Paul and Wonder performed “Ebony and Ivory” at the White House was when Paul received the Gershwin Award. “Ebony and Ivory” may not have been groundbreaking, but it was a miracle that Paul and Wonder collaborated in the first place.
