It was 48 years ago this week (beginning on June 2nd, 1973) that Paul McCartney & Wings topped the Billboard singles and album charts with their single “My Love” and their album Red Rose Speedway.
McCartney had formed Wings in 1971 with wife Linda, drummer Denny Seiwell, and guitarist Denny Laine, but the band did not immediately have the same kind of success McCartney had had on his own. Their debut album Wild Life and their first few singles had not climbed any higher than Number Ten on either the album or singles charts, as opposed to other McCartney solo work that had gone all the way to Number One, such as the McCartney album and the 1971 single “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.”
All that changed with Red Rose Speedway. By the time the initial sessions for the album began in March 1972, McCartney had added former Joe Cocker guitarist Henry McCullough to the band's line-up. The album included the hit “My Love,” which stayed at Number One on the singles charts for four weeks, proving that McCartney's new band could be commercially successful. Red Rose Speedway also reached Number One on the album charts, staying there for three weeks.